17 November 2019

Financial Times: Business warns on Tory points-based immigration system

Business groups have expressed concerns over Conservative party plans to cut immigration if they win the general election by making it harder for low-skilled migrants to come and work in the UK after Brexit.

Boris Johnson confirmed the Tories would introduced a points-based immigration system that prioritises high-skilled overseas workers and treats EU migrants the same as those from elsewhere in the world.

Under proposals due to be included in the Conservative election manifesto, the “vast majority” of migrants would need a job offer to come to the UK for work, with a “small number of exceptions” for those in high-skilled areas such as science.

The CBI, the employers’ organisation, said the Tory plans — which are broadly modelled on Australia’s points based immigration system — could lead to skills shortages in key industries.

Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI director-general, told Sky News that certain sectors including construction needed access to workers at “all” skill levels.

“When we hear [Tory] talk about brightest and best, I think that is a worry”, she said.

“If you do want to build . . . houses . . . you don’t just need the architects and the designers — you need the carpenters, you need the electricians, you need the labourers.

“We need people to come and help us renew our economy. It’s not just brightest and best, it’s people at all skill levels across our economy that we need.”

The main concern among employers is that the proposed Conservative immigration regime after Brexit could make it much harder to employ EU workers in relatively low-skilled sectors including agriculture, construction, food processing and social care.

Hannah Essex, co-executive director at the British Chambers of Commerce, said “access to skills at all levels” was essential for business.

She added a “flexible and simple immigration system” was needed to allow companies to “recruit the people they need at all skills levels, including temporary, seasonal and permanent roles”. [...]

Full article on Financial Times (subscription required)

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