The UK gov is going to introduce fees for business which want to hire foreign skilled workers from outside the EU. (For more info see : BBC Article).
I don’t usually get very political on this site, however I don’t consider this to be a good idea. Some genius in Whitehall obviously wanted a pat on the back for coming up with a new revenue stream for the government.
The government will sell it as a form of protection from cheap foreign workers, but actually this is coming too late. Plus also it seems to be for workers from non-EU countries. Our workforce faces the biggest threat from other EU countries. The proportion of skilled workers coming from say Asia or the Middle East is I would have thought a lot smaller than that from other EU states. The quotas introduced last year still don’t conclusivly show any signs of quelling the problems.
In the long run the changes will probably make things worse. It will aid in legitimising illegal entry into the UK for skilled workers, especially for small businesses. Plus I can’t easily see where the resources to police such changes to the immigration laws are going to come from. What about professions like doctors and nurses which we are having to look abroad to fill vacancies anyway. Will the National Health Trusts be exempt from such fees?
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