EU states open up to Bulgarian, Romanian workers

The New Year has brought with it the lifting of restrictions for Bulgarian and Romanian workers in Greece, Spain and Denmark, but a number of EU states will be keeping barriers to their labour markets for three more years.
Greece on Wednesday (31 December) became the latest “old” EU member to lift restrictions for Bulgarian and [...]

Active citizenship: “socio-political engineering”

In the Borders, Immigration and Citizenship Bill, the Government wants migrants to commit to ‘active citizenship opportunities’, but that amounts to coopting the voluntary sector for a piece of socio-political engineering, says Stephen Cook, in an editorial for 3rd Sector magazine.
There is a fundamental objection: Volunteering should, as far as possible, be its own reward, [...]

Roma in Govanhill: film, 17 Oct, Glagow

Part of the Document 6 Film Festival
Friday 17th October, 7:30pm
CCA, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow
Roma of Govanhill
Janos Kovacs
Janos Joka Daroczi
Hungary | 2008 | 20 mins
Since the industrial revolution, Glasgow, like Liverpool or London, is a city whose identity has largely been forged by successive waves of immigration, from the Gaels of the 19th [...]

Population: size isn’t everything

Debate about the UK’s growing population must move beyond statistics: we must maximise the benefits of migration, writes Jill Rutter of IPPR.
Once again, the release of Office for National Statistics (ONS) and European population projections has caused a flurry of anti-migration commentary in sectors of the media less comfortable with ethnic diversity. These population statistics [...]

Tear down the walls

Phillipe Legrain writes
Europe’s war against immigration is immoral and unwinnable. It’s time for a radical rethink. Europe prides itself on being a continent of human rights, freedom and international solidarity. Yet it is fighting an increasingly dirty war against immigration, with casualties mounting every day. The biggest victims are the poor and the vulnerable, who [...]

media reports July 2008

30 July 08

Sham Government ruled illegal on weddings
The UK government has been found to be acting illegally again, with it’s laws targetting marriages of non-British residents found to be an “unjust and arbritary” breach of human rights.

29 July 08

Marriage visa plan needs a re-think
The Home Office’s announcement that it is to raise the age for [...]

News round-up 28 July

In news reports this week:

The baby boom and in-migration boosting Scotland’s population – but can we rely on the figures?
Ireland is apparently twice as attractive to migrants than Scotland.
UK government raises the age for marriage visas to 21 – out of concern for women, or to appear tough(er) on migrants?
A new report finds that tackling [...]

News round-up, 20 July 08

In news reports this week:

UK Government publishes it’s annual crackdown on migrants with the Draft Immigration and Citizenship Bill
The BBC sensationalises with an undercover investigation of the poverty, misery and exploitation of Punjabi migrants in London.
Comment on barriers to integration faced by migrants working long hours and living in awful housing.
Hsiao-Hung Pai, author of Chinese [...]

Undocumented: a life of poverty, exploitation and danger

An undercover investigation by the BBC looks at the hidden world of undocumented Punjabi migrants in London. The hidden-camera investigation (with sensationalist headlines “Migrant criminal network exposed” and “Life as an illegal immigrant”) reports that these mostly young, Punjabi men are subsisting through poorly paid, dangerous and demeaning work, and are forced to rely on [...]

discrimination and integration

Two interesting articles:
The Kitchen Classes
Minority-run caterers are being unfairly targeted in a severe crackdown on undocumented workers. The crackdown and its discriminatory naming and shaming of ethnic minority businesses will only increase workers’ illegality and exploitation. The honest and real solution is to give them the status and respect that they deserve. By Hsiao-Hung Pai, [...]