Memorandum by the Institute for Conflict
Research
1. There has been a significant increase
in the numbers, backgrounds and diversity of migrants moving to
work in Northern Ireland over recent years.[1]
This trend came to prominence with the arrival of substantial
numbers of Portuguese speaking migrants to work in the rural food
processing industries, and Filipino and Indian nurse recruited
to work in the health sector, from about 2001.
2. The trend has accelerated with the arrival
of substantial numbers from Eastern Europe since 2004. Recent
data indicates that 4% of migrants to the UK who registered under
the Workers Registration Scheme came to Northern Ireland, whereas
NI has 3% of the UK total population.
3. The new dynamism in migration has in
part been generated by a growing local economy and a demand for
labour, which cannot be met locally. It has been driven by employers
and in particular by the private sector; but it has been able
to exploit a desire by people in many countries to seek a better
standard of living and develop their and career opportunities.
4. Most interest in the new migration in
Northern Ireland has focused on its impact on rural towns such
as Ballymena, Cookstown, Dungannon and Portadown, where the new
arrivals have had a significant impact on local demographics and
employment patterns.[2]
This submission however, focuses purely on developments in Belfast.
These have failed to attract the same levels of attention even
though the city has attracted the largest number of migrants of
any centre in Northern Ireland and numbers continue to grow. This
paper is edited from research commissioned by Belfast City Council
and presented to them in May 2007.[3]
THE NEW
MIGRANT POPULATION
OF BELFAST
5. Belfast has long had a diverse range
of minority ethnic and religious communities, the most widely
recognised being the Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Traveller, Jewish
and Sikh communities. The 2001 Census data indicates that Belfast
contained:
— 21% of the Northern Ireland population;
— 30% of the minority ethnic population
(4,310 persons);
— 34% of the minority faith population
(1,409 persons); and
— 29% of the total population not born
in the UK or Ireland (7,650 persons).
6. However, the patterns of migration and
minority demographics to Belfast have changed significantly since
2001. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency overview
of long-term international migration estimates for Northern Ireland[4]
is based on data from five principal sources: Worker Registration
Scheme, work permits; registrations with a family doctor; applications
for National Insurance Numbers and school census figures. These
indicate that the minimum number of working migrants arriving
in Belfast between April 2004 and March 2006 was 4,224 people.
7. However, there are several categories
of migrants who are captured by these figures. They include migrants
from other EU member states; unregistered A8 migrants; self-employed
A8 migrants; dependents; and undocumented migrants. A "guesstimate"
of these categories, based on models used for other UK research,
suggests that a figure of 7,506 new migrants to Belfast between
April 2004 and March 2006 is not unreasonable.
8. While this figure may not appear to be
particularly substantial in UK terms, it does represent a doubling
of the total migrant population of the city in two years compared
with the 2001 Census data. And anecdotal evidence suggests that
inward migration is continuing to grow.
DEMOGRAPHICS
9. The available data indicates that the
largest numbers of new migrants to Belfast come from Poland, followed
Slovaks, Filipinos, Indians, Czechs, Lithuanians and Chinese.
There are also substantial numbers of people from other western
European countries living in the city.
10. There is some variation of nationalities
by employment sector: with health sector predominantly employing
Filipinos, Indians and Malays, while east Europeans are more evident
in the service sector and construction industry.
11. The data indicates that 61% of new migrants
to Belfast are male and 39% are female. There is a higher percentage
of male migrants among eastern Europeans.
12. The majority of migrants fall within
the 18-34 age range, with relatively few migrants over the age
of forty-five. The data indicates that some 16% of new migrants
are children under the age of 16.
SKILLS AND
EDUCATION
13. It is difficult to obtain information
about the education, skill or language abilities of the new migrant
population from official data. Nevertheless some small indications
can be gathered from the previous research on migrants. An ICR
study from 2003[5]
indicated that all Belfast respondents had a university education.
While 85% said their educational qualifications were recognised
in Northern Ireland, 15% said they were not recognised here.
14. A 2005 survey of health workers[6]
found that migrant staff were well educated and qualified, and
had a good command of English. Although 66% of migrants whose
qualifications were gained outside the UK said that their qualifications
were recognised here, 27% said that they had to retrain before
they could work here.
15. Contacts in the education sector suggest
there has been an increase in the number of migrants with high
levels of education and experience of working in professional
occupations arriving in Belfast. It is believed that the motivation
for some migrants was not primarily economic, but educational,
and once they have improved their English they would return home
to further their career.
