The British Cleaning Council (BCC) has said it is “very worried and concerned” about the “huge” possible impact of UK government proposals to introduce an Australian-style points-based immigration system from 2021.
The BCC, the industry body for the cleaning sector, fears plans to restrict visas for lower-skilled, lower-paid overseas workers will cause serious labour shortages in the cleaning sector, which is worth €59.4 billion and employs 914,000 people.
BCC research released last year showed cleaning sector workers tend to have lower levels of qualifications, with migrants making up 19 per cent of the workforce and average pay at €10 per hour.
The research, which was conducted well before the immigration rule changes were proposed, predicted that 93,000 new cleaning jobs would be created by 2024.
Paul Thrupp, BCC chairman said: “We are very worried and concerned by the huge impact these proposals will have on the cleaning sector, if they are introduced.
“The cleaning sector was expected to thrive over the next few years, creating thousands of jobs.
“Instead, these proposals would strangle our industry by cutting off easy access to the lower skilled, lower paid, overseas workers we rely on…
