Memorandum by Ian Fitzgerald, Northumbria
University
This submission is in response to a request
from the Clerk to the Economic Affairs Committee for further information
on migration to the North of England, with particular reference
to skills. It is an individual rather than School or University
response. The following comments are concerned with Polish migration
and are based on nearly three years accrued knowledge of Polish
migrant workers following a series of projects in the North of
England that either I have undertaken myself[26]
or in one case been part of a research team[27].
Although, this work has not sort to specifically investigate the
introduction of skilled Polish workers into the North of England
I consider that it provides a context into which many skilled
Polish workers have been introduced.
1. BACKGROUND
1.1 Before discussing Polish migration to
the North it is worth again highlighting the importance of differentiation
when discussing migrant groups. Not only within groups themselves,
for example around social class, gender and age, but also between
those like the Poles who are entitled to live and work in the
UK with little restriction. In contrast to other migrant groups
who are often recruited via work permits or are sometimes importantly
undocumented within the labour market. It is also important to
record that for a number of reasons, most notably the easily accessible
transport links, the early signs are that the Poles are more transitory
than many other prior groups of migrant workers (Fitzgerald, 2008).
Finally, the point must be made that as with other early migrations
to the UK Polish migration to the North is still developing, as
communities establish themselves and newly arrived workers decide
on what basis to remain and how secure they feel in their new
surroundings.
1.2 Salt and Millar (2006)[28]
describe the entry of the EU accession eight (A8) workers, following
May 2004, as the largest ever in-migration to the UK, with the
Poles the largest ever single ethnic group. This migration took
all by surprise and left many at a local level having to "fire-fight"
the numerous issues that have arisen. Migration has been dramatic
for many small towns and villages in the North, with the accession
monitoring reports stating that the North has a larger number
of registered A8 workers than are registered in London and the
South East. Although, following a request through freedom of information[29]
it is clear that the North East has the lowest number of registered
A8s in England (Fitzgerald, 2007a).
1.3 With an increasing number of Polish
workers in the North issues become not only where people are living,
for local service provision, but also where they are employed.
A growing amount of research; the accession monitoring reports;
and my northern studies highlight that this is often in low paid
sectors such as food processing. It is also clear, though, that
Polish workers are ubiquitous and are evident in other more skilled
sectors and occupations, including even exploring the possibility
of starting new UK businesses (see Banks of the Wear, 2007). Importantly,
for some of those in lower skilled occupations, this may not be
due to choice but more directly due to either a lack of information
on higher skilled work (Fitzgerald, 2008) or more importantly
a lack of language skills. In particular the Committee will also
be aware that though there has been progression with the mapping
of Polish and UK qualifications, this can still remain a barrier
with job-to-job mobility. To begin to unpick this further the
following section discusses the recruitment of Polish migrant
workers in construction and food processing. It is clear, though,
through discussions with key respondents at an international,
national and regional level that these sector findings have some
value when applied to the wider labour market.
2. RECRUITMENT
OF POLISH
WORKERS IN
THE NORTH
2.1 Although, still not fully granted, one
of the four main freedoms of the European Treaty is the right
of mobility for European workers. As part of this the EU in 1993
created EURES to facilitate this movement and allow easier job-to-job
mobility. This should have helped facilitate skill needs at a
regional and local level with assistance given to both employers
and European migrants. However, the reality found in the North
of England was that two of the three EURES advisers present, noted
limited or no engagement with the increasing number of Polish
workers found in food processing. Further, one of these advisers
admitted that his recruitment engagement with the overall numbers
of A8 workers coming into his region had been limited (Fitzgerald,
2007b). At a recent Polish government launch of a report into
the treatment of A8 migrant workers[30],
an EU official spoke of the need to reinforce the role of EURES[31].
In the North it seems that often freedom of movement has been
exactly that, with limited co-ordination by government or other
agencies in this process. So if EURES are not the main facilitators
of mobility how have Polish workers found their jobs and how have
companies managed their recruitment needs?
2.2 Fitzgerald (2007b) sort to explain this
with regard to construction and food processing in the North East
and North West. Whilst the mapping of job-to-job mobility was
not the aim of the project, its findings with regard to recruitment
have relevance to other sectors in which Poles are working. The
project uncovered three main recruitment routes into employment:
on-spec recruitment, direct company recruitment; and direct agency
recruitment. With no identifiable differences between the introduction
of skilled and unskilled labour.
