Labour’s Shadow Immigration Minister, Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP has called on the Government to reconsider its points-based immigration system in light of major labour shortages in the agricultural and healthcare sectors.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, Shadow Immigration Minister, said:
“Coronavirus is highlighting the many problems with our current numbers-based immigration system.
“Arbitrary migration caps mean the Government is being forced to recall retired doctors and nurses to the NHS to patch up staffing gaps. The agricultural sector needs an additional 90,000 seasonal labourers to ensure crops aren’t left to rot in the ground.
“Our current immigration policy already bites the hand that feeds by making life difficult for those who want to come here and contribute. The Conservatives’ points-based system would take this faulty logic one step further at a time when we really need to keep the economy on its feet.
“Rather than looking to limit migration, we need to look instead at how our immigration system can attract the workers we need at all skill levels and how we can improve living conditions for all, starting with those at the bottom of the pile.
“In light of what we’re rediscovering about key workers, we must urgently reconsider how we value the migrant workforce that forms the backbone of our economy, from doctors, to lorry drivers, to fruit and veg pickers.
Ends
Notes
- ‘Fruit and veg “will run out” unless Britain charters planes to fly in farm workers from eastern Europe”, The Guardian (28 March 2020) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/28/fruit-and-veg-will-run-out-unless-britain-charters-planes-to-fly-in-farm-workers-from-eastern-europe
For further information about this press release, please contact Ollie Collard, Communications Officer, Office of the Shadow Immigration Officer, Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP at oliver.collard@parliament.uk.