End the Exploitation: Standing with Migrant Workers
End the Exploitation: Standing with Migrant Workers is our region’s flagship campaign for 2025-26
The aims of the campaign
The campaign will have different strands of activity within our political, organising and employer-facing work, with this web page used to highlight the current priority campaign action.
Work through our regional structures and with the rest of the union to lobby for improvements to the sponsorship and immigration system for social care workers
Celebrate the contribution of migrant workers to London’s public services and encourage union participation of migrant workers in our region
Help branches to ensure members can access appropriate help on visa, immigration and exploitation issues
What can your branch do?
Make End the Exploitation a priority
Amplify the voices of migrant worker members in your branch
Migrant Care Workers Charter
Priority action – fix the visa sponsorship system
UNISON wants the sponsorship system in social care improved because it makes workers more vulnerable to abuse.
Our campaign will contain a number of political activities, building towards participation in UNISON’s mass lobby of parliament at the end of the year.
As a first step, we are asking you to email your MP to call for improvements to the current sponsorship system for international workers on care visas.
Take action to fix the broken sponsorship system in social care and encourage your branch members to do the same. The campaign seeks to shift visa sponsorship away from individual employers and into the hands of a public body. This change would give migrant care workers greater freedom to change jobs and escape exploitation. The current system allows unscrupulous bosses to abuse their power. We cannot allow this to continue.
Support for migrant workers
If you are experiencing any employment related issues, including those related to your visa, please contact your branch as your first point of support.
You can find your branch using our branch finder tool.
UNISON Migrant Worker members can access expert advice and support for themselves and their families via UNISON funded partnership with the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) Members can access this service by contacting UNISONdirect who can arrange an appointment.
Call UNISONdirect on 0800 0857 857
UNISON’s dedicated welfare charity There for You provides emotional and financial support to all members.
Members can find options for new sponsoring employers using the UNISON funded database from the Autonomy Institute. It utilises data from the Home Office, Health Watchdog, Care Quality Commission and other sources to enable members to find sponsoring employers in their area – helping members leave exploitative employers whilst protecting their visa status.