'We need foreign workers': Businesses and GMB union tell Starmer

Business groups and the GMB union have warned Keir Starmer that Britain needs foreign workers after he pledged to cut immigration.

Starmer stated that the UK has become too reliant on foreign workers to fill skill shortages and said a Labour government would train Britons to fill these gaps.

Businesses and one of Labour’s largest supporting unions have expressed concerns about this plan, reported The Times. Matthew Percival, the skills director of CBI, said, “The CBI has long called for a stronger link between shortages and the training that is available. It’s a key part of a more honest conversation about immigration.”

Neil Carberry, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, warned the plan could jeopardise Starmer’s goal of making the UK the fastest-growing economy in the G7, reported the newspaper.

“We currently have a broader shortage of people — not a few specific shortages,” he said. “Labour would cause problems for its own growth goal by restricting firms from access to workers where the alternative might be work going elsewhere.”

Gary Smith, head of the GMB union, criticised Starmer’s proposal, saying, “We have to have migration in our economy. Clearly, people will expect that to be managed and done properly. What I am concerned about is getting into a divisive agenda around migration and immigration, something that is being exploited by the right to try and put fear into people. The truth is we need migrant workers in our economy.”

Last year, net migration stood at 685,000, up from about 206,000 in 2019. Starmer did not set a specific target for reducing immigration but told The Sun on Sunday, “Read my lips — I will bring immigration numbers down. I will control our borders and make sure British businesses are helped to hire Brits first.”

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Experts said that immigration levels are already beginning to fall, which could make Starmer’s pledge easier to achieve, The Times reported. Rob McNeil, deputy director of the Oxford University Migration Observatory, said, “If a Labour government were to be elected then there would already be a fair wind behind their pledge to reduce net migration without changing current policy.” However, he acknowledged it would be harder to find British workers to fill all the gaps.

Business leaders and unions are calling for credible plans to improve the skills of British workers while recognising the continued need for migrant workers in the economy.