Memorandum by Belfast City Council
INTRODUCTION
1. The information in this submission is
derived from research on migration to Belfast commissioned earlier
this year by Belfast City Council's Good Relations Unit. Previous
information on migration had been conducted on a Northern Ireland
wide basis and this research sought to highlight facts, figures
and trends relating specifically to the regional capital.
2. The research will be used to assist Belfast
City Council in meeting its statutory responsibilities in challenging
racism, discrimination and inequalities and in developing appropriate
policy and practical responses to the rapidly changing and developing
social character of the city.
A summary of the findings of the research shows
that:
3. There has been a significant increase
in the numbers of migrant workers moving to Northern Ireland over
recent years.
4. This new migration has been generated
by our growing economy and a demand for workers which cannot be
met from the local population.
5. Our understanding of the issue is based
on Northern Ireland wide research or based on the Dungannon/south
Tyrone/County Armagh area; there has been no specific research
on Belfast.
6. There are difficulties in calculating
exact numbers, but the report used NISRA statistics, figures from
the Worker Registration Scheme, work permits issued, new registrations
with GPs, registrations for National Insurance nos. and school
census figures.
7. These figures indicate that the minimum
number of working migrants who arrived in Belfast between
April 2004 and March 2006 is 4,224 people.
8. By including figures for dependants and
those outside the formal recording system, it is possible that
as many as 7,500 migrants came in the same two year period; this
is considered a conservative estimate.
9. Most new migrants to Belfast come from
Poland, followed by Slovaks, Filipinos, Indians and Czechs. There
are considerable variations by employment sector, with health
sector employees predominantly Filipinos, Indians and Malays.
10. The term "migrant worker"
covers a diverse range of nationalities, ethnicities, skills,
and employment sectors and as such can not be considered a homogenous
group. Caution must be exercised when generalising about the experiences
and needs of "migrant workers".
11. There is a roughly 60/40 male/female
split, most are within the 18-34 age range.
12. Around 16% of new migrants are children
under the age of sixteen.
13. The Polish community is the most prominent,
with a number of shops selling Polish products, bars selling Polish
beers, a Polish magazine Glosik, regular meetings of the Polish
community and social events, including a regular church mass in
Polish.
14. A primary motivation for many migrants
is improving their English. The Belfast Institute reported a 7-fold
increase in the numbers of (adult) students taking the "English
as a second language" course between 2002 and 2005, but no
consequent increase in budgets for these programmes.
15. Growing numbers of migrant workers'
children will have an impact on school places. Increasing numbers
of children with English as an additional language in schools
are creating demands in terms of language support.
16. Most migrants in Belfast work in the
construction industry, in the public and private health sector,
in hospitality and in IT.
17. Recruiting staff locally is difficult
in some sectors, resulting in a growing reliance on migrant labour
and a perception that some sectors would struggle without it.
18. Local recruitment agencies reported
a greater willingness from employers to take on migrant workers,
some of whom are over-qualified for their posts.
19. Their level of English language skills
is vital in determining their job prospects.
20. There are some examples of good practice
among employers of migrant workers, for example, the Code of Practice
developed by Business in the Community.
21. The Trade Union movement (ICTU) has
been proactive in supporting the rights of migrant workers, in
research and in developing policy in this area.
22. There have been limited resources to
address the issue of providing services to the new migrant population.
However, there have been various notable ad hoc initiatives, including,
eg
— a comprehensive range of rights based
guides from the Law Centre et alia;
— Hazelwood Integrated College offering
Polish as a GCSE option; and
— the Ulster Bank Group offering fee-free
banking to migrant workers.
23. NI people are not noted for their tolerance
and racist incidents in Belfast have always accounted for a high
proportion of the total NI statistics.
24. Not all incidents are reported to the
police and survey evidence indicates a substantial level of racial
abuse and harassment experienced by many migrants.
25. Attempting to make a projection of the
size of the migrant worker population in Belfast over the next
five years has proved difficult.
Our responses to a number of the specific questions
set by the inquiry are set out below:
What are the numbers and characteristics of recent
immigrants? How do the characteristics of EU migrants differ from
other migrant groups?
26. The research informed us that since
the accession of a number of European Countries to the EU in 2004,
roughly 7,500 new migrants came to Belfast between May 2004 and
March 2006. This new number for just one year is just under 200%
of the total number of migrants that were recorded as living in
Belfast in the 2001 census (4,310) and is therefore a staggering
figure. This also represents a quarter of recorded new migrants
to Northern Ireland as a whole. Since 2006, there have been further
increases. EU migrants are arriving in Belfast to work, with the
trend that many of them plan to return home after a two year period.
However, the latest data from schools shows a massive increase
in children registering with English as an Additional Language.
Twice the numbers in 2006-07 as there were in 2005-06, which would
indicate that EU migrants are settling down, families are joining
the main migrant worker and that people intend to stay for long
periods.
27. Polish migrants make up roughly 40%
of the total migrant population in Belfast and are the only "new"
migrant grouping that have established themselves as a "community"
within Belfast. They have several support networks and have engaged
with the political structures of the city. Within the new wave
of migration, 60% of migrant workers in Belfast are men and 40%
are female.
28. The main characteristic in difference
between EU migrants and other migrants would be found in comparing
EU migrants with the local Chinese community. The Chinese Community
has been long established in Belfast, since the 1920's, with several
second and third generation Chinese now well established in business
and public life.
In what sectors and occupations are migrants employed—how
does this differ from local workers?
