The main findings of these pieces of work indicate what is becoming a common feature of much work with migrant workers:

• That they are treated with little respect;
• That their employers often have little concern for their heath and well-being;
• That the legalities that most of us do not even consider (e.g. having wages slips, contacts of employment, and wages paid in full) are often not afforded to many;
• That the treat of violence is never far from the surface.

In the Organising Migrant Workers in Construction: Experience from the North East of England project (full text report available elsewhere on the UIN website) all of the above were found when meeting with Polish workers on building sites around the North East region.  In fact we specifically found the following as the main source of problems for Polish workers:

• Accommodation - a number of workers were living in low standard property owned by employers, with workers living in overcrowded accommodation and some sleeping on the floor;
• Bank accounts - many workers identified that they could not get bank accounts because employers would not provide appropriate information, including rent books and letters confirming employment;
• Basic conditions of employment – many Polish workers were not receiving wage slips, many did not also have contracts of employment and where contacts had been given employers were not following them.  Instead lower terms and conditions were given to people once they began work in the UK.  Wages were also the key issue here with hourly rates commonly below the national minimum wage.  In sum all were working below the UCATT negotiated sector rates;
• Employer hostility - two sub-contractors in particular were openly hostile to migrant workers and the project team, with violence used in both cases.  In one example, employer violence led to a walk out of as yet non-unionised Polish workers, with UCATT able then to assist workers negotiate a satisfactory return to work following improvements in basic conditions of employment.  This employer hostility was in contrast to how other workers on sites had so far treated these newly arrived Polish workers.  Those Poles spoken to indicated that fellow workers had treated them well and shown them ‘respect’;
• Language - the issue of language has been a factor throughout the project and made gaining the trust of Polish workers difficult.  However, leaflets and information about the union were translated and communication was undertaken through interpreters.

The organising and recruitment strategy used with these workers had three key parts:

• UCATT providing a presence - consisted of the union and project team visiting sites where migrant workers were based and beginning to breakdown barriers to engagement with the migrant workers encountered.  In particular, a UCATT development officer played a leading role as a contact point for migrant works.  UCATT also put pressure on the main contactors on sites to bring their sub-contractors into line with regard to negotiated local and national agreements;
• Site meetings - this involved site meetings with teams of Polish workers in their work breaks, here the union case was presented and workers were engaged in discussion about what the main problems were.  The objective with these meetings was to begin to establish trust between the Polish workers and project team;
• Polish Mass meeting - A successful mass meeting of some 65 Polish workers was arranged in a Polish club to allow workers more freedom to express their concerns about the treatment on sites.  We were also able to dispel some of the false rumours surrounding employment law in the UK and what employers were able to demand.

Overall this project was a success as it:

• Directly assisted those Polish workers encountered in the North East construction sector, improving wages and other working conditions;
• It has so far encouraged a number of Polish workers to join the union, with a check-off agreement now signed with one of the main subcontractors employing Polish workers;
• It allowed full-time officials a period of time to engage with migrant workers without the common pressure of needing to fulfil recruitment targets;
• Finally the project has been highlighted by the NTUC (and project team) to other unions and the media in the region to raise the issue of migrant workers.

As part of this last outcome further work was undertaken in the region for the NTUC with the aim of encouraging unions to engage with migrant workers.  This project(ii) identified where migrant workers were employed in the region and detailed some of the organising strategies being adopted by unions to assist these workers.  The most striking feature of the report is the number of nationalities (16) now present working in the North East region, indicating major changes for parts of this once insular region.  Importantly some trade union officials interviewed indicated, as has been noted at a national level (Nick Clark, 2005 A Level Playing Field for Workers), that employers were ready to use this cheap supply of labour to undercut current wages and conditions at even organised places of work.  It was not just the case that bad agencies were ‘ripping off’ workers after employers had paid them the going rate; rather overall wages and conditions were levelling down.  For example in some food processing plants even though newly arrived migrant workers were being paid the minimum wage this was below current wage levels.  The result was that overall wages and other conditions had come down or been phased-out with employers arguing increased competition.  Whilst prejudice was in the ascendancy here as current workers argued that migrant workers were the cause of deteriorating conditions.  The findings of this project are backed up by a project currently being undertaken.(iii)

