Trades Union Congress: Written Evidence RTS4512
Labour evidence on shortages, visa-cost hardship, sponsor dependency, exploitation risk and integration.
Summary
The Trades Union Congress written evidence RTS4512 gives a labour-rights view of settlement reform. 5 million workers in 47 unions.
Its evidence says the Skilled Worker route has failed to meet its intended objectives and that the proposed settlement reforms risk worsening instability by delaying integration, exacerbating labour shortages, facilitating exploitation and weakening migrant workers' ability to improve conditions across the labour market. The submission argues that longer routes keep workers dependent on sponsoring employers for longer.
It links sponsor dependency to lower job mobility, poorer bargaining power, lower ability to challenge poor treatment and reduced trade union engagement. It also records sector concerns from prisons, health and social care, transport, the civil service and education, and cites Royal College of Nursing survey evidence that 60% of nurses without ILR said the proposed changes were very likely to influence whether they remained in the UK. The TUC also addresses household cost and irregularity risk. It states that a single Skilled Worker currently pays around GBP9,900 in fees before settlement, rising to around GBP16,900 under a ten-year route because the Immigration Health Surcharge is paid for longer. It warns that higher costs could push some people out of status and into exploitation. It frames retrospective application as unfair to people who made plans under existing rules, including workers who rejected opportunities elsewhere to commit to the UK.
Why this matters for the archive
This is the archive's strongest trade-union source because it connects Earned Settlement to labour-market power, workforce retention, underpayment, union engagement and the wider effect of sponsorship on working conditions.
Key Observations
- The TUC represents more than 5.5 million workers across 47 unions.
- It cites RCN survey evidence that 60% of nurses without ILR said the proposals were very likely to influence whether they stayed.
- It estimates single-worker fees rising from about GBP9,900 to about GBP16,900 under a ten-year route.
- It frames retrospective change as unfair to workers who planned around the five-year route.