London needs to act quick to reassure talent it’s still wanted post-Brexit, warns London Chamber of Commerce and Industry
London needs to act quickly to reassure overseas workers they will still be welcome to stay in the city following Brexit, the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) head has said today.
The country's non-UK workforce has been facing questions since the 23 June as to whether they will be allowed to stay once the UK is not longer an EU member.
Speaking at the launch of the LCCI's report on London visas and work permits following the UK's departure from the EU, chief executive Colin Stanbridge said that "if we don't [address] this doubt soon [people will start to think] no one wants us".
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Stanbridge noted that the status of migrant workers was a highly important issue for his organisation's members, "if not top of their agenda, very close to being top of their agenda".
The chief exec of the LCCI urged the audience to think of those affected not just as highly paid executives but also "the people who keep our hospitals clean, who keep our Underground going".
Meanwhile, Sean McKee, director of policy and public affairs, LCCI, noted that changes in immigration policy could also affect the available workforce lined up to build the new runway at Heathrow, given the high proportion of construction workers in London who were not UK nationals.
The LCCI report found that failing to secure a post-Brexit immigration policy that was right for London's workforce could could the City £7bn in lost economic output by 2020.