In March 2025, Gov made an initial £625 million funding package for up to 60,000 more skilled construction workers by 2029. "Strong Foundations" sets out what is needed to ensure new migration pathways support, rather than undermine, labour standards. labourexploitation.org/publications...

The UK fishing industry relies on migrant fishers but many are recruited through a loophole that leaves them vulnerable to exploitation. A dedicated fishing visa is urgently needed. Read this piece by Oska Paul, our Policy Officer 👇 @freemovement.bsky.social freemovement.org.uk/case-for-a-d...

We are proud to be a signatory on this joint statement, which urges parliamentarians to oppose the Immigration and Asylum Bill and for the government to change course. Read the full joint statement 👇 labourexploitation.org/news/immigra... @atleu.bsky.social @antislavery.org

The Immigration and Asylum Bill, published yesterday, is a stark reminder that the UK's immigration system continues to be shaped by cruelty rather than protection. We will continue to work with allies to challenge this approach and advocate for a change in direction. www.gov.uk/government/n...

Making it harder for migrant workers to settle is not only bad for workers, it's also bad for the UK. It risks increasing dependency,insecurity and labour abuse in high risk sectors for all workers. Yesterday👉🏽 theguardian.com/uk-news/2026... Our briefing 👇 labourexploitation.org/publications...

DATE FOR YOUR DIARY 🗓️ Join us in Glasgow on June 20 for the launch our exhibition ‘Outside In’, featuring the beautiful and inspiring work of migrant photographers, documenting how people from different nations and what they bring to Scotland.

This International Domestic Workers Day, we call on the UK government to reinstate the original domestic worker visa and the corresponding rights. #internationaldomesticworkerday #IDWD #domesticworkers #migrantworkersrights #

New on @labourblog.bsky.social : how “transit loophole” treats migrant fishing workers as if not legally present in the UK, with lack of immigration status creating structural vulnerability and denial of labour rights uklabourlawblog.com/2026/06/16/s... - by Angeli Romero @focusonlabour.bsky.social

Happy International Domestic Workers Day. Solidarity to all domestic workers and support for the ongoing struggle for recognition as workers with access to rights in practice. @kalayaan.org.uk @voiceofdws.bsky.social

(1/2) The theme of this #RefugeeWeek is ‘#courage’. So we wanted to take a moment to highlight the most courageous people we know. Having experienced human trafficking and migration, our changemakers are now fighting for the rights of others who have been through the same.

Today is the first day of Refugee Week. This week and every week, we stand alongside refugee women - championing their strength, amplifying their voices, and keeping their lived experiences at the heart of everything we do. Today and every day: Refugees welcome! 💜🧡

This #RefugeeWeek we stand with people seeking protection in the UK🧡 The theme this year is 'courage' and at Helen Bamber Foundation, we will keep fighting for the rights of refugees, people seeking asylum, survivors of trafficking and torture. #Courage

Insightful and inspiring to hear from the speakers today. A key takeaway...there is still hope. @kalayaan.org.uk @voiceofdws.bsky.social

📢 Job Vacancy at FLEX! 🔹Communications Officer🔹 Apply by 21st June 👇 labourexploitation.org/about-us/opp... Looking for meaningful communications work? Join the FLEX Team to help change the story on workers' rights. #job #jobvacancy #charitycomms #comms

Join us, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner + migrant domestic workers for a webinar on Friday 12 June at 3pm to learn how the Overseas Domestic Worker visa is failing domestic workers 💻Register now: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi... @focusonlabour.bsky.social @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social

A BBC investigation has uncovered shocking allegations of abuse aboard a Scottish fishing vessel. ITF Fisheries Section Coordinator Chris Williams warns, there is a "structural, systemic problem" in the recruitment of migrant workers in the fishing industry. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Only a few days until International Domestic Workers Day. We look forward to celebrating with domestic workers around the world as we continue to work with migrant domestic workers in the UK for a visa which enables access to rights in practice. @voiceofdws.bsky.social @kalayaan.org.uk

Research by @biddetention.bsky.social shows dire state of access to legal advice in immigration detention Only 27% of respondents to the Spring 2026 Legal Advice Survey had a lawyer www.biduk.org/articles/new... Inevitably a lack of legal advice impacts trafficking disclosure

This case underlines the urgent need for proactive monitoring and labour market enforcement action in fishing. This should be combined with the creation of a fishing work visa which would give migrant fishers options to exercise rights in practice. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Job Opportunity: Communications Officer Come join the FLEX team, working with colleagues across the organisation to produce content, manage digital communications channels, strengthen the organisation’s profile, and support media and stakeholder engagement.

🚨 New FLEX Report 🚨 Too often, migrant fishers' lived experiences are not part of the conversation. In "Voices from the Deck: The Workers’ Rights Case for a UK Fishing Visa", we bring their perspectives to the forefront. The stories they tell paint a clear picture:

Great to see the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner @UKAntiSlavery highlighting the crisis happening in fishing in her new report. Migrant workers are forced to operate in a system of dependency that makes them disposable. This must urgently be addressed by policy-makers.

Workers’ rights cannot be contingent on the whims of employers, loopholes or luck. Workers rights must instead be a guarantee, to all workers. This #InternationalWorkersDay, the government must stop making workers disposable. Read our May Day blog: labourexploitation.org/news/interna...

Workers’ rights cannot be contingent on the whims of employers, loopholes or luck. Workers rights must instead be a guarantee, to all workers. This #InternationalWorkersDay, the government must stop making workers disposable. Read our May Day blog: labourexploitation.org/news/interna...

