Building solidarity, stopping undercutting

his section sets out what we know about the government’s plans for immigration after Brexit.

In January the government introduced its proposed legislation for the future immigration system after the UK leaves the EU, titled the Immigration and Social Security Coordination Bill (ISSC).

EU law on free movement for EU citizens and EU social security coordination have been saved into UK law by the EU Withdrawal Act (2018). The ISSC seeks to repeal these laws so that the UK can bring in a new immigration and social security system for EU citizens after Brexit. The details for the new immigration and social security system for EU citizens are not defined in this legislation, however the bill contains ‘Henry VIII’ powers which would allow the government to introduce a future migration system via secondary legislation, without full parliamentary scrutiny.

The government’s intentions for a future migration system were outlined in the immigration white paper released in December 2018.

Key aspects of the future system proposed in the immigration white paper include:

· the introduction of a new work permit system for EU workers - following any transition period agreed with the EU.

Preference for these work permits would be given to workers taking up skilled jobs. There will be no numerical limit on skilled workers visas issued for EU workers but there will only be a limited number of visas available for low skill jobs (those that require a qualification of below Level 3 of the National Qualification Framework). These visas will only apply for a 12-month period.

· the possibility of a £30,000 salary threshold being introduced for EU citizens on the new ‘skilled’ work visas, following a period of consultation

· the possibility of an extension of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers scheme currently being piloted

· restrictions on social security entitlements for EU citizens who may have to wait until they attain settled status before they are able to access the UK benefits system, which is usually after five years.

The next section of this report sets out why these proposals would serve to increase exploitation and discrimination across the workforce.