Memorandum by UCATT
1. UCATT RESPONSE
UCATT is the largest specialist union representing
construction workers in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. UCATT
represents 125,000 workers in the construction industry both in
the public and private sector. Although many of UCATT's members
are direct employees, others work in a variety of employment relationships
including short-term, temporary and agency arrangements. In addition,
a large number of workers are bogus self-employed working under
the CIS4 scheme. A large number of workers on construction sites
are migrant workers. As regards the A8 nationals, by far the highest
proportion of workers comes from Poland. A considerable number
of workers also come from Lithuania and Slovakia.
UCATT is the lead union among the signatories
to the National Working Rule Agreement of the Construction Industry
Joint Council and the Joint Negotiating Committee for Local Authority
Craft and Associated Employees. UCATT is represented on a number
of construction industry related bodies by the General Secretary
including the Strategic Forum for Construction, Construction Skills
Board and the Construction Skills Certification Scheme.
UCATT agrees that "Immigration had a substantial
economic impact on the UK", as stated in the consultation
document. It is also true that it is difficult to measure the
exact impact, as data on immigration is "hard to come by".
As the UK's only specialist construction workers' union our response
focuses on the industrial sectors which we represent.
2. In what sectors and occupations are immigrants
employed?
There were 1.5 million foreign migrants working
in the UK in 2005, which equals 5.4% of all employees. However,
it is very difficult to give a figure of the percentage of migrant
workers working in the construction sector. This is the case because
a very high number of migrant workers work under the CIS4 scheme,
the vast majority of them being falsely self-employed. A8 nationals
do not need to register for a work permit and National Insurance
number and hence are not included in work statistics. Statistical
data therefore does not give an inclusive picture as it does not
include the vast number of self-employed workers, which is the
form of employment large parts of the construction industry relies
on.
3. Which sectors and occupations in the UK
economy are particularly dependent on migrant labour and why?
Does immigration fill skills gaps?
The construction sector is highly dependent
on a migrant workforce. It is estimated that UK construction output
will be 3% annually between 2006-10 following a period of continued
growth over the last decade. Increases in output are forecast
for all sectors of construction, with the biggest rise expected
in public housing, infrastructure and commercial activity. Prominent
examples of massive building projects that have been started or
will be started in the near future are Heathrow Terminal 5, Thames
Gateway, the government programme for schools and hospitals renewals
and the Olympics.
By the end of 2006, over 2.5 million people
were working in the construction industry. It is estimated that
245,000 additional workers are needed to keep up with industry
growth in the next years. This translates into a need of 87,000
new workers each year all over the UK. It is without question
that in order to be able to meet this demand the construction
sector will continue relying on migrant labour. Clearly, immigration
has helped to and will be needed to help fill the skills gap that
has arisen in the construction industry.
4. Why do employers want to hire immigrants?
Employers hire migrant workers due to a variety
of reasons. Firstly, migrant workers are valued by employers as
hard workers. They are often highly skilled, though regularly
employed for low skilled and hence lesser-paid jobs. Secondly,
due to economic pressures migrant workers often have to accept
more unfavourable work conditions than indigenous workers, including
lower pay. This situation is made more acute as migrant workers
are in an even more vulnerable work condition than British workers,
mainly because they often lack sufficient language abilities and
do not have a social support network.
5. How do migrants' labour market outcomes—including
their employment rates and earnings—compare to those of
local workers?
Evidence collected by UCATT officials on various
construction sites shows that migrant workers are often paid less
than their indigenous colleagues for the same type of work. This
is an illegal practice and a number of Employment Tribunals are
taking place dealing with this issue. On various sites migrant
workers received less pay than agreed under the CIJC Working Rule
Agreement both for regular and overtime pay. There were incidents
of illegal deductions from pay. In several cases breaches against
the National Minimum Wage were found with workers being paid as
little as £3 per hour.
In addition, migrant workers working for employment
agencies are often used on a long-term basis without being made
permanent. They have fewer holidays than permanent workers, often
receive no sick pay and work more hours than permitted under the
Working Rule Agreement.
6. What impact has immigration had on the
labour market, including wages, unemployment and other employment
conditions . . . ?
UCATT so far has not come across hard evidence
that employing migrant workers leads to a decrease of pay of British
workers. Similarly, stories that employing migrant workers drives
indigenous workers out of work is only anecdotal and has not been
proved for the construction sector.
7. What is the economic impact of illegal
immigration, including on employment, wages and the fiscal balance?
Large amounts of tax revenues do not reach the
appropriate authority every year due to employers making use of
workers who have no legal right to work in the UK. Workers who
are employed illegally do so because of a lack of alternatives.
It is therefore vital that tougher legal requirements and penalties
are introduced for employers so that they refrain from employing
illegal workers.
8. What are the alternatives to immigration
to reduce labour shortages?
We believe that immigration has a positive impact
on the UK economy as a whole. In the near future many Central
and Eastern European migrant workers that have come to the UK
in the last years are likely to be going back to their home countries
where the construction sectors are growing at an increasing pace.
We need to make sure that migrant workers continue to fill the
labour shortage in the construction sector, and inducements must
be created for this necessity by policy-makers and employers.
While stating the continued necessity of migrant
workers for the construction sector, UCATT also argues that more
apprenticeship places must be offered to young people in the construction
industry. Last year there were 50,000 applications for construction
apprenticeships but only 9,000 places available. In Scotland there
are seven apprentices for every 100 construction workers. In London
and the South East there is less than one apprentice for every
100 construction workers. We believe that getting to the level
of apprentices that exists in Scotland, throughout the whole of
the UK should be the minimum target for the industry.
9. How can data on immigration be improved?
In terms of data on migrant workers in the construction
sector, we have been arguing consistently that the Health and
Safety Executive must establish the nationality where a worker
is injured or killed on a construction site. Currently the Health
and Safety Executive does not record this, so it is not known
which nationality an injured or killed worker had. Reporting the
nationality is a very easy-to-do and straightforward measure,
but very effective for identifying vulnerable workers in the UK
economy.
22 August 2007
| 