If we were to play a board game where the rules were outright broken, we wouldn’t blame the players; we’d rightfully blame the game itself. So if "irregularity" means failing to meet the visa rules, then we must looks at whether those rules are fair. Read our piece for @freemovement.bsky.social:

Domestic work in a private household is a sector with huge risks of exploitation. Workers cannot keep waiting to have basic safety. The government must stop delaying, and must at minimum reinstate the hard-won rights from the original migrant domestic worker visa.

The BBC’s claims do not reflect reality. Our organisations see victim-survivors facing suspicion, delays and barriers to safety. Misuse is the exception, not the norm. With 92 organisations, we reject this framing and call for evidence-led change ooted in lived experience.

From government and the media, we are constantly told that irregular migrants have chosen to commit some moral failure. In FLEX’s new briefing, we analyse how irregularity is directly connected to the government’s design of migration routes.

This didn't make it into the piece, but a coalition of frontline organisations including @focusonlabour.bsky.social, ELAN, @lawrsuk.bsky.social, @workrights.bsky.social, & @goodjobsfirst.org have made other demands, including safe reporting for migrant workers. trustforlondon.org.uk/research/bui...

Today, the Fair Work Agency launches. It is essential that it has the resources, powers, understanding and implementation to regulate effectively.

As part of this coalition, we've released a new briefing on how to make the Fair Work Agency work for all workers. A key priority is to ensure that migrant workers feel safe enough to report abuse. A robust firewall allows them to do so without fear. Read the briefing here! ⬇️

We are pleased to be part of a coalition calling for 3 priorities to make sure the Fair Work Agency works for all workers: ✅ Proper resourcing ✅ A firewall from Immigration Enforcement so migrant workers can report abuse safely ✅ Transparent enforcement data www.trustforlondon.org.uk/fwa-briefing

Two years ago, Australia introduced a Workplace Justice visa so that workers wouldn't be prevented by their immigration status from bringing an employment claim. With the UK's Fair Work Agency launching in April LEAG has pulled together learnings for the UK labourexploitation.org/publications...

Congratulations from all of us at FLEX to Marissa. Its great to see Marissa's groundbreaking work for justice for migrant domestic workers at @voiceofdws.bsky.social be recognised by @bigissue.com

Great to see opposition to the proposed settlement reforms. In addition to moving the goal posts, proposals would lock people into decades of multiple dependencies on their employer, undermining the ambitions of the Employment Rights Act and Fair Work Agency www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The government's updated its guidance for migrant seasonal farm workers with this helpful advice: If your boss makes you feel unsafe, talk to your boss about it! If that doesn't work, talk to the recruiter your boss pays. Nothing about unions, legal advice, enforcement bodies...

The Home Affairs Select Committee's report on their inquiry into earned settlement was published last week. committees.parliament.uk/publications... This and further scrutiny is vital given the far reaching & cross cutting nature of proposed reforms. The Cmtee recognises this in recommendations 1/

Migrant fishers already face high risks of poor conditions and exploitation. And yet, government reforms mean that by December, migrant fishers will be thrown into even greater risk. Read about how we navigate this oncoming storm: www.ethicaltrade.org/resources/bl...

Survivors of trafficking are regularly subjected to immigration detention and retraumatised. Amid a legal aid crisis that's even worse in detention, they are trapped, with no way of getting desperately needed advice and support.

Last year, FLEX published Uneven Fields, a briefing on women on the Seasonal Worker Scheme. Risks of labour exploitation, from debt bondage to unsafe living conditions, can be heightened by gendered dynamics for women workers on the scheme. #IWD2026

The Right to work is very different to cutting support from people seeking asylum. People seeking safety who are ready to work need support and options. Keeping people temporary while mandating work or destitution will drive exploitation. See the #LiftTheBan statement @asylummatters.bsky.social

Senior Policy Officer, Dr Sophie Cartwright, has written for @bordercrim.bsky.social about access to legal advice in detention. JRS UK's research last year highlighted how difficult it was for people in immigration detention to access any legal support. 📖Read more: www.jrsuk.net/accessing-le...

Some in Government insist that modern slavery claims are being used to get in the way of deportation attempts. This narrative misses that in fact, claims of experiencing modern slavery are met with huge barriers in immigration detention.

Today's announcement that, after today, people seeking asylum in the UK will be kept in long-term limbo creates unreasonable hurdles against integration and recovery for people who have already lost so much.

It’s always brilliant to work with @voiceofdws.bsky.social & these recommendations for the Fair Work Agency are positive & practical & will help make sure the agency is relevant to & trusted by migrant domestic workers

Migrant domestic workers have faced tough conditions and worsening support from successive governments. The Fair Work Agency has the chance to fix that. In a briefing for the FWA made alongside Voice of Domestic Workers, we detail what domestic workers need: labourexploitation.org/publications...

In a guest blog, Kookie Gutierrez reflects on the challenges faced when engaging with Filipino migrant fishers and their experiences on UK vessels. These difficulties might be hard to overcome, but present the very reason why this work is so important.

This is significant news, given that the vast majority - reportedly 70% - of such trawlers are crewed by migrant workers. These workers face poor and dangerous working conditions, alongside low wages and limited-to-no labour market enforcement. www.irishnews.com/news/norther...

With Valentine's Day approaching, we are shining a light on how visa systems strip away the right to family life from migrant workers, effectively commodifying people. Migrant workers deserve the same right to enjoy love and family life as anyone else. labourexploitation.org/news/valenti...

For #RaceEqualityWeek2026, we highlight that workers’ rights are an inherently racialised issue. Structural racism pushes Black, Brown and migrant people into a higher likelihood of low-pay, high-risk work.