[IER] Tories blame migrants for problems they helped to create

Fri Oct 7 16:56:51 BST 2016

IER News Brief 07/10/16

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news brief

Friday 07th October 2016

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Judging by news from the Conservative Party Conference this week, it would appear Tory policy is now to pin the blame on migrant workers <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=940cc27703&e=71131c031b>  for economic problems created largely by their own legislation, shedding light on a trend toward anti-immigration rhetoric made all the more worrying by a new report implicating Tory politicians' language in racist attacks <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=f903ff24ff&e=71131c031b> .

Home Secretary Amber Rudd's speech, which included proposals to force employers to publically declare the number of non-British workers among their staff (it appears, to "name and shame" them), was the most widely criticised in the press (including by her own brother <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=81142609db&e=71131c031b> ), but several leading Tories littered their addresses with nods to anti-immigration sentiment, including International Trade Minister Liam Fox (who went against leading research to claim migrants are a drain on the economy), Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt (who plans to sack foreign doctors and force British ones to stay <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=22ba7275af&e=71131c031b> ), and Prime Minister Theresa May.

"If you’re one of those people who lost their job, who stayed in work but on reduced hours, took a pay cut as household bills rocketed, or - and I know a lot of people don’t like to admit this - someone who finds themselves out of work or on lower wages because of low-skilled immigration, life simply doesn’t seem fair," May said in a statement that even the Telegraph has described as a adopting a Donald Trump-like approach to the truth.

A wide range of prestigious organisations, including the London School of Economics, have researched the impact of migration and have demonstrated that non-British workers have no negative impact on public services, wages or jobs <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=36b44d62c2&e=71131c031b> . Economists may not be worried about migrant labour, but many are deeply concerned about the so-called "productivity puzzle". Indeed, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this week released its latest report on the UK's poor economic productivity <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=79dcafa887&e=71131c031b> , including new measures and surveys which have been added to the bureau's priorities in an attempt to understand how the UK's economy can remain so weak even as the employment rate appears to rise.

The UK's economic productivity is stuck at a record low compared with its G7 competitors - and a massive 35 percentage points behind Germany - and has failed to make any headway to close this gap in the last year. This has led to the nation experiencing a much weaker recovery from recession than in previous downturns over the past 50 years, and leaves the economy vulnerable to global headwinds.

The ONS pointed to Britons working fewer hours than their international peers, and the fact an increasing proportion of manhours are spent in low-skilled and low paid roles as drivers of poor productivity.

Government policy, including reducing workers' and trade union rights and erecting new barriers to access to justice, has generated an economy in which work is insecure and low paid. The Institute of Employment Rights argues that as legislation has created today's labour market, legislation can reverse it too.

Our Manifesto for Labour Law <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=0191a943b4&e=71131c031b> , now adopted as Labour policy, includes 25 recommendations to turn the tide and provide both security and fair wages to Britain's workers.

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Many thanks to all of our delegates who attended our October 04 Health and Safety Update conference in Liverpool <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=10c7a5cada&e=71131c031b> . Papers and presentations, as well as a report on the day's debate, can now be downloaded from our website <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=0ae1b1a5bf&e=71131c031b> .

If you missed out on this event, don't forget we will be running a similar conference on October 18 in London <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=0200a727e0&e=71131c031b> , where we're excited to announce that Dave Smith of the Blacklist Support Group will be signing copies of his book Blacklisted <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=b2bbce1670&e=71131c031b> .

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	UK productivity gap stuck at record widest point, driven by lower paid jobs and lack of work hours'
The productivity gap between the UK and the rest of the G7 remains at its widest on record, according to the latest Office for National Statistics report.
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	Tories blame migrants for workers' struggles they helped to create
Leading Tory MPs have taken a strong line against migrant workers at this year's Conservative Party conference, a direction of policy that has not only been criticised for xenophobic undertones and illogicity, but is all the more astounding in light of a new report implicating the language of Tory politicians in racist attacks.
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	Hunt: I'll sack foreign doctors then fine British ones if they try to leave
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced a new policy that could serve to lock junior doctors into a highly contested contract that has led to several widespread strikes among clinical staff.
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	One in ten has been disciplined or dismissed for mental ill health, research shows
One in ten employees who have experienced poor mental health were subject to disciplinary action and even dismissal from the workplace as a result, new research shows.
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	May asks former Labour adviser to conduct worker's rights inquiry
Theresa May has hired Matthew Taylor, previously an adviser to Tony Blair, to conduct an inquiry into workers' rights.
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	Trade Union Act should be reviewed, says human rights report
A report submitted to the United Nations' Universal Periodic Review of the UK by the British Institute of Human Rights (NIHR) has recommended that the Trade Union Act be reviewed.
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