Big business ‘ignoring millions of Brits looking for full-time work because they have EU migrants on tap’
A think tank report has found what Brits already know, that bosses 'have been getting away with it far too long'
BIG business was slammed for ignoring up to four million “underemployed” Brits – because they have an unlimited number of EU workers on tap.
Migration Watch said firms were not doing enough to hire British workers or tailor recruitment to local needs because they know they can fly in people from member states across the Continent.
It claimed record job figures were masking a huge problem of Brits working part-time but wanting full-time roles, or those on shifts desperate for longer hours or overtime.
There are nearly 1.5 million unemployed Brits looking for work and available for work, but a further 2 million who want more hours.
Another 214,000 want a second job to earn more cash while 274,000 want a new job with more hours.
Migration Watch chair Lord Green said: “For far too long employers have been getting away with claiming that they cannot find British workers.
“The truth is that they are simply not adjusting their working practices to meet the genuine needs of British workers because they have an unlimited number of EU workers on tap.”
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The Crossbench peer pointed to the example of food firm Greencore – who opened a sandwich factory in Northampton four years ago and filled it with 300 staff from Hungary.
The blast came 24 hours after job figures for March showed a record number of Brits are in work – more than 28 million. At the same time, the UK has seen the first annual fall in the number of EU nationals in a job for 8 years.
Two years ago, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson accused business chiefs of being addicted to foreign labour. In a barnstorming speech at Tory conference, he said companies had been “mainlining immigration like a drug” for 25 years.
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