Unison leader to lead protest urging Burnham ‘to do the right thing’ by migrant workers

Labour Conference 2026 / 27 September 2026 Burnham pledges eventual action on social care 27 September 2026 Britain / 27 September 2026 Heathrow’s third runway delayed until 2039 27 September 2026 Labour Conference 2026 / 27 September 2026 Organised labour key to defeating far right, Stand Up to Racism fringe meeting hears 27 September 2026 Labour Conference 2026 / 27 September 2026 Haigh pledges action on ships and insourcing 27 September 2026 Britain / 27 September 2026 Welsh First Minister addresses Aberystwyth march for independence 27 September 2026 THE leader of Britain’s largest union will call on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to scrap Home Office reforms in a demonstration outside the Labour Party conference today.

Unison general secretary Andrea Egan will urge him “to do the right thing” by dropping reforms that would make it harder for foreign care workers to claim permanent residence in Britain.

Communities Secretary Angela Rayner has stood by her previous criticism of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s plans as being “unBritish.”

Low-paid migrants on jobs below graduate level would have to be in the country for 15 years before applying for settlement, instead of the current five, under the proposals.

Ms Egan will say: “The NHS, social care and other essential services rely on the hard work of migrant staff.

“People who came to this country to help look after our loved ones are forced to work on restricted visas under harsh rules which make them second-class citizens.

“Now the promise of being able to settle in the country after five years is not only being broken but replaced with the threat of 15 years of insecurity and exploitation.

“Moving the goalposts at this stage in the game is wrong and unfair. Migrant workers must not be made scapegoats for decades of political failure to invest in public services.

“The Prime Minister talks about building a national care service, an idea Unison fully supports. However, that will require respect and appreciation for what care workers do and urgent action to retain the workforce.

“Andy Burnham needs to do the right thing: the government must drop these plans, keep the promises made to migrant workers and invest properly in public services.”

Labour Conference 2026 / 27 September 2026 Burnham pledges eventual action on social care 27 September 2026 Editorial: / 29 July 2026 We can’t fix social care without expelling the profiteers 29 July 2026 Labour leadership / 21 July 2026 No honeymoon for Burnham: Unison will hold his feet to the fire 21 July 2026 Unison national officer CLARE WILLIAMS spoke to the Morning Star about the union’s priority campaigns and why they will not let up just because the Prime Minister has changed