16. Staff at BIFHE (now Belfast Metropolitan
College) noted a dramatic increase in the numbers of individuals
attending courses in "English as a Second Language",
from 350 people in 2002-03, to 2,500 in 2005-06. However, the
college has seen its budget for these programmes significantly
reduced, which will have implications for the process of integration
of new migrants.
PLANS AND
EXPECTATIONS
17. Research suggests that there are three
broad categories of migrant workers residing in Belfast, and although
this is not a fixed or bounded categorization, it may help in
identifying the needs and interests of the new migrants.
— Short-term migrants: intend
to work in Belfast for up to two years. They have little interest
in integrating and see their presence here as transitory.
— Medium-term migrants: plan
to work here for an undetermined period, but will return home
to work. They are likely to embrace local culture and learn English.
This will assist integration and be a benefit when they return
home.
— Long-term migrants: move to
Belfast with their family, enrol their children in school, have
a goal of owning their own home and wish to integrate into society.
This group's needs and interests are very different from the other
two and may form the core of more formalised new minority communities.
18. However, that these categories are not
fixed and it has been suggested that the key period for making
a decision about returning home or building a life in the new
country or location is two years, as after two years migrants
have become more established and it becomes more difficult to
uproot and return home.
NEW COMMUNITIES?
19. The new migrants are different from
previous cycles of immigration insofar as the new people have
less historic links with the UK and few established networks.
It is therefore difficult to consider them as "communities"
as such yet, but also important to monitor how they do develop
over the next few years.
20. Probably the only new community to be established
in Northern Ireland, and specifically Belfast, is the Polish community.
The exact number of Poles in Northern Ireland is uncertain, but
it has been claimed that there are 9,000 Poles in Belfast. Indications
of the growing Polish population are the number support groups,
social networks, and shops and bars selling Polish products.
21. Data indicates a growing numbers of
Czech, Latvian, Lithuanian and Slovakian people in the city, but
these do not appear to have established any community associations
and networks as the Polish community has done. Some agencies,
including trade unions, have tried to organise meeting with these
smaller communities, but with little interest as yet.
EMPLOYMENT PERSPECTIVES
22. There are a growing numbers of migrants
employed in four main employment sectors in Belfast: construction,
health, hospitality and IT. Of the four construction and IT have
been the last to embrace the potential for employing migrant workers,
but each sector contains a growing number of new migrants within
its workforce.
23. Construction: it is estimated
that up to 5% of the construction workforce across NI is a recent
migrant. The regeneration of Belfast is placing demands and opportunities
on the construction industry, which it has been claimed will demand
10,000 new workers over the next few years.
24. Health: there are estimated to
be between 1,500 and 2,000 new migrant staff working in the public
and private health sector across NI, primarily as nurses, but
also as other health professionals and as ancillary staff.
25. Hospitality: the hotel, café,
restaurant and associated business sectors appear to be increasingly
reliant on migrants and for staff. The relative economic boom
in Belfast has helped generate a substantial growth in this sector.
26. IT: increasingly the growing
IT sector in Belfast and NI also appears to becoming reliant upon
young, well-educated and high earning migrant staff from a diverse
range of national backgrounds.
27. A number of migrants also arrive in
Belfast without pre-arranged employment or residence. In some
cases they rely on family, friends and pre-existing social networks,
but often they are self-dependent and rely on recruitment agencies
and advertisements for employment.
28. Most recruitment agencies are open to
having migrants on their books, while growing numbers of employers
recognise that employing foreign nationals is neither unusual
nor a risk, but rather has become a routine feature of working
life.
29. There is still some considerable exploitation
of migrant workers in some sectors. Many support agencies recount
regular complaints of low pay, and problems over overtime, holidays
and sick pay being recounted. But at the same time, there is evidence
that migrant workers are gaining in confidence in the work place
and are establishing themselves in the local economy.
30. There does appear to be some contrasts
in education and abilities of new migrants registering to seek
work: some people are over qualified for the work available, while
others do not have the level of English required by employers.
31. Organisations as diverse as Business
in the Community, the Trade Unions and the Equality Commission
have become proactive in fighting for the rights of migrant workers
and educating employers on the needs of this specific client group.
32. There was a strong perception among
the business community that the majority of migrant workers were
working legally and were in possession of the appropriate documentation.
The employers also noted that recent legislation (Gangmasters
Licensing Act 2004) made it illegal for employers to source labour
from recruitment agencies who operated without a gangmasters licence,
but it is unclear how effective this legislation has been so far.
