(C) OpenDemocracy
This story was originally published by OpenDemocracy and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



A Labour government must tell the truth about economic migrants [1]

[]

Date: 2023-09

The famous quote from Swiss novelist Max Frisch goes, “We wanted workers, but we got people instead.” At the time, Frisch was talking about the short-term migrant worker visas that were introduced across Europe to plug labour shortages in the 50s and 60s. Today, the Conservatives have built a post-Brexit visa regime that strips humanity from migrant workers much further.

Most temporary migrant workers to the UK today are allowed to come for only limited periods, and they are tied to working in a single industry until they are churned back out. They of course pay high fees for the privilege. This approach has fuelled deteriorating conditions, labour shortages, and severe exploitation.

We urgently need a migration system that provides us with the workers we need without making them vulnerable to abuse in the process. To do that, we must first tackle the lie about ‘economic migrants’.

A demonised workforce

The term economic migrant has long been used as a smear for people seeking to build new lives in the UK. Politicians talk about personal aspiration and the importance of growing the national economy, yet they still characterise migration for economic opportunity as illegitimate. That’s a farce.

Help us uncover the truth about Covid-19 The Covid-19 public inquiry is a historic chance to find out what really happened. Make a donation

As British citizens and residents, we participate in this charade when we accept that refugees legitimately need protection from bombs or political persecution, yet view their need to rent a home, eat food, pay bills or support a family as discretionary. Something for the state to decide, regulate, and turn off and on at will.

The reality of our world, of course, is that we all need to earn money to survive, and political instability very often goes hand-in-hand with harsh economic conditions.

There has never been a neat distinction between a person who has fled war, and one who needs to find work. Just like there has never been a neat distinction between the needs of the individual and the needs of the family. Families often cannot afford to flee as a unit, so they commonly send their best workers ahead in the hopes that they will eventually buy passage for the rest. It’s staged flight, but flight nonetheless, and it’s a sign of limited options – not of the situation being ‘not that bad’.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-trafficking-and-slavery/labour-must-end-the-demonisation-of-economic-migrants/

Published and (C) by OpenDemocracy
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/opendemocracy/