September 12, 2017

Brexodus burning a hole in the UK

located:	United Kingdom
editor:	Maria João Morais

Due to the high number of Polish workers in the Ocado warehouse in Hatfield, near London, health and safety signs are written both in English and Polish. However, workers from the Czech Republic, Lithuania or Slovakia, amongst other nations, have also contributed to the rapid growth of the British online supermarket, which has become the world’s largest online food retailer.

Companies such as Ocado were boosted by the entry of eight Central and Eastern European countries to the EU back in 2004, hiring thousands of workers from these countries to fill jobs. Now, the sustainability of such businesses, already faced with recruitment difficulties, is in jeopardy.

Last week’s leaked document exposed Theresa May’s plans to end free movement of labour after Brexit, introducing restrictions to dissuade EU workers from entering the UK. The goal is to drive down the number of low-skilled migrants from European countries, putting British workers first.

Recent official figures, however, have shown unemployment rates in the UK falling to only 4.4%, the lowest since 1975, which demonstrates a prosperous labour market. It is also one of the lowest percentages in the EU and shows how jobs being under threat from migrants entering the UK is a fallacy, concealing what can only be attributed to xenophobic rhetoric.

If many European workers leave, a situation that has been described as Brexodus, companies such as Ocado may decide to relocate its operations elsewhere, with dire consequences for the country.

What cannot be relocated is the British National Health System, which is increasingly dependent on EU workers. However, since the Brexit vote, the number of new nurses from European countries registered to work in the UK has reported to slump by 96%. According to the Health Foundation, there is a shortage of 30,000 nurses in England alone. This kind of data once again highlights the misconceptions with which the Brexit campaign was carried out. Nevertheless, the unjustified scapegoating of EU migrants by the Conservative government shows no sign of slowing down.

Photo: Credit: europe-liberte-securite-justice.org