The New Nation - Internet Edition

Bangladeshi chefs now to be recruited for UK curry industry

UNB, Dhaka

Opportunities for Bangladeshi chefs are going to open up to get jobs in Britain's burgeoning curry industry as the British Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) recently published its list of skills shortages caused by the new Point-based Immigration Policy.

The UK's Point-based Immigration Policy sealed off the chance of Bangladeshi chefs and kitchen porters to get jobs in the curry industry. The new policy allowed recruitment of chefs and workers only from European countries.

Around 100,000 Bangladeshi Britons are employed in the curry industry, contributing 4 billion pounds sterling to the British economy.

After months of lobbying the British government, the MAC published a list of shortage of key chefs on September 9.

Talking to UNB in London former British MP and Chief Executive of the Immigration Advisory Service Keith Best said he gave evidence to MAC chairperson Prof David Metcalf on behalf of the curry industry and other ethnic cuisine which is finding it hard to recruit key chefs.

He said inclusion on the skills shortage list is an acceptance of that position and the recognition that there is a shortage of chefs.

Best said the recommendations of the MAC deal only with the chef shortage. From the end of November, when Tier 2 (work permits) of the new Points Based System scheme comes into effect, only those employers who are registered as sponsors will be able to recruit from outside the EEA.

He said only employees who reach the 70 necessary points would be given entry clearance. The effect of placing a job on the skills shortage list is that, although the 10 points for passing the English language test and the 10 points for showing that there is sufficient maintenance (about £800 will be required) remain mandatory, the potential employer (sponsor) will not have to conduct the Resident Labour Market Test (advertising the post for at least two weeks in JobCentre Plus to enable any EEA citizen to apply).

Best said yet the MAC recommendation would apply only to those chefs who are to be paid at a minimum of £8.10 per hour after deductions for accommodation and food if these are provided by the employer. This may well not meet the needs of the industry.

On the need for lower-skilled workers as kitchen porters, he said there would be no Tier 3 scheme (the tier in the Points Based System for bringing in lower-skilled workers from outside the EEA using operators) in the foreseeable future - Tier 3 has been suspended indefinitely. He said the British government still expects all these labour needs for the curry industry to be met from workers within the EEA.

Best said for restaurant owners who need to recruit chefs at lower wages than £8.10 per hour they would have to apply under Tier 2 for each potential employee from outside the EEA. They will have to conduct the Resident Labour Market Test but, most importantly, the potential employee must satisfy the 50 points required which will be made up of a combination of qualifications and the salary being offered (assuming that the job to which they will be going is designated as being a skill at NVQ3 level or above).

Best said this is despite the fact that the sort of chefs whom UK restaurants want to recruit may be expert in their trade but may well not have paper qualifications to prove it.

That means that the points will have to be gained from the salary level that is offered (there are more points the higher the salary). There is the danger, therefore, that this will have the effect of pricing these chefs out of the market.

TAC hears 10 corrupt individuals

UNB, Dhaka

The Truth and Accountability Commission (TAC) heard the pleas of 10 corruption suspects yesterday for considering clemency in return for their ill-gotten wealth.

According to TAC sources, the tree-member Commission, headed by Justice Habibur Rahman Khan, heard the confessions by 10 government employees from Titas Gas, Land Ministry, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and Roads and Highways department.

Since September 1, Tac has heard 120 corrupt individuals, who have pledged more than Tk 16.5 crore in exchange for mercy.

Meanwhile, the Commission is likely to receive applications of 31 corrupt persons from the Anti-Corruption Commission today. These individuals, who have earlier applied to ACC for referring their names to Tac, include a politician, members of police, sub-registrars, employees-officials from Forest Department and Local Government Engineering Department.

With these 31 applications, the total number of cases sent by the ACC will rise to 110. Earlier, the anti-graft watchdog forwarded 79 applications to Tac for considering their clemency claim.

Tac has so far received applications from 252 corrupt individuals. Of them, 218 are government servants, wives of 19 of them, eight businessmen and seven other professionals.

Apart from the names referred by the ACC, 10 have directly applied for clemency, 166 have been referred by the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on serious crime and corruption, and three cases have been referred by the courts.

Kochua Peshajibi Samajik Parishad formed

Staff Reporter

A new organisation styled as Kochua Upazila Peshajibi Samajik Parishad was formed at a meeting cum ifter party at a city restaurant yesterday.

Its members are professionals based in Dhaka hailing from Kochua upazila. Its objectives are to create awareness about the rights of people irrespective of differences of religion, colour or political ideologies and promotion of development of the upazila.

The meeting was addressed by former MP Shahidul Islam, Eng Moniruzzaman Dewan Manik, Adv Nurul Islam, GK Alamgir Mojumder, Ruhul Amin Chowdhury,Eng Quazi Rafiqul Alam, Mohammed Al and Jahangir Alam Prodhan.

Mostafa Kamal Mojumder, Editor of The New Nation presided over the meeting.