33. There are undoubtedly some migrants
in Belfast with an irregular or undocumented status, but there
has been little research on this issue. The greatest concern for
such people however, is their vulnerability to exploitation, the
denial of their basic human rights and the potential for them
to fall through any safety net. These areas are the dark underbelly
of the new migration and require further investigation and understanding.
34. The pace of change of recent developments
means that it is increasingly difficult and less useful to try
to generalise about employment practices and issues of concern
given the diverse range of skills, education levels and employment
sectors that draw upon migrant staff and labour. The experiences,
needs and concerns of a highly skilled worker on a permanent within
the IT sector are increasingly different from those of someone
with limited English and registered for casual work with a recruitment
agency. The situation is fluid and varied, patterns are changing
rapidly and will continue to change over the next few years.
REVIEW
35. The evidence of the recent patterns
of migration to Belfast indicates that they are distinctive and
different from other parts of Northern Ireland. The migration
to many parts of Northern Ireland has largely been in response
to the needs of the food processing, agriculture and rural industries
whereas in Belfast it has been a more diverse series of events,
which has involved responding to the needs of construction, health,
the service sector and high tech industries. But it is also driven
by the opportunity offered to the people who are moving: to earn
money, to improve their language skills and develop career opportunities.
36. The term "migrant worker"
increasingly covers a diverse range of nationalities, ethnicities,
skills, employment sectors and personal experiences and as such
it can no longer be considered as a homogenous group. Thus there
must be some caution exercised when generalising about the experiences
and needs of "migrant workers" throughout Northern Ireland.
37. The new migrant population is increasingly
internally diverse as partners, family members and children move
as well; but also as people become established and children are
born here. This means that the focus will in future be less on
the work environment and more on social need and service provision
in relation to education, health and housing.
38. Although migrants are not a new feature
of the social dynamic of Belfast the current pattern of migration
is distinctive: in terms of its speed, the numbers of people and
the countries they are coming from. This poses challenges in relation
to processes of integration, community cohesion, racism and xenophobia.
It also poses challenges in relation to meeting the needs and
providing appropriate services to the different members of the
new communities.
39. There are also concerns within some
communities and some statutory agencies about the impact that
continuing rise in migrants will have on housing demand and prices
in some working class areas.
40. There is an expectation that Belfast
will continue to need and attract significant numbers of migrants
in the future, but there is also a growing acknowledgement that
this is not inevitable and the city will need to develop a strategy
to attract and welcome the migrants it is likely to need to continue
its regeneration.
41. However, it is also important for employers
within the city to acknowledge the needs of the indigenous population
and to ensure that there is an adequate investment in training
and education for young people, instead of simply relying on important
already skilled labour.
42. Although the new diversity has been
widely welcomed as an indicator of the new peaceful Northern Ireland,
there has also been a significant increase in racism and xenophobia
over the past decade, while bigotry and prejudice remain prominent
in many communities.
43. The new migration has largely been generated
by the private sector and there is a need for the statutory sector
and service providers to be more engaged and aware of the range
of implications and issues to ensure that there is not a dark
downside to the new demographic context of Northern Ireland.
8 August 2007
1 Bell, K., Jarman, N. & Lefebvre, T. (2004) Migrant
Workers in Northern Ireland. Belfast, ICR. Jarman, N. (2006) Changing
Patterns and Future Planning: Migration and N. Ireland. Belfast,
ICR. Back
2
Holder, D. (2007) Issues Facing Migrant Workers in Northern Ireland:
A Research Compendium of Animate and Partner Research. Dungannon,
Dungannon Borough Council & STEP. Back
3
Jarman, N. and Byrne, J. (2007) New Migrant Communities and Belfast:
An Overview of the Demographic Context, Social Issues and Trends.
Belfast, Belfast City Council. Back
4
Beatty, R. Fegan, G. and Marshall, D. (2006) Long-Term International
Migration Estimates for Northern Ireland (2004-05): Sources and
Methodology. Belfast, NISRA. Back
5
Bell, K., Jarman, N. and Lefebvre, T. (2004) Migrant Workers
in Northern Ireland. Belfast, ICR. Back
6
Betts, J. and Hamilton, J. (2006) An Investigation into the Nature,
Extent and Effects of Racist Behaviours Experienced by Northern
Ireland's Ethnic Minority Healthcare Staff. Belfast, ICR. Back
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