Background stuff on the Amey picket

bristol | protests | news report Thursday October 23, 2008 15:52 by Bristol No Borders

CAIC, Campaign Against Immigration Controls, are a new coalition of radical trade union activists, London No Borders and No One is Illegal. They have been organising in London, recognising the changes to the law that have been brought in since February are having a devastating effect on some migrant workers. Briefly, from February this year the onus to check immigration status has moved from the state to the employer. The newly created UKBA, (UK Border Agency) will carry out checks and raids, they aim for 5000 in 2008 alone. If they find that an employee does not have a legal right to work, the employer faces a fine of up to £10 000 per employee and a possible prison sentence.

A recent report by the Minority Rights Network into the effects of this legislation, Papers Please, lists some of the impacts they have found in their research;

• Employees who had produced their papers for checks being repeatedly required to resubmit them.
Employer reluctance to accept some types of UKBA document as evidence of a legal right to work.
• Employers being wrongly advised by the UKBA about the immigration status of particular individuals
• Workers who are unable to provide evidence of immigration status because their papers are with the UKBA pending consideration on an application.
• Migrants falling into difficulties with their status because of the failure of employers to initiate action required of them to secure rights to work.
• Employers using immigration checks as grounds to dismiss ‘troublemakers’, including migrants joining trade unions or taking industrial action.
• Groups of undocumented migrants – such as those who are refused asylum status but cannot leave the UK – unable to work and falling into destitution and homelessness.