2.3 On spec recruitment relates to Polish
workers who have made the decision to migrate to the UK to work
without a particular job being offered. This type of movement
was identified as being prevalent in the early days of Polish
accession migration. With Poles having a vague idea of where to
go and what job to take, money was normally available for a short
period to cope without a job. This was now reported as becoming
more structured with the use of family and friend networks to
identify both geographic and potential employment locations. Agencies
and direct employers were also beginning to use currently employed
family and friends to identify Polish based recruits when needed.
The study indicates that in many cases if people use this route
now without a definite job offer they are more likely to arrive
in the UK with an idea of where to go and what to do (for example
primed with information from either websites or through family
and friends). Although information from these sources may be limited
or simply incorrect. Further, with wages in Poland still up to
five times lower than in the UK job-to-job mobility may not be
people's first requirement.
2.4 With direct company recruitment the
study found that it was evident that employers are beginning to
use a number of resources to try to source Polish labour directly.
For example, there are numerous web pages and Polish based newspapers
advertising UK jobs. It was reported that companies are moving
away from using Polish and beginning to use English for advertisements.
In Poland it was reported that job fairs were a common means of
staff recruit. This was sometimes based on a particular trade,
for example bus drivers who were recruited on mass with UK union
collaboration due to local shortages (Fitzgerald 2005). In North
West construction and both food processing sectors this was not
noted as an overall main recruitment strategy. Although, in North
East construction it was the main route into employment for many
of the Polish workers encountered. Here the most worrying signs
regarding skilled trades were evident. Sub contractors had directly
recruited skilled workers from Poland and introduced them onto
building sites at wages below the national industry (the Working
Rule Agreement) and minimum wage level (Fitzgerald 2006). The
trade unions were often found to be "policing" the skilled
rate for the job, not only for the direct interests of members
but also to contain the early signs of antagonism to the newly
arrived groups of Polish workers. Ucatt also managed to assist
some skilled Polish workers onto one main contractors core workforce
with agreed rates of pay and conditions secured. This situation
was also identified with regard to engineering construction skill
rates (the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction
Industry), which were again being undermined through the introduction
by sub contractors of cheaper skilled workers from A8 countries
(Fitzgerald, 2008). Here a union, in collaboration with the employer,
has introduced a limited strategy of wage transparency to maintain
the skilled rates.
2.5 The final direct agency recruitment
route was identified as the most prevalent. Here agencies are
either directly employing Poles and then moving them from workplace
to workplace as required (dominant in food processing); or provided
a supply service for UK companies, with recipient companies becoming
the final employer of Poles. A representative of the British Polish
Chamber of Commerce (BPCC) in Poland noted that agencies had now
become their largest single member group in Poland. The President
of the Federation of Poles in Great Britain also highlighted the
significance of agencies for UK recruitment in general and this
view was echoed by a number of Polish regional respondents. Agencies
have committed some of the worst excesses of abuse of Polish workers
and the BPCC representative stated that they were working with
EURES in Poland to identify the worst perpetrators. In construction
in the North West agencies provided the sole route identified
for both skilled and unskilled labour. Whilst in food processing
they again provided the main route in both regions for mainly
low skilled Polish workers.
3. DISCUSSION
3.1 The rapid entry of Polish workers into
the UK following their accession in May 2004 caught everyone by
surprise. Often these workers came either "on spec"
or through fraudulent agencies and were left destitute and/or
exploited with the worst excesses of a free market not uncommon
and in some cases still remaining. From the Polish point of view
this situation has improved with support networks forming, most
notably around the web, the church, and through local UK activist
from the traditional Polish community (Fitzgerald 2008). Local
NGOs (eg Citizens Advice Bureau), trade unions and some local
councils have engaged with the new entrants and provided valuable
assistance. What was absent here was any form of government co-ordination
at a local, regional or national level. In my opinion the migration
is now consolidating with children and families arriving and employers
and businesses (banks and other private service providers) all
coming to terms and adapting to change. When we talk of Polish
workers and skills, in many cases this must be considered within
the wider context of this overall story of recent EU accession
migration.
3.2 Given the above it is clearly evident
that a choice has to be made by UK Government and its agencies
on how far to engage with this continued EU accession migration
and its operation within a free European market. Often when we
discuss skills, we discuss the short-term or crisis management
of skill needs. For example, in construction large subcontractors
are under heavy financial pressures to deliver contracts on time.
