Amicus – the largest private sector union in the UK - supports a policy of managed migration. In principle, it is recognised that where it is not possible to find the necessary IT skills in the UK, then it is appropriate to seek to obtain those skills from outside the UK.
At the same time, employers should not treat the scheme as an opportunity to put short-term profits before investment. They should use the time that they employ work permit holders as a period in which they are able to train UK resident personnel.
Work permit scheme
However we have seen a huge increase in the number of work permits granted for IT occupations over recent years. In 2005, 30,000 overseas IT workers came into the UK via the work permits system, compared with 1,800 ten years earlier in 1995. Between 2001 and 2004, some 110,000 work permits were issued in total for IT occupations, representing no less than 20 per cent of the total work permits issued for all occupations, despite the fact that IT occupations represent only 3.5 per cent of the workforce.
Pay rates
From pay data information available to Amicus, 66 per cent of IT work permit holders are paid less than the equivalent of £30,000 per year. Given that the average salary of an IT professional is £32,500 in the UK, on the face of it the majority of IT work permit holders would appear to be paid less than the industry average salary.
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