Context
One of the four fundamental freedoms of the European Union enshrined in the Treaty of Rome is the free movement of people. So all citizens of the EU, plus Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein, have in principle the right to live, work and retire in any of the member states, provided they can support themselves and their family without the help of public funds.Many thousands of young French citizens work in the UK, particularly in London. 1.5 million Britons work in other countries in the EU, and many have retired to live in Spain, France and Cyprus.
With the 2004 enlargement of the EU, where 10 new member states joined, mainly former communist countries from eastern and central Europe, the number of migrant workers arriving in the UK suddenly increased dramatically. In 2007 two more eastEuropean countries joined. For a transition period, particular conditions apply to citizens of these countries wishing to work in the UK.
Quiz
Class activities
What sort of problems does a migrant worker face coming to the UK?
Small Group Work
List all the problems you can think of.
Collate the responses on a flip chart and put them in order of priority.
Consult the checklist
How to make them welcome
Prepare a Welcome pack with “how to” instructions. Find information from local sources, library, Town Hall, Citizens’ Advice, bank etc.
Include simple English expressions for getting about. Check how you might do this by looking at similar material in your foreign language course
Distribute tasks to pairs across the class.
Interview a migrant worker
Check the grid of questions used in the student / worker interviews.
Set up an interview with a migrant worker
Class round up
How do they (the students) think their life might be affected by their right to study, live, work and retire to any country in the EU ?
What benefits can they see in their local community from the presence of students, families and workers from other EU countries ?