New Workers
New Workers Group
The New Workers Partnership which includes representatives from the Council, Scottish Enterprise Tayside, PKAVS, Tayside Fire & Rescue, Tayside Police, the Polish Support Group, NHS Tayside and Skills Development Scotland was established in March 2006.
Recent figures have estimated that we have the 3rd highest number of new workers of any Scottish Local Authority area and they are mainly from Eastern European countries.
The group has 4 main areas of action. These are:
- Information Provision
- Integration and Inclusion
- Knowledge and Skills
- Monitoring
The key actions complete or ongoing at present include:
Accommodation Standards
In response to the local situation and the lack of cohesive guidance on accommodation for seasonal workers, it was decided that a set of standards for such sites should be drawn up. The draft Code of Practice for accommodation standards [PDF: 171Kb] has been devised by a short-life working group comprising officers of The Environment Service (Building Standards, Environmental Health, Planning and Economic Development), Housing and Community Care, Legal Services and Tayside Fire and Rescue. The group looked at various standards that exist for caravan sites, Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO's) and national schemes such as the Harvesting Opportunity Permit Scheme (HOPS). The standards are considered to be reasonable and, based on the survey of sites, should not involve disproportionately excessive costs for compliance.
The proposed Code of Practice for Seasonal Workers accommodation should provide local farmers and other accommodation providers with guidance and information on appropriate standards and facilities required to house on-farm workers. It is suggested that this provides a way forward in response to the growing number of significant on-farm accommodation sites within Perth and Kinross. A copy of these standards can be found in the Downloads.
Welcome Booklet
The initial work of the group focused on the provision of information. The group developed the New Workers Booklet [PDF: 847Kb], which has been well received by partners, the public and the new workers themselves. This hopefully ensures that the workers have the information they need to work, live and study in the area. Since the booklet was first developed in July 2006, due to excess demand we have had to produce a reprint in January 2007. In total we have distributed just under 8000 booklets and continue to receive requests from organisations, individuals and the private sector for copies. The booklet has just been updated by the group and can be seen in the downloads section.
English Classes
In Perth & Kinross, English language learning support for speakers of other languages is free.
We also try to offer learning at a variety of times to accommodate the different needs and availability of learners.
Our support for learners starts with an informal chat and assessment of the learner's language level.
Once an appropriate group or 1-to-1 opportunity is identified, then the learner can get started.
Tutor contact information is:
Perth: Angie Hillyer - 01738 477092
Blairgowrie: Kathleen Walker - 01250 874234
Monitoring
The group think it is important to develop a Tayside wide monitoring system to get a detailed picture of the type of worker coming into the area and if they are settling and bringing dependants with them, the Tayside Fire and Rescue have started this off by monitoring farms.
Myth Busting
Recently a 'Myth Busting' leaflet [PDF: 233Kb] was developed by the New Workers Group to answer frequently asked questions regarding migrant workers. This has received extremely positive feedback from partners and is currently being distributed.
