Responding to the Immigration White Paper published today (Wednesday), UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “The home secretary doesn’t need to consult on his wrong-headed £30,000 salary threshold, he should abandon it.
“Many of the staff who’ve come to the UK from across the world to keep our hospitals and care homes going earn much less, despite doing highly skilled work.
“The NHS and social care simply wouldn’t be able to survive without the enormous contribution made by workers from the EU and beyond.
“Employees giving their all to the UK’s public services have already felt the heat of the government’s hostile environment.
“Ministers should be dismantling the rules that make people feel unwelcome here, not extending them to EU nationals.”
Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in both the public and private sectors.
Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen T: 0207 121 5463 M: 07778 158175 E: l.chinchen@unison.co.uk
Anna Mauremootoo T: 0207 121 5555 M: 07903 870786 E: a.mauremootoo@unison.co.uk