OXFORD, England – On Friday, Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane said that it is unlikely that Britain’s new immigration system post-Brexit will lead to a notable pay growth increase for workers in the country.
Under Boris Johnson’s government’s new plans, those coming from EU countries will no longer get the automatic right to work in the UK. There have been concerns regarding staff shortages voiced by many employers.
Haldane, when questioned about the impact of the new law on wage, said that he would like to see how it plays out. He states that firstly, too much emphasis has been placed on how much of a dampening effect immigration has on real pay.
Haldane says that in a few sectors, the pay might be affected by immigration but on the whole, the impact is “pretty modest”.
Haldane also suggested that “flexible” work rise might contribute to the country’s deep-seated productivity issue.
Flexible work includes zero-hour jobs too, is the type where workers cannot choose their hours and their pay fluctuates accordingly. These kinds of jobs benefitted women and older workers but now people are worried about work insecurity, after the introduction of this law.
Britain, of late, has showed the lowest jobless rate in half a century.
Trade Union Congress figures showed 4 million people or so were in insecure work. In lower earners, the link between poor work quality and weak productivity was extremely evident.
Haldane stated that alternative working rise and insecure arrangements could contribute to productivity flat-lining.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.