NHS STAFF
Interest Groups
Migrant Health
Migrant workers are an emerging community within Scotland. The enlargement of the European Union (EU) from 15 to 25 countries in May 2004, has already had a significant impact on the numbers of migrants coming to Scotland.
Most of these new migrants have come from the EU Accession States, in particular Poland.
The accession countries are: Cyprus,Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovak and Republic of Slovenia.
A total of 32,135 registered workers from accession countries have already arrived in Scotland, (in the UK as a whole, there are around 427,095 registered workers from accession countries).
Scotland is set to be the only part of the UK to welcome workers from Romania and Bulgaria when they join the EU next year (2007).
What is a migrant worker?
Migrant workers are defined in different way depending on which data source is being used:
International Passenger Survey migrant is a person who has resided abroad for a year or more, and who states on arrival the intention to stay in the UK for a year or more.
Labour Force Survey identifies migrants in UK households by their nationality or their country of birth.
Survey of migrant workers in UK (Department for Work & Pensions) migrants who have newly arrived in the UK and who have also applied for a National Insurance number
Why are migrant workers coming to Scotland?
The Scottish Executive launched the Fresh Talent Initiative in 2004 with the aim of encouraging migration to Scotland.
The Fresh Talent website is available at: www.scotlandistheplace.com
Areas in Scotland which have migrant workers
Migrant workers can be found in all areas within Scotland. However, there have been increases in the numbers particularly in the North of Scotland (Highlands & Islands, Grampian, Tayside) and the Borders. This is mainly due to the type of work available in these areas. Figures from a recent report show that:
The biggest single contingent (8,540) were found in the hospitality and catering industry, followed by 6,410 in agricultural activities, and 4,905 in administrative, business and management services. A further 4,185 found work in food, fish or meat processing, with 2,040 in construction and land services and 1,485 work in health or medical services.
