UK economy depends on migrant workers

Sectors of the UK economy would collapse if migrant workers were removed overnight, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said last month.

Barber was speaking as the TUC launched a new study on the impact of migration, The economics of migration. Drawing on a variety of reports and official statistics, it finds little evidence that immigration has had a negative impact on wages, although it acknowledges that: "there is anecdotal evidence of depressed wages in specific sectors such as the construction industry."

However, as the report points out, this is more to do with a small number of employers exploiting poorly informed and poorly organised workers, which allows them to undercut more principled employers or those employing indigenous labour.

It also finds there is little to suggest migrant workers cause job losses. For example the report cites 2006 research by the Department for Work and Pensions which found "no discernible statistical evidence" to suggest that recent migration from eastern Europe has contributed to a rise in unemployment.

Barber said: "Migrant workers are making a substantial contribution to Britain's economy, and some sectors would collapse if they were removed overnight." But he added: "We do not do enough to protect vulnerable workers, whether migrant or indigenous, from exploitation."