Exclusive:Fears care workers sponsored by SNP Government will face 'indescribable levels of exploitation'
Union bosses have called for care workers sponsored to work by the Scottish Government to boost the publicly-run social care sector
SNP Health Secretary Neil Gray has been urged to ensure carers sponsored by the Scottish Government boost the public care sector amid fears workers could be handed over to “indescribable levels of exploitation”.
John Swinney used his keynote speech at SNP conference last month to announce his Government would sponsor care workers stuck in limbo and unable to work, due to UK government changes to immigration policy.
The Scottish Government will invest around £600,000 to sponsor “hundreds” of care workers who have visas and are in the country legally, but require sponsorship by an employer. The move comes after care organisations have pulled sponsorship, leaving many workers unable to take up employment.
But union chiefs have warned the Government risks leaving crucial migrant workers in the hands of privately-owned care employers, raising fears over exploitation.
Jennifer McCarey, social care regional organiser for Unison Scotland, told The Scotsman that if the Scottish Government “just hand those workers over to the private sector, they are handing them over to indescribable levels of exploitation”.
Ms McCarey has warned Mr Gray against “handing them into the private sector - a private sector which in some cases has been deeply exploitative of these workers”.
She said: “We’ve got examples, in one of our surveys, of people who had been put in five beds in a room and they had to share a room with five people.
“These are people that are sometimes put to sleep in care homes and never given a day off because they are knocked up to work if they are needed. There are incredible levels of exploitation that are going on.
“We have people that have been sacked for all sorts of unfair reasons. We have individuals who have been sacked for bringing a union rep into a meeting with them. They were sacked three weeks later.”
Ms McCarey has called on SNP ministers to clarify whether the Scottish Government will be “paying for those people to arrive in Scotland and go straight into the hands of employers that could be disreputable, could be carrying out exploitative practices” or whether it will be “paying for visas that will be held in the public sector”.
She said: “That’s what we should have more of. You are much more likely to have a very fair experience in the public sector than you are in the private sector.”
Migrant care workers in Scotland have to receive a minimum of £12.82 an hour.
Ms McCarey said: “In the private sector, we have private care employers who are paying migrant workers £12.82 and non migrant workers £12.60 an hour. What does that do for cohesion in society and how does that represent fairness?
“We’re calling for the visas to be disconnected from the employer. The employer should not have the visa. The Home Office should amend the regulations. Before 2021, the visa was held by the individual. We’re asking for the visas to be held by the Home Office or by another set of arrangements.
“We’re also calling on the Scottish Government to seriously look at how to support migrant care workers in Scotland, in a way that’s meaningful.”
A spokeswoman for Scottish Care said the organisation “strongly rejects any suggestion that the independent sector is inherently exploitative”.
She said: “The reality is that thousands of dedicated providers across Scotland deliver high-quality, compassionate care and support every day, underpinned by rigorous regulation and inspection by the Care Inspectorate. These organisations operate within a framework of legal and ethical standards designed to protect workers and those they support.
“We are committed to work with the Scottish Government, unions and partners to ensure Scotland remains a place where migrant social care workers are welcomed, respected and supported.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The revocation of a sponsor's licence by the UK Home Office can be a worrying and distressing time for social care workers.
“In Scotland, we need tailored migration routes that work for our NHS, our economy and our communities. The current immigration system is not meeting Scotland's needs.
“Until we have the full powers over migration that come through a fresh start with independence, we will do all we can to mitigate the UK government’s increasingly restrictive migration policies.”
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