**Update -- within a few days of this petition being launched, the government rowed back significantly on this proposal. Thank you for standing firm!**
‘Firms must list foreign workers’. That’s the shocking headline we woke up to a few days ago. In its drive to deliver a ‘hard Brexit’, Theresa May’s government is doing everything it can to fan the flames of distrust, racism and xenophobia.
The government plans to ‘name and shame’ businesses that employ a global workforce by making them publish lists of their ‘foreign workers’.
This comes on top of the news that it also wants to kick ‘foreign doctors’ out of the NHS and introduce tough visa rules for international students who want to study in the UK. When did employing a global workforce become a badge of shame?
Now, more than ever, we have to show that we are united. That we will not allow politicians to sow divisions between us. SumOfUs stands for the rights of workers. All workers -- no matter who they are or where they are from.
Show that you stand with all workers -- including ‘foreign workers’ -- by signing here.
We all watched, horrified, as Brexit unleashed a tide of racist and xenophobic hate crime on our streets. Reports showed how those crimes were directly linked to the referendum and a UN body recently held our politicians responsible for creating the climate that’s allowed race-hate crimes to flourish.
And Theresa May played a huge part in that in her last job as Home Secretary. Remember the ‘go home’ vans she had driven around the streets targeting people who look ‘foreign’? Theresa May stated in 2012 that she wanted to make Britain a ‘hostile environment’ for humans. And now she has the power to make that happen, buoyed by the belief that’s exactly what those who voted leave want.
But we can stop this disgusting plan. It’s not policy yet -- and it’s already facing backlash from business leaders.
So let's add to the pressure and all pledge to show that we don’t want to be divided from our colleagues and co-workers based on where they are from. That we stand united, together, for fair and equal treatment. For the workers' rights that we’ve fought so hard to win and should protect us all.
Show you stand with ‘foreign workers’ by adding your name here.
SumOfUs members have already stood together against the hate-crimes that raged over the summer. Over 51,000 of us have demanded that The Sun publish an apology for inciting hatred with Kelvin Mackenzie’s article about newsreader Fatima Manji. And over 61,000 of us are demanding that the government provide an effective discrimination helpline, rather than handing the service over to G4S.
Let’s continue to take that stand and show we believe all workers in the UK should be treated equally and fairly.
More information
U.K. Plan to Make Companies List Foreign Workers Faces Backlash,
Bloomberg. 5 October 2016.
Bloomberg. 5 October 2016.
Politicians fuelled rise in hate crimes after Brexit vote, says UN body
The Guardian. 26 August 2016.
The Guardian. 26 August 2016.
Business leaders rubbish Tory plans to crackdown on foreign workers,
The Independent. 5 October 2016.
The Independent. 5 October 2016.
Firms must list foreign workers
The Times. 5 October 2016.
The Times. 5 October 2016.