Migrant workers face English test

The prime minister is expected to confirm that all skilled workers who are from outside the EU will be required to learn English before they can enter Britain.

The prime minister is expected to announce the new measure at the TUC conference. The government has estimated that 35,000 of the 95,000 skilled migrants who came to the UK last year would not have been able to provide evidence that they were able to speak English.

The British Chambers of Commerce announced that it was worried the new measures could discourage workers from coming to the UK. The director general David Frost said that in past years, the contribution of migrant workers to the UK economy has been valuable and helped boost the growth of the economy as many workers have the skills and work ethic that many young British people do not possess. He said that while the language requirement is important, it would be a concern if it those people who were keen to make a contribution to the UK’s economy took their skills and talents elsewhere.

However, the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said on BBC One’s Sunday AM that one way of helping people to integrate faster is by ensuring both highly skilled and those less skilled are able to speak English well. On the list of permanent residency exemptions will be international footballers who have been signed by Premiership clubs. Currently, only those who are in the highly skilled category are required to prove they have a good grasp of English before they can be allowed to work in the UK. Under the new scheme, the test will also apply to the skilled category and in future may be extended to apply to low skilled workers who are not entitled to apply for permanent residency in the UK. Under the new scheme, skilled workers will we be required to understand English to a standard equal to GCSE grade A to C.

Conservative immigration spokesperson Damian Green said that the conservatives would be inclined to impose an annual limit on immigration that would be much lower than the existing limits. General Secretary of the TUC said that many migrant workers were disadvantaged as a result of not speaking English. They are in need to help to ensure they are aware of their rights and so that they could protect themselves from unprincipled employers.