Unions warn of “devastating impact” as government removes transport roles from skilled worker list
Hundreds of London Underground workers could be forced to leave the UK after changes to immigration rules stripped key transport roles from the skilled worker visa list, unions have warned.
The RMT and TSSA staged a protest outside the Home Office on Wednesday, joined by Labour MPs John McDonnell and Zarah Sultana. Former Labour MP Diane Abbott also voiced her support online.
Union leaders said around 63 staff are already facing deportation, with the first cases expected to begin in November. In total, as many as 300 employees — most of them customer service assistants working across Tube stations — could be affected.
The Government’s revised immigration rules raise the minimum salary threshold for visa sponsorship to £41,700 a year and remove several frontline transport roles, including station assistants, from the shortage occupation list. Many of the workers at risk had joined Transport for London (TfL) on two-year graduate visas, with the expectation of transitioning into skilled worker status. Some are now employed on permanent contracts.
“This is a knee-jerk decision that risks tearing apart the lives of hard-working staff who keep our transport system running,” said RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey.
Maryam Eslamdoust, general secretary of the TSSA, said: “The government must pause these reckless changes until proper advice is published. We are calling for station staff salaries to be raised to meet the new thresholds and for transport roles to be reinstated as skilled jobs.”
Critics argue the reforms were rushed through to satisfy political pressure from the right, including Reform UK, without sufficient consultation or parliamentary scrutiny.
Defending the changes, a Home Office spokesperson said: “These reforms are about making our immigration system work for the UK. Employers must train and invest in domestic workers. Those who fail to do so will not be able to rely on overseas labour indefinitely.”
Unions are now pressing for urgent talks with ministers and warning that the changes could leave London’s transport network short of vital staff if deportations go ahead.
