Boris Johnson urged to cut £30,000 minimum wage threshold for migrants to bring in more teachers and nurses to Britain
THE £30,000 minimum wage for migrants should be cut, experts say.
They claim a £25,600 starting salary would bring more teachers, nurses and public sector workers to Britain.
But the outgoing chief of the Government’s Migration Advisory Committee sparked a row by claiming Boris Johnson’s proposal for a points-based immigration system was just a “soundbite”.
Prof Alan Manning, effectively sacked as the group’s chairman after his tenure was not renewed, said: “The problem is that an Australian-style points-based system means different things to different people.”
The MAC report, meant to guide immigration policy after 2021, said a points system would hit economic growth. It proposes a mixture of points for the most talented and a pay threshold for medium-skilled workers.
But think tank MigrationWatch UK called the ideas “dangerous”.
Boss Alp Mehmet said: “They would see the main route for work having much lower salary and qualification levels.
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“All this with no annual cap. Without this there can be no control.” A senior government source suggested the PM would not fully adopt the proposals.
The insider said that, instead of pay, the focus would be on whether migrants have a job offer and their ability to speak English. And the source said ministers will publish an immigration bill within weeks.
The PM’s spokesman said last night: “The Government has a manifesto commitment to deliver a points-based system.”
REPORT IN SHORT
- REDUCE minimum salary threshold needed by a migrant with a job offer from £30,000 to £25,600.
- RATE for under-26s should be 30 per cent lower, at £18,000.
- WARNS against different salary thresholds across the regions.
- PROPOSES a new route for skilled migrants, or those who have potential to come to the UK even if they do not have a job.
- A POINTS system will see a slight rise in living standards but overall, GDP will fall.
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