Union's anger at abuse of migrant workers

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea has called on the government to crack down on the exploitation of migrant workers in the care sector after the union found evidence of abuse by “unscrupulous care bosses”.

UNISON’s report Expendable Labour details “shocking treatment of migrant care workers”, such as excessive fees from recruitment agents, deducted wages if they try to leave, and shifts of up to 19 hours without breaks. McAnea said the findings expose “terrible practices that should be consigned to history”.

“Some find they’re either overworked on 80 hours a week, or given too few hours to survive,” she said. Rather than fixing social care and ensuring decent pay and care for those who need it, the government is “complicit in allowing the abuse to continue,” she added.