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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - UK protecting its citizens from FT abuse</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
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</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>Aug-20 11:51 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 2) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>19581.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD>Migrant workers: Britain urged to raise bar
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>Increasing their minimum pay will also avoid undercutting EU workers: Migration panel</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->LONDON: Britain should demand a higher standard of skilled workers from outside the European Union, according to the first report to the government on a points-based system for controlling immigration.
In the report on the system, launched last November for filling gaps in the labour force, the Migration Advisory Committee recommends that minimum pay levels for skilled migrant workers be raised to avoid undercutting EU workers.
The government-appointed panel says people seeking work visas should earn at least £32,000 (S$76,000) a year - 60per cent more than the current requirement of £20,000.
It also says jobs should be advertised for twice as long - from two weeks to four - before looking abroad for candidates and that arrangements for intra-company transfers should be strengthened, with increased penalties for abusing rules.
The rules would apply to people under 'tier two' of the immigration rules, referring to skilled workers who have a job offer - often those who work in sectors such as health, management, science and finance. Workers gain points if they would fill gaps in the labour market.
'Our advice to the government is that the labour market could be helped by requiring higher standards from skilled workers outside of the EU before we allow them to work,' Migration Advisory Committee chairman David Metcalf, said.
'Selective immigration that favours skilled workers, as the PBS (points-based system) does, is vital to ensure that the UK continues to be a good place to do business or invest. However, it is important that British workers are not displaced.'
The Home Office said the government would carefully consider the 'robust and thorough' report and decide whether to adopt the recommendations in the coming weeks.
The proposals are part of the biggest crackdown on migration since World War II after record numbers started arriving in Britain in 2004, the year eight eastern European nations joined the EU and Britain reversed its open-door policy as public concern grew over the scale of immigration.
The report was commissioned in February by then-interior minister Jacqui Smith to see if immigration controls should be tightened in response to rising unemployment, but the committee concluded the system should not be altered in a knee-jerk reaction to the recession.
The opposition Conservative Party, which is tipped to win the next general election, attacked the Labour government for not capping the number of permits issued, with a total of 333,000 non-EU nationals entering the country in 2007.
'This is why the public has a lack of confidence in the immigration system, which people regard as being out of control,' Conservative immigration spokesman Damian Green said. 'A Conservative government would introduce an annual limit, so that Britain can continue to attract those who will help our economy without putting too much pressure on our essential public services.'
[email protected]
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</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>Increasing their minimum pay will also avoid undercutting EU workers: Migration panel</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->LONDON: Britain should demand a higher standard of skilled workers from outside the European Union, according to the first report to the government on a points-based system for controlling immigration.
In the report on the system, launched last November for filling gaps in the labour force, the Migration Advisory Committee recommends that minimum pay levels for skilled migrant workers be raised to avoid undercutting EU workers.
The government-appointed panel says people seeking work visas should earn at least £32,000 (S$76,000) a year - 60per cent more than the current requirement of £20,000.
It also says jobs should be advertised for twice as long - from two weeks to four - before looking abroad for candidates and that arrangements for intra-company transfers should be strengthened, with increased penalties for abusing rules.
The rules would apply to people under 'tier two' of the immigration rules, referring to skilled workers who have a job offer - often those who work in sectors such as health, management, science and finance. Workers gain points if they would fill gaps in the labour market.
'Our advice to the government is that the labour market could be helped by requiring higher standards from skilled workers outside of the EU before we allow them to work,' Migration Advisory Committee chairman David Metcalf, said.
'Selective immigration that favours skilled workers, as the PBS (points-based system) does, is vital to ensure that the UK continues to be a good place to do business or invest. However, it is important that British workers are not displaced.'
The Home Office said the government would carefully consider the 'robust and thorough' report and decide whether to adopt the recommendations in the coming weeks.
The proposals are part of the biggest crackdown on migration since World War II after record numbers started arriving in Britain in 2004, the year eight eastern European nations joined the EU and Britain reversed its open-door policy as public concern grew over the scale of immigration.
The report was commissioned in February by then-interior minister Jacqui Smith to see if immigration controls should be tightened in response to rising unemployment, but the committee concluded the system should not be altered in a knee-jerk reaction to the recession.
The opposition Conservative Party, which is tipped to win the next general election, attacked the Labour government for not capping the number of permits issued, with a total of 333,000 non-EU nationals entering the country in 2007.
'This is why the public has a lack of confidence in the immigration system, which people regard as being out of control,' Conservative immigration spokesman Damian Green said. 'A Conservative government would introduce an annual limit, so that Britain can continue to attract those who will help our economy without putting too much pressure on our essential public services.'
[email protected]
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