Jun 19

The slavery and exploitation of migrant workers

  • 19 June 2025
Liverpool conference centre, NDC 2025 Image: Marcus Rose

Migrant workers play a crucial role in caring for our most vulnerable members of society: the elderly and those with disabilities. Yet despite their essential contribution in keeping these vital services going, national delegate conference heard that migrant workers face exploitation and, at worst, modern slavery.

Because care visas are issued to employers and not to migrant workers, the system places private care companies and employment agencies in a position of incredible power. With little or no checks or regulation, they are free to bully and intimidate migrant workers.

The south west delegate, who brought the motion to improve support for migrant workers, said “The situation is shameful. If workers don’t comply with employers they face deportation.”

When migrant workers lose their jobs, they risk financial hardship, debt and even the loss of residency rights. This creates immense, stress and insecurity not just for migrant workers, but also for their families who are dependent upon their visa status. These conditions leave them trapped and powerless.

Examples of employer malpractice include:

  • private care employers charging migrants up to £20,000 to come and work in the UK and then not giving them work
  • migrants having to work long hours (up to 100 hours a week) or not being given enough hours to live on
  • not paying staff for their work for lengthy periods of time
  • the illegal deduction of wages
  • sub-standard accommodation
  • trade union victimisation
  • inadequate health and safety
  • sexual exploitation, including rape
  • the constant threat of deportation if migrants don’t comply with their employer’s demands.

Since 2020, when the health and care visa was introduced, there has been a surge in cases of modern day slavery.

Speaking in support of the motion, a delegate from Yorkshire and Humberside region, said: “Migrant workers are the backbone of our health and social care system. These individuals work tirelessly to provide dignity, comfort and essential support to the elderly, the vulnerable and those in need of hospital care. Yet despite their compassion and care, many talk of unscrupulous employers who take advantage of the sponsorship rules.

“Let’s be clear. Migrant workers are essential, not disposable. Within our own region, one migrant worker told us, that after finishing her studies in the UK, she landed a full-time job with a care company. After completing an interview and training, she paid £4,500 to the company as an administration fee. She never got a single shift with that employer and was advised by the Home Office that she had 60 days to find another job with a new employer, or she would have to leave the country.”

Linda Hobson, delegate from Northern region, said that in 2024, her region successfully  adopted an organising to win strategy to engage with migrant workers. “We saw migrant workers in our social care sector engage with UNISON in unprecedented numbers. They joined, not just as workers, but as representatives and sat on committees.

“Listening to their powerful testimonies of what they went through…this is not just about security, but equality and fairness. All workers are entitled to the same rights and it stands at the heart of what UNISON represents. These migrants have invested their life savings to come to UK, only to discover the conditions are dehumanising.”

One Scottish delegate said: “Migrant workers make a vital contribution often in the face of racism and great personal expense. They bring experience, deep resilience and a commitment to community without the recognition they deserve.”

The motion on migrant workers which passed unanimously included:

  • working to develop the UNISON’S Migrant Workers Network – which will improve communication with migrant worker members and strengthen organising and recruiting activity.
  • campaigning for the introduction a certificate of common sponsorship for health and care workers. This would break the link between single employer and the workers, empower workers to change jobs without risk of deportation.
  • campaigning to ensure migrant workers can access legal and support services to report abuse and exploitation.
  • continuing to recruit and organise migrant workers to increase their activist base.

The article The slavery and exploitation of migrant workers first appeared on the UNISON National site.