THE Tory government’s Illegal Migration Bill is a “gift to dodgy employers who are looking to exploit migrant workers in the underground economy,” the TUC warned today.

The widely condemned legislation, which aims to criminalise any asylum-seeker arriving in Britain via “illegal” routes, despite the scarcity of legal ones, will make the “already rampant abuse of migrant workers much, much worse,” the union confederation said.

The intervention came as ministers unveiled plans to house asylum-seekers in disused military bases to provide for their “essential living needs and nothing more,” despite legal challenges from local MPs. 

The proposals, slammed as “unworkable and deeply concerning” by campaigners, could also see the use of ferries and barges to reduce the government’s reliance on taxpayer-funded hotels, Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick told MPs.

The TUC has repeatedly blasted the “demonisation” of refugees by Downing Street, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plays to the Tory base by promising to stop them crossing the English Channel in small boats. 

The new Bill, which is still going through Parliament, will leave “nearly 200,000 asylum-seekers in limbo indefinitely by trapping them in temporary accommodation, while they are not allowed to have their asylum claims heard and the vast majority are unable to officially work,” the union body warned.

It said that the situation would be a “gift” to those who “operate in illicit and criminal activities — an enormous pool of migrant workers they will be able to exploit.”

Many could then “fall prey to rogue employers who offer jobs and then exploit them without fear of repercussion,” the TUC stressed.

It accused the government of “turning its back on modern slavery victims” and also warned of the Bill’s impact on transport workers, who could be put in the “invidious position of being forced to carry out the orders of immigration officers” against their own moral obligations.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Exploitation of migrant workers is already rampant, but this Bill will make a bad situation much, much worse.

“From unpaid wages to debt traps and forced labour, to being sacked without notice, this Bill will give rogue employers the green light to exploit migrant workers without fear of repercussion, creating a race to the bottom for everyone.

“It’s time for the government to drop this nasty Bill and give all asylum-seekers the right to work to clamp down on rogue employers who are looking to profit from exploitation.”

Two RAF bases, Wethersfield in Essex and Scampton in Lincolnshire, and a separate site on private land in Bexhill, East Sussex, are now set to house migrants, despite opposition from within the Cabinet and senior Tory backbenchers.

Gainsborough MP Sir Edward Leigh threatened to seek an injunction against the “thoroughly bad decision” to include his county of Lincolnshire in the plans, following a similar pledge from Essex.

The Refugee Council condemned the ministerial announcement, describing the sites as “entirely unsuitable” for the needs of asylum-seekers.

The charity’s chief executive Enver Solomon said: “We must ensure that people fleeing war, conflict and persecution can access safe, dignified and appropriate accommodation while in the UK asylum system.”

The British Red Cross’s Alex Fraser noted that military sites could “retraumatise people who have fled war and persecution,” while Steve Valdez-Symonds of Amnesty International UK said that the huge asylum claims backlog was “no excuse for failing to treat people properly.”