Cleaning Council Ponders Effect of New Immigration System on Workforce

The U.S. cleaning industry isn’t alone in its concern that immigration issues affect workers in the trade. The British Cleaning Council (BCC) is worried U.K. government proposals to introduce a points-based immigration system will cause labor shortages in the cleaning sector, European Cleaning Journal reports.

Recent BCC research found immigrants make up 19% of the cleaning workforce and projected that 93,000 new cleaning jobs would be created by 2024. However, these projections were made before the immigration rule changes were proposed.

Under the proposed points system, overseas citizens would have to reach 70 points to be able to work in the United Kingdom. Speaking English and receiving an offer of a skilled job with an approved sponsor would give them 50 points. They would receive additional points for their qualifications and their ability to work in a sector with a shortage of workers.

BCC officials say these restrictions would cut off the cleaning sector’s easy access to overseas workers. With a low unemployment rate, there are not enough U.K.-born workers to fill the vacancies left in cleaning jobs.