TUC Response To Immigration Report

Commenting on the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee report on ‘The Economic Impacts of Immigration’, TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber, said:

“The TUC has always said that on balance immigration has been good for the economy and good for society. Without the contribution of migrant workers important parts of public services and the private economy would collapse.

‘This does not mean that there have been no problems associated with recent patterns of migration, but the solution is to deal with these issues, rather than abuse migrant workers.

‘Where public services are under strain, then there should be more investment, given the extra tax revenue generated from migrant workers.

‘The Committee is absolutely right to endorse the TUC view that unscrupulous employers have used the availability of migrant workers to abuse employment standards such as the minimum wage. The Government should act on the Committee’s recommendation to crack down on these bad bosses and agencies who use migrant workers to undermine decent secure jobs.”