DPA: Britain criticized for restrictions on some EU workers

London - The British government Tuesday voted to extend restrictions on workers from EU member states Romania and Bulgaria until "at least the end of 2008," a move described as "disappointing" by trade union leaders and diplomatic representatives. The decision, which had been expected, means that tight controls introduced before the two countries joined the European Union (EU) on January 1 this year, will continue, and citizens from Romania and Bulgaria will be refused the rights given to migrants from six other eastern European accession countries.

Raduta Matache, Romania's acting ambassador to Britain, called the decision "disappointing," saying she had repeatedly told the British government that Romanians accounted for less than 1 per cent of migrant workers currently in Britain. "This measure has a symbolic value more than a practical one," she said. Matache challenged claims by the British government that applications from Romania and Bulgaria were running at 4,000 a month. "This figure is a surprise for me ... it definitely does not correspond to the information the embassy has. There must be a mistake," she said.

Brendan Barber, the secretary general of Britain's Trade Union Congress, said the main effect of the restrictions was to force many Romanians and Bulgarians into "bogus self-employment," meaning they were more likely to be exploited, while driving down wages and conditions. Britain's economy depended on a "ready supply of migrant workers," said Barber, as society was growing older. The decision to extend the restrictions comes amid a lively political debate on the economic benefits of migration from new EU member states, and its impact on social and welfare structures in Britain.

Under existing rules, citizens from Romania and Bulgaria can only come to Britain under special schemes defined by skills and economic needs, whereas members of other east European nations are free to take up any work they can find. It is estimated that some 680,000 workers from eastern European countries have come to Britain since the 2004 EU expansion, mostly from Poland, Slovakia and the Baltic states. "The right balance points to continuing to restrict access to the labour market for those low-skilled migrants coming from Romania and Bulgaria until at least the end of 2008," Home Office Minister Liam Byrne said.

The British government is preparing to introduce an Australian- style points system for migrants next year, aimed at steering skilled labour according to economic needs and curtailing the influx of unskilled migrants. According to the latest figures, foreign nationals now account for between 7 and 8 per cent of the 29.1 million people in work in Britain.