UNISON marches on Westminster over ‘broken promise’ to care workers

In her first Westminster event as UNISON general secretary, in March, Andrea Egan stood alongside migrant workers in calling for visa reform

UNISON members will descend on Westminster next Wednesday, 10 June, as the union steps up pressure on ministers over what it describes as a “broken promise” to migrant care workers.

The day of action marks a significant escalation in the union’s Fair Visa Campaign, by taking it directly to Downing Street and the Home Office for the first time.

Care workers and supporters will lobby MPs inside Parliament, march through central London and hold a vigil outside the Home Office in memory of workers who have taken their own lives after experiencing exploitation under the current sponsorship system.

At the same time, UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan will lead a delegation to Number 10 to deliver a letter directly to prime minister Keir Starmer, urging the government to abandon proposed immigration changes that will triple the qualifying period for permanent settlement from five to 15 years.

Ms Egan said ministers were failing workers who had been encouraged to come to the UK to help sustain social care services during a workforce crisis. “The government’s proposals are cruel, unnecessary and they need to be scrapped,” she said.

The sponsorship system ties a worker’s right to remain in the UK to their employer, a model that leaves workers vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

In addition to dropping the 15-year qualifying period, UNISON is urging the government to introduce a sector-wide visa that would allow workers to move between employers more easily, and to speed up the introduction of a Fair Pay Agreement to improve wages.

The Fair Visa Campaign began with migrant care workers speaking out about their own experiences, and has grown into a wider movement backed by UNISON’s wider membership.

The campaign has steadily gathered momentum over the past year. In December, hundreds of migrant workers travelled from across the UK to Westminster to share their experiences directly with MPs and warn of the consequences of extending the route to settlement. The campaign intensified further in April, when MPs were lobbied across the country and campaigners staged a mass leafleting event in the home secretary’s constituency.

Next week’s action begins at 2pm with some UNISON members lobbying their MPs inside Parliament, as others gather outside in Parliament Square.

At 2:30pm, the demonstrators leave the square for two simultaneous actions: the delegation to Downing Street and the vigil outside the Home Office.

The day will conclude with a rally back in Parliament Square at 4.15pm, where Ms Egan will address campaigners.

UNISON is calling for ministers to:

• Drop plans to extend the route to settlement from five to 15 years.
• Introduce a sector-wide visa scheme to reduce the freedom  employers have over exploit workers.
• Deliver a Fair Pay Agreement for social care workers.

Action is urgently needed to address workforce pressures in social care. Adult social care contributed £77.8 billion to England’s economy in 2024/25, but the sector continues to face around 111,000 vacancies.

International recruitment has fallen from 105,000 to 50,000 over the past year, while the number of British workers employed in the sector has fallen by 30,000.

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