Brexit and EU Migrant Workers in the UK: Polish Women’s Perspective
Eva A Duda-Mikulin
The issue of immigration was a decisive factor in the debates before the Brexit referendum and it is still one of the most divisive topics in the UK (during normal times rather than those preoccupied with a global pandemic). Yet while the British people had an opportunity to have their say on Brexit, migrant workers from the European Union did not.
In a recent book (Duda-Mikulin, 2019), I present the voices of women from Poland, giving them the opportunity to be heard. It is based on 40 qualitative interviews (including eight repeats) with female Polish nationals, who are or were migrants to the UK, conducted before and after the Brexit vote. I spoke to migrants and return migrants—the latter having spent at least six months in the UK before going back to Poland.
Wider policy issues arise for the British and EU countries’ authorities. These include the need for migrant labour in the context of ageing societies, the disparity between the image of an ‘economic migrant’ in public debates and the lived experiences of women migrants—often with traditional gendered responsibilities which ‘migrate’ with them—and the complexity of acquiring British citizenship.
Main messages
As regards the main messages of the research, despite the increasing numbers of migrant women, migrants are still portrayed as somewhat genderless, so that considerations of gender do not feature. Precisely because women have, for long, been viewed as attending to the needs of others—be they senior relatives, young children or those who fall ill (and men more generally)—these gendered expectations make understanding their international moves particularly complex. Moreover, gender ideology prevalent in the country of origin can ‘migrate’ with women, thus putting an additional strain on them as they settle in the new country while still perhaps somewhat constrained by gender roles commonplace at home.
The livelihoods of EU migrants in the UK have been disrupted by the Brexit vote, while any solid guarantees with regards to migrants’ rights have been hard to come by. The UK paid labour market, in certain sectors, is highly reliant on migrants from the EU. Should their rights not be ensured and protected post-Brexit, they are likely to leave the UK and move elsewhere, as my findings indicate.
People’s social rights are at stake here. Migrants’ rights are at stake. My interviewees frequently mentioned the right to paid work together with access to healthcare—arguably two of the most important social rights—as the cornerstones of a safe and desirable life. The UK is also likely to impose further restrictions on access to social-security benefits, which in consequence will influence standards of living and the adequacy of housing and nutrition. One can only assume that in post-Brexit Europe EU migrants will be more prone to choose destinations where their rights as EU citizens are protected, enabling them to secure decent livelihoods.
Indeed, there are signs that the flow of returns has quickened. Various employers and sector representatives have already expressed concern about future restrictions and their ability to recruit labour. This was confirmed in the interim updates from the UK Migration Advisory Committee. It is likely to have a domino effect, as difficulties with staff recruitment may lead to relocation of production overseas, which would translate into overall workforce reduction, increased product costs and depression of wages. Arguably, these processes started soon after the Brexit referendum.
EU migrants to the UK were in a precarious position as the end of the Brexit transition loomed, in addition to the gradual increase in welfare conditionality and erosion of social rights by consecutive Conservative governments. They are likely to be more prone to homelessness and developing mental and other health issues, which would then put pressure on resources already scarce due to public-spending cuts. Those migrants could, of course, be sent back but even voluntary deportations entail high costs. Many of my interviewees were worried about access to healthcare becoming more limited and conditional.
Brexit is likely to result in higher social-welfare costs, regardless of how one looks at it. The UK is so used to migrant labour that it is difficult to imagine how it would manage with an even more restrictive migration regime. A more closely managed points-based migration system is likely to disrupt staff recruitment and upset the trust built between current migrants and their networks, which could (and did) provide a continuous flow of flexible labour.
A new migration management system will bring in an additional layer of bureaucracy for the UK Home Office, which is already under a lot of pressure and with a record which leaves a lot to be desired. The UK paid labour market is likely to suffer, because EU migrants will choose other destinations or employers will have to jump through hoops to recruit from overseas, as is currently the case with non-EU workers. The government’s new system of ‘settled status’ has been heavily criticised for creating the same dangers as ruined the lives of members of the earlier ‘Windrush generation’ of Afro-Caribbean migrants.