29. Most of the male migrant workers are
in the construction industry—one of the fastest growing
industries in Northern Ireland. Others work in the hospitality
and IT sectors. There is a rough 60/40 male/female split.
30. This is in contrast to for instance
BME migrant workers, where 66% are female and 34% are male and
work mostly in the health sector. Nursing staff from the Philippines
account for a large proportion of these numbers and are based
in the main hospitals, located in Belfast.
31. This differs from local patterns of
employment in that the NI economy relies heavily on public sector
employment; 72% of all public sector jobs are in Belfast.
32. There are 70,000 people employed in
the private sector construction industry in NI and 3,500 of these
are migrants; there is little evidence of migrants "taking
local jobs".
What impact had immigration had on the labour
market, including wages, unemployment and working conditions of
the UK Workforce?
33. Both the construction and hospitality
industries appear to be increasingly reliant on migrant labour.
Belfast City Council has worked with the local branch of Business
in the Community and has signed up to their Voluntary Code of
Good Practice in the Employment of Migrant Workers. The Council
has also developed an action plan on migration issues and through
this will develop an engagement process with employers and developers
to ensure that the conditions and terms of employment of migrant
workers are as those of any other employee in a company.
34. We are aware that the Irish Congress
of Trade Unions has undertaken some separate research on the subject
of migrant workers and their families in Northern Ireland.
How does immigration affect the public finances?
Do immigrants contribute more in taxes than they use in public
services?
35. The research in Belfast tells us that
migrant workers are hard working, many with more than one job
and make substantial net contributions to the economy.
How has immigration affected public services such
as health care, education and social housing? How does this differ
across the country?
36. Local services, particularly health
and education, are constantly being challenged to adapt in order
to meet increasing demands. The arrival of migrant workers has
created a positive challenge to Belfast in its attitudes to diversity,
tolerance and to how services are delivered.
37. Education training programmes in understanding
different cultural nuances, diversity training, translation services
and provision of culturally weighted services (such as leisure
centres providing female only swimming times) are all examples
of how the new migration phenomenon has forced service providers
to respond in a way that respects and upholds the rights of different
cultural and ethnic needs.
38. The harmonisation of the recognition
of educational qualifications across Europe remains an issue of
concern. Some very highly skilled people, who have gained their
qualifications outside the UK, find that these are not recognised
when they migrate to Northern Ireland to find work and may have
to re-train before they can find similar work here.
39. Our Belfast research indicated that
many of the new migrants registered with employment agencies had
high standards of education. Several had undergraduate and post-graduate
qualifications but many found it difficult to gain employment
within their particular field. One respondent cited an example
of a migrant worker with a degree in microbiology currently working
as a labourer.
40. Agencies stated that although they accepted
qualifications from different countries, obtaining confirmation
of these could be time consuming and problematic, especially in
terms of getting them translated into English. Employers wanted
someone with the appropriate experience for a specific job and
in many cases migrants found it difficult to provide any evidence
for their previous working experience.
41. Our Council's Good Relations Grant Aid
programme has also facilitated and enabled dialogue and understanding
to take place between the local community and new emerging communities.
42. Belfast has very long-standing social
and sectarian divisions (over 30 interfaces) and areas of significant
social deprivation. Many migrants have tended to live in such
areas as private rented accommodation is available and housing
costs are lower. This has led to localised tension, conflict and
in some cases overt incidents and violence.
43. A report commissioned by the Northern
Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities—The Next Stephen
Lawrence? Racist violence and criminal justice in Northern Ireland,
highlighted a very unfortunate doubling of racist incidents from
400 in 2003-04 to over 800 in 2005-06.
44. The Council will continue to support
efforts to create greater understanding and tolerance within host
communities on the issues of migration, to demonstrate the economic
benefits to the local community and secure the future economic
viability and prosperity of the city.
How can data on immigration be improved? How far
have "inadequate data" affected public policy?
45. Belfast City Council is currently working
with other agencies to develop a shared data collection mechanism
among the statutory providers in the city on migration to Belfast.
The Police Service for NI, the NI Housing Executive, Belfast City
Council, the Deptartment of Enterprise Trade and Investment and
the Community Relations Council are working to co-ordinate our
own current collection mechanisms. It is envisaged that this will
provide statutory service providers with a mechanism that can
give a clearer picture of the trends of migration: highlight where
people are living, where people are working etc. This will enable
service providers to be pro-active in responding to the needs
of migrant communities and local issues. It will also enable us
identify potential issues and hotspots and make better provision
for those who will continue to come and work in Belfast.
Should more be done to help immigrants boost their
productivity?
46. A number of measures could assist immigrants,
which would probably have this effect of boosting their productivity.
Such measures could include:
— Advice, support and information for
migrants on local services, contacts and community infrastructure—in
the language of the migrant.
— Easily accessible English language
classes/training.
— Quick registration with local health
and education bodies.
— Local intercultural experiences to
promote better social interaction and community cohesion.
— Engagement by statutory providers
with local employers and developers and better management of issues,
to predict future migrant worker needs, assess accommodation needs,
facilitate dialogue with indigenous people and ensure providing
bridges to employment for local people.
— Promotion of good practice in the
employment of migrant workers.
— Greater enforcement of the law in
relation to poor practice in employment of migrant workers.
— Support for migrant communities to
develop their own support and communications mechanisms to lobby
for their own needs.
47. The Inquiry should also note that the
Council's Development Department is just beginning a major EU
funded project on migration in which the economic impact on the
city will be examined more closely and where the integration of
migrant workers will form an integral part of Belfast's drive
for economic growth.
26 September 2007
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