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Who Needs Migrant Workers

14 Feb 2011

Reducing the UK’s reliance on migrant labour needs more than a cap on immigration

The UK economy will continue its heavy reliance on migrant labour unless there are fundamental changes to a wide range of public policies that go far beyond changes to immigration policy, according to new research by the ESRC-funded Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) at Oxford University.

Who Needs Migrant Workers?, (Oxford University Press 2010), edited by Martin Ruhs and Bridget Anderson, is a major new book on the role of immigration in meeting labour and skills shortages in the UK. It is a key contribution to current debates about immigration including capping skilled labour migration.

‘A masterful volume of the role of immigration policy in addressing current and future labour shortages. Drawing on a stellar group of experts, it addresses the employment of foreign workers in a wide range of industries.’ Susan Martin, Director, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University

The share of foreign-born workers in total employment in the UK almost doubled from 7 percent in the early 1990s to over 13 percent in 2009. In this new research, 20 of the UK’s leading experts in labour markets discuss the determinants of the increasing use of migrant workers in six key sectors: health care; social care; agriculture; construction; the hospitality sector, and the financial sector. They find that labour market regulation, long term restructuring, training, pay and wider welfare and public policies are all crucial determinants of the UK’s demand for migrant labour.

Martin Ruhs, from COMPAS, said: ‘Whatever one thinks about the merits of a cap and reduced labour immigration, it is clear that slowing or reducing Britain’s increasing reliance on migrant workers will require more than changes in labour immigration policy. It requires fundamental changes to the public policies and institutions that help create the demand for migrant workers in the first place. These must go beyond reforms of the benefit system and include, for example, greater labour market regulation in some sectors and more investment in training. It also requires a move away from the reliance of some public services on low cost labour. Whether the UK is ready – or can – make these kinds of changes in exchange for fewer migrants is another question.’

Notes for Editors:

Who needs Migrant Workers? Labour Shortages, Immigration and Public Policy, is published by Oxford University Press. See http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199580590.do

A summary of the main findings in Chapter 1:File 141

Martin Ruhs and Bridget Anderson are Senior Researchers at the ESRC Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS, www.compas.ox.ac.uk ) at the University of Oxford.

The book includes contributions from: Vanna Aldin, Bridget Anderson, Stephen Bach, Jonathan Beaverstock, Alessio Cangiano, Paul Chan, Linda Clarke, Andrew Dainty, Robert F. Elliott, Andrew Geddes, Howard Gospel, Dan James, Andrew Jones, Rosemary Lucas, Steve Mansfield, Philip Martin, Ken Mayhew, Linda McDowell, Jo Moriarty, Ben Rogaly, Martin Ruhs, Sam Scott and Jonathan Wadsworth

Reviews of the book:

‘A masterful volume of the role of immigration policy in addressing current and future labour shortages. Drawing on a stellar group of experts, it addresses the employment of foreign workers in a wide range of industries.’ Susan Martin, Director, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University.

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robert.mcneil@compas.ox.ac.uk

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