Others have quite rightly indicated the difficulties that trade unions face when trying to recruit migrant workers and in fact the difficulty sometimes in convincing trade unionist of the importance of doing this.  The main project above also notes this to be the case and the obvious need to gain union recruits was never far from the surface in the latter stages of the project.  However, UCATT were willing to engage with Polish workers assisting with advice and support even though early recruitment was very difficult.  The other two reports mentioned also identified a number of unions developing engagement with migrant workers at a local and regional level.

If we start with food processing there are clear challenges here that unions are facing.  But there has also been progress, not only with some membership gain but also with regard to tackling the exploitative structure that is being introduced by some employers.  The most obvious sign of this is with agencies, some of who recently came under a form of control through the gang masters legislation.  A union representing food processing workers reported that it had recently been able to negotiate a regional agreement with one of these leading agencies.  Even through this was still in its early stages a regional official noted that migrant workers were receiving a recommendation from the agency, in their home country, to join the union when they entered the UK.  The official went on to comment that the company had opened its books, for example the union had a right to inspect any accommodation provided by the agency.  ‘We had heard the stories and this is why we got involved in the accommodation and we are now helping people to integrate into society.  We’ve had an influence from the start and as we’re a recognised trade union it gives us the opportunity to bring people in on the same terms and conditions’.

In the health and social work sector Unison reported that they had made significant membership inroads into Filipino and other migrant worker groups.  With regard to Filipino migrant nurses the union had used a strategy of sponsoring a basketball team, the national Filipino sport, and working with a London based Filipino ex pats group who produced a regular newsletter.  The union were also encouraging their union-learning representatives to work with migrant workers assisting them with basic skills and language training.  At a wider level the union was working with sister unions and the Public Services International to campaign for the ethical recruitment of health care workers.  They were also undertaking an international project on women and migration in the health sector.  The aim will be to produce materials on the key aspects of labour migration for branches to use for campaigning and recruitment.

The final example of success with migrant workers was at a local level with two regionally based bus companies.  A workplace representative at one explained that the company had entered into discussions with the union at a boardroom level before they employed any Polish workers.  This allowed the union to stress that they were not against this move as long as people received the same terms and conditions as indigenous workers.  As the representative commented ‘we have been able to influence this from the start and this was very important as there have been bad practices elsewhere in the industry’.  At the other company a representative commented that Polish migrant workers were ‘happy to join the union and have taught us a thing or two about trade unionism’.  The union were informed all the way about what was happening with company recruitment and ESOL training was provided through the company and NTUC.

These examples of migrant worker recruitment are important not only in providing stories of how organising can be a success but also in providing three examples of differing organising strategies.  The first is an important attempt to deal with the issue of labour only agencies that in many ways now do the dirty work for some employers, supplying part or all the labour force and exploiting as they see fit.  The second is a more traditional attempt to negotiate with employers at the workplace and beyond which can allow good early access to newly arrived workers.  The last Unison case exemplifies the importance of engaging with migrant worker communities to break down barriers and allow a measured approach where trust can be built with the potential for long-term gains.  As the Unison regional official noted a number of those workers recruited had moved on to the South but had ‘taken’ their union membership with them.  The lesson for unions is not to be caught in a straitjacket of tradition but be willing to look for differing approaches, and new ways to open up communication with groups who are often looking for help but sometimes are too frightened to ask or just do not know where to go.

(i) Accession Monitoring Report (May 2006) available here

(ii) Migrant Workers in the North East of England: Supplementary Report (2006) NTUC funded project.

(iii)Routes into employment for Polish workers in the North East and North West of England (2006) TUC funded project.

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