‘Deplorable’ Bill must be dropped

The TUC last month called on the government to drop its “deplorable” migration Bill, saying it will “give rogue employers the green light to exploit migrant workers without fear of repercussion” and “create a race to the bottom for everyone”.

It says the Illegal Migration Bill will worsen already “rampant” exploitation of migrant workers — who are mostly unable to officially work — by “dodgy employers that operate in illicit and criminal activities”. The Bill also removes almost all protections for victims of modern slavery and trafficking, it added.

And it could put transport workers like pilots, captains, and train and lorry drivers in the “invidious position” of being forced to carry out the orders of immigration officers, including restraining and detaining asylum seekers.

The UNISON public services union condemned proposals which accompany the Bill to X-ray children seeking asylum in the UK in order to confirm their age.

UNISON science, therapy and technical occupational group chair Gemma Jones said the proposal “seeks to make healthcare staff complicit in the government’s cruelty”.

An earlier SoR radiographers’ union statement said the measures show “a lack of compassion to those in need, as well as disregard for radiation safety and a blatant lack of understanding and respect for the work of radiographers and the health service.”

Twenty-six unions signed an open letter urging the government to adopt a new Safe Passage policy as part of the Bill as the solution to the Channel crossings.