By Evie Breese - 09 May 2024
Since ministers announced late last year that care workers from overseas would, from March this year, no longer be allowed to bring their partners or children with them, there has been an outpouring of anger at the policy.
Critics have condemned the policy as cruel, for separating families and forcing carers to work alone, but fewer have identified the link between isolating migrant workers and the increase in exploitation.
Having supported many people working on the Health and Care Worker visa who have experienced exploitation, we know that the ban will make migrants more vulnerable to exploitation, abuse or trafficking.
We are immensely proud to have worked with Liberal Democrat peer Lord Johnny Oates, to bring these consequences to the attention of the House of Lords in a regret motion, debated on Wednesday 1 May 2024.
Starting his speech, Lord Oates asked his peers: “What sort of country are we if we exploit the contribution that care workers make to the well-being of our communities but implement rules that separate them from their communities and their children, across continents and against their will?”
“Separating parents from their children is terrible in itself, but there are other consequences that the ban on dependants is likely to have,” he continued, before moving onto the topic of exploitation.
“The Work Rights Centre points out that the ban, which includes a ban on partners, is likely to do two things: first, to force carers into acquiescing with exploitative working conditions and, secondly, to make it more likely that carers will be forced into destitution.”
The ban on dependants will increase workers’ dependency on their sponsors by removing the safety net of a partner’s income, and make it harder for workers to report and change sponsors, increasing the risk of labour exploitation.
In addition to the ban on dependants, ministers simultaneously brought in a requirement for all care agencies to be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), before they can sponsor migrant workers. While this measure was designed to combat exploitation, Lord Oates explained that, “regrettably”, the measure is unlikely to work.
This is because some companies that were found to be exploiting their workers - including through over-work or the withholding of work - were already registered with the CQC, demonstrating that registration alone is not sufficient to prevent exploitation.
Alongside Lord Oates, we hope that the Government will rethink its approach to reform of the Health and Care Worker visa. These measures do nothing to address the real problem of systemic exploitation. It is not too late for ministers to take action to heed these warnings and reverse the changes.”
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