ZIMBABWEAN migrant workers in the United Kingdom (UK) are among those heavily exploited in the European nation, a new report shows.
In its new survey titled Caring at a Cost: A Survey of Migrant Care Staff Working in the UK, UK trade union UNISON found that Zimbabwean migrants are among the most exploited in that country.
“In November 2023, UNISON published anecdotal evidence of widespread exploitation and workplace abuse in the report Expendable Labour. This research revealed that many care workers had to pay predatory recruitment agents before they could even travel to the UK,” UNISON said.
“Once they arrived here, these care workers — some of whom have sold everything — had money deducted from their wages, faced dubious demands for fees such as for administration, were threatened with dismissal and deportation, experienced racial abuse and were housed in substandard accommodation.”
Given these findings, UNISON conducted a survey to establish the extent of this mistreatment.
“Most survey respondents came from African countries such as Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Others were from India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Brazil and Indonesia. This is the first major piece of work about migrant care workers conducted by the union,” UNISON said.
The survey was carried out between November 2024 and January 2025, in which 3 306 migrant care staff was surveyed.
The questions asked to migrants included the type of fees paid to employers and recruiters, pay issues such as wage deductions and not getting paid on time, accommodation issues, racism and how the current sponsorship system has affected them.
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According to the UK government’s Long-term International Migration, Provisional: Year Ending June 2024 report released last November, 36 000 Zimbabwean nationals immigrated to the European nation during the period.
Work-related immigration was far more common, with 35 000 Zimbabwean migrants seeking jobs, while 1 000 immigrated for studies.
The 35 000 migrants represent a near 67% increase from the 21 000 Zimbabwean migrants who sought jobs in the year ended June 2023.