They in turn need skills, often on a project by project basis
and due to this a geographically mobile UK and European construction
workforce has emerged. However, in the North the evidence suggests
that in recent years a new phenomenon has been introduced into
this of not only posted workers[32]
on Polish conditions of service but also the open recruitment
of teams of skilled workers paid below industry and minimum wage
levels. This may initially not create issues for Polish or other
A8 workers, and the contracts that they work on may be delivered
on time, but it most certainly creates issues on building sites
and in local communities with indigenous workers who feel threatened.
There are real concerns here that wages and conditions will reduce
if this becomes increasingly the norm. Trade union officials in
food processing and transport have reported that this has started
to occur and even spoke of indigenous workers being replaced by
cheaper A8 workers (see Fitzgerald 2007b). If skilled Polish workers
are to continue working in the UK then co-ordination led by Government
is needed, with properly policed regulations.
3.3 A choice also exists for Government
with regard to those Polish workers currently working in occupations
below their current capabilities, training and qualifications.
One of the most significant contributions that the trade union
movement has made in supporting people to reach their full potential,
assisting the skill needs of the labour market, is through the
provision of union learning representatives (ULRs). Funded by
government, and often supported by employers, ULRs have encouraged
and supported many to begin to develop not only their skills in
the workplace but also to take the first steps into further and
higher education. ULRs have often used this experience to support
Polish workers when they have come into workplaces and communities.
Here in particular Poles have learnt English, often through Esol
classes. However, these classes, frequently free to migrant workers,
are now being withdrawn, and are unlikely to be further supported
as Esol provision often does not equate to enrolments on National
Qualification Framework (NQF) courses[33].
This situation should be addressed as language can be an issue
holding back many Polish workers from making an increasing contribution
to the UK economy. If there is Government supported co-ordination
then many Poles currently working in unskilled UK jobs can progress
and make a fuller contribution to UK skill needs and our overall
economy. Government may believe that the real issue here is the
cost effectiveness of supporting transitory Polish workers. But
if we do not adopt a co-ordinated approach are we to "brush
this migration under the carpet" with another opportunity
missed, it should be remembered that the mobility of European
workers is likely to continue and surely there is no going back.
26 November 2007
26 Fitzgerald, I. (2008) A moving target: The informational
needs of Polish migrant workers in Yorkshire and the Humber, Leeds:
Yorkshire and the Humber TUC; Fitzgerald, I. (2007a) An Analysis
of the North East Worker Registration Scheme Data, briefing paper
for the Talent North East steering group, 3 May 2007; Fitzgerald,
I. (2007b) Working in the UK: Polish migrant worker routes into
employment in the North East and North West construction and food
processing sectors, London: TUC; Fitzgerald, I. (2006) Organising
Migrant Workers in Construction: Experience from the North East
of England, Newcastle upon Tyne: Northern TUC; Fitzgerald, I.
(2005) Migrant Workers in the North East of England, Newcastle
upon Tyne: Northern TUC. Back
27
Banks of the Wear (2007) Enterprise for BME Communities, Refugees
and Migrants, One NorthEast. Back
28
Salt, J. and Millar, J. (2006) "Foreign Labour in the United
Kingdom: Current patterns and trends", Labour Market Trends,
ONS, October 2006. Back
29
The accession monitoring reports confusingly combine the two RDA
regions North East and Yorkshire and the Humber into one "North
East" block. Back
30
Carby-Hall, J. (2007) The Treatment of Polish and Other A8 Economic
Migrants in the European Union Member States, report for the Commissioner
for Civil Rights Protection of the Republic of Poland. Back
31
Vignon, J. (2007) Drawing the lessons from the European year for
workers mobility, presentation to the "Economic Migration
in the European Union-Problems and Challenges" conference,
Warsaw 24 September 2007. Back
32
The Posted Workers Directive has caused much debate but has been
used here to bring over A8 workers, all of whom have been paid
below the industry skilled rates and some below even the minimum
wage (see Fitzgerald 2008) Back
33
LSC (2007) Migrant Workers and the Labour Market: Review of LSC
research on labour market participation, skills and skills provision
for migrant workers, Learning and Skills Council report, January
2007. Back
|
