U.K.’s New Immigration Rules Will Restrict Low-Skilled Workers

“The decision to reduce the salary threshold from £30,000 to £25,600 is a welcome move,” he said in a statement. “However, by deliberately focusing on limiting low-skilled migration, the scheme is likely to have a significant negative impact on staffing levels in many industries, including the care system, construction and hospitality, especially in the short-term.”

Others argued that the policy would set back social justice. Mandu Reid, the leader of the Women’s Equality Party, said Britain’s government had ignored warnings that such a system would “disadvantage women because of the global gender pay gap.”

The policy would also worsen the problems of the care sector, she said, with worker shortages possibly limiting the number of available slots, which in turn could force women to quit their jobs to become unpaid carers.

Diane Abbott, who speaks for the opposition Labour Party on home affairs, told the BBC that the announcement sent a “toxic” message that immigration was a bad thing.

Writing on Twitter, she added that it was a “conjurer’s trick” because most net migration to Britain was now from outside the European Union.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/19/world/europe/uk-immigration-low-skilled-workers.html