“It’s about dignity”: The Sheffield organisations campaigning to give asylum seekers the right to work
Organisations in Sheffield are campaigning to give people seeking asylum the right to work.
Currently in the UK, people seeking asylum have to wait one year before they can apply for their right to work, and only for jobs that are on the Government’s “restrictive” Shortage Occupation List.
In that time, they are given an allowance of £49.18 a week or £9.95 if meals are provided by their accommodation, which Sheffield City of Sanctuary says is not enough to cover the costs of essentials, like getting to GP appointments or going to learn English.
Now, the Lift the Ban campaign is calling for the Government to give asylum seekers the right to work after six months.
The campaign began nationally in 2010 and now has more than 300 organisations and groups involved from local authorities, businesses and trade unions, including Sheffield City of Sanctuary.
Melinda Momartinez, System Change and Advocacy Coordinator at City of Sanctuary Sheffield, said: “People are in a limbo for so many years.
“Many people that come to this country, they really want to work, they have the skills. We know neurosurgeons, doctors, nurses, civil engineers, teachers - professional people with skills and knowledge.”
Though the Government aims to grant permission to asylum seekers to work after 12 months, Melinda told The Star that people can be stuck in the system for 20 or 25 years without this right.
She said: “I remember a woman who was waiting for 22 years before getting her leave to remain. Her dream was to be a carer, she loved looking after people. After all this time, she got sick and she was not going to be able to work.”
When people who have been in the asylum system for a long time without working, Melinda said they struggle to find jobs, even when they get leave to remain.
She knows people whose long waits have led to human trafficking and modern slavery, where they have worked 15-16 hour shifts for £20.
She said: “It's also about vocation. My vocation is in law. If they take that from me, they take who I am. And for that reason, we need to fight for them.”
The Lift the Ban coalition began in Sheffield in 2023, with their first event in May and official launch in December, with a woman seeking asylum cutting the ribbon.
Melinda said: “People going through the asylum system are at the heart of the campaign, because no one knows better than them what they've been through.”
The Sheffield branch now has monthly meetings to discuss the strategy for the campaign, which bring faith leaders, politicians and representatives together with people with lived experience.
The February event saw 70 attendees planning upcoming events, speaking with trade unions, and Councillor Nabeela Mowlana also pledged her support.
Melinda said the campaign “doesn’t stop at the ban on work, it's a fight for migrant justice”.
She added: “It’s really painful to see people with so many skills being in limbo with all the trauma that they have been through.
“When they come to this country, they feel that they are safe and they can start rebuilding their life. But this is a new journey that can take many years.”
She said: “This campaign is not really about money, it’s about dignity.”