The UK and Polish authorities should take note of the complexities around Brexit and migrants social rights and legal standing—the better to understand their precarious situation and the reasons they left home, as well as those that drive them to remain in the host country. Women migrants specifically need attention, given some have accompanying gendered responsibilities influencing their rights and entitlements, including with regard to the new settled status and hence UK citizenship.
A recent news item in the UK around what was described as a Sudanese ‘migrant’ who drowned in the English Channel while trying to cross from Calais demonstrates how the neoliberal logic works. The story was linked to concern about how to prevent such ‘illegal’ crossings and a blame-game between the French and UK authorities. TV coverage implied that the 16-year-old refugee might even have been partly responsible for his own death—the human life lost appeared to be entirely disregarded.
There is a dire need to change the narrative around migration towards perceiving it as an everyday process stimulated by globalisation, which makes it inevitable that people should move between constructed boundaries, only visible on paper, separating nation states. Migration is not the root of the problem—although it is a symptom of others—while globalisation elevates it into an international concern. It is likely that Britain’s exit from the EU will trigger a spike in hate crimes and a return to a climate of hostility such as that seen in the 1990s. Indeed, racist attitudes have been emboldened by Brexit in the UK and in the US by the outgoing president, Donald Trump—both cases demonstrating the need for a counter-narrative.
Specific issues concerning women migrants
There is a need for policy-makers to take into account the specific needs of women, as well as to acknowledge the diversity among them, to overcome the one-dimensional perception of migrants and their influences on host and home countries. Female migrants are not just care-givers but paid workers too. Contrary to some negative perceptions and misinformation about the reasons people move to the UK, access to financial support from the state is not among them. Yet increasingly tight restrictions are being imposed on EU migrants (such as via the Immigration Act 2014) and access to social welfare rendered more conditional. Certain policies should be re-evaluated (and eventually redefined) with the aim of greater gender equality, particularly in the light of Brexit. There is a need for further exploration of whether social policies are well suited to new understandings underlying the contemporary work-life balance in migration.
The theoretical perspective adopted in my book and the empirical findings suggest a number of policy implications which diverge from current practice, around work-life balance as it is experienced differently by female migrants. These women are often entwined in conflicting gendered expectations arising from two locations—the home and the host countries. They are entangled in multifaceted familial and other relationships which are likely to complicate their entitlements to ‘settled status’, for instance. Migration theorists should acknowledge women as migrants in their own right and consider the gendered responsibilities which may migrate with them.
The UK authorities should recognise the vital roles migrants and female migrants in particular play in the British economy. It is crucial to acknowledge migrant women’s roles in ‘topping up’ the fertility rate, mitigating the tendency towards an ageing society. Further restrictions on social-welfare entitlements and benefit sanctions would only accelerate the ageing process.
On the other hand, the Polish authorities should recognise that the outflow of vast numbers of mostly young and well-educated people is linked to their perception of Poland as a less attractive country and to the relatively limited support available from the Polish state. More family-friendly policies are needed in Poland, recognising its decreasing fertility rate.
The European Union?
My research is relevant to a wider European context for several reasons. The potential break-up of the UK is one of them. Other European countries (such as Spain) have also experienced deep divisions, associated with calls for referenda on independence. Moreover, in some member states (such as Italy) anti-EU sentiment has increased and thus their future in the union may be uncertain and perhaps affected by how the UK manages its transition. Other countries (Denmark for instance) have largely been Eurosceptic.
These divisions and increased hostility towards the EU demonstrate that Europe is divided, with many countries looking inwards for protectionist measures and with (neo) nationalism on the rise. It remains to be seen whether the forces of globalisation will prove stronger and show that co-operation and partnership are necessary in these neoliberal and populist times—particularly during a global pandemic.
References
Duda-Mikulin, EA (2019), EU Migrant Workers, Brexit and Precarity: Polish Women’s Perspectives from Inside the UK, Bristol: Policy Press