MPs debate to review Certificate of Sponsorship system after widespread exploitation of care workers

LONDON Feb 12: MPs had gathered in Westminster Hall to debate Unison’s proposal for a Certificate of Common Sponsorship to allow migrant healthcare workers to switch employers within the sector without putting their visa status at risk.

The debate focused on the potential merits of the government backing a “Certificate of Common Sponsorship”, which would change the UK’s work migration system to give workers more flexibility to leave exploitative work situations. Most importantly, it would redress the power imbalance between workers and employers inherent in sponsorship.

Click to Read Debate on Reviewing Certificate of Sponsorship

It is reported that immigration minister Seema Malhotra has also admitted that the UK visa sponsorship system itself is problematic, making it difficult for sponsored workers to change their employer.

Click to Read Minister Seema Malhotra’s Reply

Green party MP Carla Denyer added that only 5% of workers who had tried to switch sponsors were successful in the 60-day time frame. Unless they can secure a new sponsor, migrant workers are “effectively under the control of the employers. That can be disastrous, as it has been found that many employers wield that power to make unfair demands on their workers,” she said.

What is a Certificate of Common Sponsorship?

Backed by trade union Unison, a Certificate of Common Sponsorship is a proposed reform of the work sponsorship system that would allow migrant healthcare workers to switch employers within the sector without putting their visa status at risk. The reform would make this possible by breaking the tie of sponsorship between a worker and an individual employer. Instead, workers would be sponsored under the umbrella of the health and social care sectors more widely, allowing them to freely change employment.

Read Article from Unison: Migrant care staff having to share beds, sleep rough and charged thousands in illegal fees