Government Policy for Bulgarian and Romanian Workers Leads to Misery and Exploitation

Construction union UCATT have expressed dismay at the Government’s decision not to allow Bulgarian and Romanian workers to seek direct employment in the United Kingdom, until at least the end of 2008.

When Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union on January 1^st 2007 the Government imposed restrictions, which in the majority of cases meant that while people from the two countries could enter Britain freely they were not entitled to work here. However under European Union rules they are entitled to be self-employed.

The rules mean that Romanian and Bulgarian workers are highly vulnerable to exploitation as being self-employed they have no employment rights or protections. This is particularly true in the construction industry where migrant workers from these two countries can sign up to the Inland Revenue’s Construction Industry Scheme (CIS4) and work self–employed.

Alan Ritchie, general secretary of UCATT, said: “The Government’s policy has not stopped migrant workers from coming here to seek work. Instead it has created a situation where they are victimised and exploited by unscrupulous bosses. They fear seeking help or assistance as it could lead to them receiving hefty fines. Bosses often falsely suggest that workers will be deported if they join unions or report abuses.”

UCATT estimates that the vast majority of CIS4 workers are bogusly self-employed as the Inland Revenue’s own employment rules show that they should be directly employed and not self-employed. The widespread flouting of these rules costs the Exchequer an estimated £2.5 billion a year in lost tax revenue. It also makes the workers involved – particularly migrant workers – highly vulnerable to exploitation by bosses.

Investigations by UCATT have revealed that the Inland Revenue is prepared to allow workers to work under the CIS4 scheme without having a National insurance number or Unique Tax Reference.

As many Romanian and Bulgarian workers have been forced into dubious/informal/illegal working this has had a knock on effect in some areas, putting pressure on existing employment patterns and pay rates.