Miliband under fire over plans to help home-grown workers

Saturday 23 June 2012

Ed Miliband was attacked last night over new measures to prevent British people being "locked out" of jobs by foreign workers.

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They include overseas-only employment agencies being banned and an early-warning system set up to highlight areas where locals are "dominated" by an influx of overseas labour under the proposals.

While there cannot be set quotas on home-grown workers, urgent action is required to identify where jobseekers need better training to compete, the Labour leader said in a speech.

Demanding that job centres be told of all firms where more than one in four staff is from overseas would form part of the new system to provide Whitehall and town halls with information.Mr Miliband hopes to shift the focus of the debate from border controls, and what he says are ineffective Government caps on arrivals, towards the impact on people's daily lives.While restrictions on new arrivals, including caps on people from any new EU member state, are necessary, reforming the jobs market is just as important, he argued.Stricter enforcement of minimum wage laws and doubling fines to £10,000 would be part of an effort to stop firms using foreign labour to undercut domestic jobseekers. Mr Miliband distanced himself from the rhetoric of Gordon Brown, saying: "I am not going to promise 'British jobs for British workers'. The problem we need to address is in those areas and sectors where local talent is locked out of opportunity."But Immigration Minister Damian Green said: "Until Ed Miliband supports the Government's measures to cut and control immigration, Labour will have no credibility at all.Under his leadership, Labour have opposed our aim to get annual net migration down to the tens of thousands, and they have opposed the cap on economic migration."If Ed Miliband thinks the national minimum wage is the solution, he needs to explain why, after introducing the minimum wage, net migration increased by 2.2 million under Labour."John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "Ed Miliband is right to say that we cannot close Britain off from the world, and that we need a grown-up debate on immigration."But for too long, UK firms have struggled to find the skilled workers they need locally, and in some sectors are forced to recruit from overseas."Employers are concerned about high levels of unemployment, particularly among the young, and want to help local people into work. However, they often find that domestic candidates lack the skills, experience and work ethic they need."UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said: "I am pleased that Ed Miliband has finally agreed with Ukip by admitting that uncontrolled immigration from the whole of Eastern Europe was the height of irresponsibility."

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Miliband under fire over plans to help home-grown workers

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