Birmingham: School calls for asylum seekers to have right to work

Pupils bring message to the high street

St Dunstan's Catholic Primary School this week had a Day of Action where they visited local businesses in Kings Heath High Street to ask them to support the Lift the Ban campaign.

Currently, people seeking asylum are banned from working while they wait months and often years for a decision on their asylum claim. It means people like barbers, medical staff, builders and chefs can't work and are forced into poverty.

As part of their social Catholic teaching, the school has been working with The Columbans, Stories of Hope and Home and Asylum Matters to learn about the experiences of people seeking asylum and why lifting the ban on the right to work for people seeking asylum would benefit the economy, businesses as well as the people themselves. Pupils have written letters to their local MP in the past and this week went out with their message to local High Street.

Olivia, a pupil at the school said she enjoyed it because, "we went out to tell people why we think asylum seekers should have the right to work they agreed and said they would take action too."

Celeste, another pupil said, 'When a teacher told us we were going out on the High Street to ask people to join the campaign I felt a bit nervous but afterwards it felt great and amazing to spread the news and see how people actually care.'

Rafferty, another pupil stated, "It felt like doing Jesus's work when we told people about what we were doing and how it helps."

Grace, also pupil at the school when asked what it was like she said, 'it was great because people wanted to sign up.'

Miss Thomas, one of the teachers said: "Today was eye opening, going into shops seeing how open people are to support a cause that is so important. You hear all the bad press on the news, but this shows on the ground people are supportive of asylum seekers."

Mr Tehan Headteacher at the school, said: "At St Dunstan's we teach the children from a very young age that 'no one is too small to make a difference' and that they have the power to make a community better for all. Through our curriculum, based on the principles of Catholic Social teaching, we know that we have a duty to respect and show compassion to all regardless of who they are and where they come from. Kindness and compassion for all who make Birmingham their home, mean that our city is a happier place to be and I'm proud that our children are keen to live their virtues for the common good."

Samira who is a member of the Stories of Hope and Home Group and has lived experience of claiming asylum said, 'Days like today are important because as asylum seekers we don't have a voice and these children are representing us and giving us their voices.'

The campaign aims to overturn the ban so that people have the opportunity to work, support themselves and their local communities.

People seeking asylum in the UK are only able to apply for the right to work after they have been waiting for a decision on their asylum claim for over a year. Even then, the people who are granted such permission are rarely able to work in practice because their employment is restricted to the narrow list of highly skilled professions included on the UK Government's Shortage Occupation List.

This means that people are essentially banned from working whilst they wait months, and often years, for a decision on their asylum claim. Instead, they are left to live on just £6.43 per day or £9.10 in full board accommodation, struggling to support themselves and their families, while their talents are wasted and their integration set back.

Since 2018, a coalition of almost 300 charities, trade unions, businesses, faith groups and think tanks, called Lift the Ban, have all been campaigning to overturn the Government's ban on people seeking asylum being able to work.

LINK

Lift the Ban: www.lifttheban.co.uk