Reject “Sponsored Slavery” – Defend Migrant Workers’ Rights

This motion was passed by our branch meeting on 12 February 2026. In many of the workplaces where we organise 25-50% of workers are on Skilled Worker sponsorship visas. These visas tied to a specific employer place workers in an extremely vulnerable position. They can discourage workers from taking part in trade union activities and cause division between such workers and colleagues whose residency isn’t dependent on their employer. We believe a further Employment Rights Act needs to address this situation.

This branch notes:

  1. That the UK visa sponsorship system is being used by some employers, recruiters and agencies to trap migrant workers in exploitative and slavery-like conditions, including charging excessive recruitment fees, withholding work, and threatening visa cancellation to silence complaints and organisation.
  2. The skilled worker visa scheme is designed to fulfil the requirements of the employer and business class. The structure concentrates extreme power in their hands and simply does not recognise the wellbeing or protection of the migrant workers and their families.  
    1. That other UK workers are also affected where employers harass and bully their colleagues, for example by forcing down wages or forcing up working hours.
  3. That when a sponsor’s licence is revoked — often due to employer wrongdoing — workers are given only 60 days to find a new sponsor or lose their right to work, rent and remain in the UK, with no access to public funds. 
    1. The sanction of removing a worker’s licence because of their immigration status leads to an additional power imbalance – not suffered by UK employees. This imbalance needs to be recognised and removed.
  4. That existing employment law, whistleblowing protections and immigration enforcement frameworks do not provide safe or effective reporting routes for sponsored migrant workers facing abuse.
  5. That many sponsored workers arrive in the UK having paid tens of thousands of pounds in illegal or unethical fees, leaving them in serious debt and extreme vulnerability.

This branch believes:

  1. That immigration status must never be used as a tool of exploitation.
  2. That tying workers to single employer enables abuse.
  3. That migrant workers deserve full trade union rights.
  4. That exploitation harms the whole workforce.

This branch resolves:

  1. To support the Justice for Sponsored Workers[1] campaign and stand in solidarity with sponsored migrant workers experiencing exploitation.
  2. To campaign for the removal of restrictive sponsorship rules, including:
    1. The right for sponsored workers to change employers freely
    2. The removal of sector-locking where skills are transferable
    3. An end to employer control over visa security
  3. To demand the introduction of genuinely safe reporting mechanisms that
    1. Protect workers regardless of immigration status
    2. Separate labour rights enforcement from immigration control
    3. Prevent retaliation, destitution or deportation for whistleblowers
  4. To lobby MPs, local authorities and relevant government departments to:
    1. Hold abusive sponsors accountable
    2. Investigate recruitment fee exploitation
    3. Reform the sponsorship system to prioritise worker protection
  5. To educate and organise members around migrant worker justice through meetings, briefings and joint campaigning.

This branch further calls on Unite nationally to:

  1. Adopt ending sponsored slavery as formal union policy.
  2. Campaign for worker-centred visa systems.
  3. Oppose exploitative immigration regimes.
  4. Push for provisions to address these issues to be included in the Employment Rights Bill 2.0.

[1] https://migrantsrights.org.uk/projects/hostile-office/sponsored-slavery-justice-for-sponsored-workers/

The term ‘sponsored-slavery’ has been coined by the Migrant’s Rights Network as part of their briefing on Justice for Sponsored Workers.

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