British workers need second language skills, writes Manuel Cortes
A debate is raging about the effects of European Union migration on wages. The ‘conventional’ narrative would have its effect on pay for those on lowest earnings as negative even though academic research suggests otherwise. But hey, we are in a post-truth age, where facts do not matter when it comes to a good fear-inducing, free movement of people panic story. Noticeably absent from this debate are reports of the positive contribution being made to the United Kingdom’s economic wellbeing by migrant workers from across the EU. Let’s face it, many are here to fill chronic gaps in our skill base or labour shortages, and without them many other jobs would be in jeopardy.
The deficit of educational and, perhaps, cultural opportunity means the ability to speak different languages is not a British strong point. The recent European Survey on Language Competences ranked English teenagers studying a second European language at the bottom in Europe for reading, writing and listening tests, with many unable to understand more than basic words or phrases. They lag far behind their European peers. Yet our travel, tourism and hospitality industries need front-line staff with competent foreign language skills. Tourism alone accounts for nine per cent of our gross domestic product, supports over three million jobs and since 2010, is the fastest growing sector of our economy.
Workers from Eurostar to airlines, from hotels to foreign exchange bureaus need language skills and large numbers of EU migrants have the qualifications to take up these jobs. Tellingly, where British people are working alongside them, they tend to have studied languages at university while their European counterparts are less likely to have done so, illustrating the huge gulf between the UK language abilities and those of our European neighbours. With the UK’s undergraduate uptake of modern foreign languages down 27 per cent in the last decade – and still falling – our economy will pay an even heavier price if Brexit shortens the supply of such skills. As things now stand, it is hard to conceive how Britain could produce more language graduates to plug the additional Brexit skill gap, as our school leavers’ skills are simply not good enough. To try would be a misallocation of resources. And if Britain’s response to leaving the EU is increased insularity, then Brexit will just make current matters worse.
For all the chatter in the press, restricting free movement can impact only negatively on our economy. Just imagine the effect on our tourism industry if language skills suddenly dry up. There would be job losses from the ‘back office’ to the supply chain. Everyone would be a loser – with hundreds of thousands finding themselves on the firing line. Unlike some erroneous predictions, stopping the free flow of European workers will not lift wages at the low end of our labour market. The opposite is far more likely: a depressed economy generates fewer jobs, which in turn, subdues earnings.
Those who have rightly argued against austerity because it dampens growth must now also take a stance against restricting free movement, which will invariably lead to a drop in demand. If people fear – without foundation – EU migration leading to lower wages, then the solution is to improve labour standards. Britain should take a leaf from the EU states where the rate for every job, in every sector, is set through negotiations between unions and employers. Rather than indulge in myopic and damaging restrictions on EU migration, now is the time for Britain to aspire to the higher standards afforded by sectoral collective bargaining.
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Manuel Cortes is general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association. He tweets at @Manuel_TSSA
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