GOVERNMENT actions and policies on immigration have been slammed by the Restaurants Trade Association and claim that hundred of Indian restaurants in the UK could be forced to close unless they are allowed to recruit more staff from the sub-continent.

Thousands of job vacancies in curry houses in this country remain unfilled because restaurant owners have been unable to find people in the UK willing or able to work as kitchen porters, waiters and so on.

And a Government scheme introduced to help businesses in the hospitality and food processing sectors to bring in workers from abroad on short-term contracts has failed to deliver.

The Sector Based Scheme (SBS) seemed to provide a lifeline for hundreds of Bangladeshi-owned restaurants when it was brought in 20 months ago. But obstacles put in the way of visa applicants in Dhaka have caused it to stall.

Now Enam Ali, chairman of the Guild of Bangladeshi Restaurateurs, has accused the Government of reneging on its initial commitment and creating huge problems for his members.

“The Government doesn’t seem prepared to recognise the seriousness of our situation,” he said. “There are around 9,500 Indian restaurants and take-aways in the UK, employing 72,000 people and turning over around £3.2bn annually. The vast majority of these restaurants are Bangladeshi-owned and run.

“It has been a phenomenal success story, and one that we hope will continue. But we simply can’t find all the labour we need to sustain the growth in this country. The only place we can recruit the large number of workers needed to keep the industry operating at its present level and beyond is Bangladesh.

“So we were delighted when the Government announced the SBS as a special measure to help us fill some of the lower skilled job vacancies.

“Initially the scheme worked efficiently and fairly, and several hundred Bangladeshis, as well as other foreign nationals, were given 12-month visas to come to specific jobs in this country.

“However, most of them will have to return to their own countries over the next three months when their visas expire. And then we will be back where we started because the government is refusing to allow any more Bangladeshi workers into the country, having reduced the quotas by 25% in the summer.

“But even before that, immigration officials in Dhaka had begun refusing the vast majority of visa applications from perfectly legitimate holders of SBS permits…having taken the £153 permit fee. They came up with a whole raft of reasons for the rejections, most of which were plainly farcical. It leads us to believe that the Government has given instructions to restrict the number of visas being issued.”

Mr Ali, who runs the Le Raj restaurant in Epsom and publishes industry magazine Spice Business, said that he knew of one immigration adviser who had been trying since the summer to obtain details of the number of visa applications approved and declined to SBS permit holders in Dhaka.

The High Commission had refused to give him the information, referring him instead to UK Visas in London or Work Permits (UK) in Sheffield. He has now invoked the Freedom of Information Act to try to get some answers.

“The problems encountered by SBS permit holders in Dhaka have not been replicated in other British diplomatic posts abroad. In these circumstances, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that staff in the immigration section in Dhaka are involved in a blatant attempt to frustrate Government policy on this matter. The failure to supply information serves only to heighten these suspicions,” said Mr Ali.

“We are told that the quota for SBS permit applications is full. But this is based on the number of permits issued rather than on visas approved for the holders of those permits. When account is taken of the very large numbers who have been refused visas, it is obvious that the quota cannot be full.

“It is vital that UK Visas provides the information requested so that the true state of the problem can be properly assessed.”

Meanwhile, Mr Ali is pressing for an urgent meeting with Home Secretary Charles Clarke to make him aware of the crisis.

“Unless the Government lifts its restrictions, scores of businesses will be forced to close because they won’t have the manpower to enable them to continue,” he said.

“We feel we are being unfairly treated. Under the SBS, Bangladesh has the same quotas as all other non-EU countries, yet a far higher percentage working in the restaurant business than anyone else. Sixty per cent of Bangladeshis in the UK are in the restaurant trade, against 40 per cent of Chinese and two per cent of Indians.

“We estimate that the labour shortfall in our industry this year is likely to be around 7,000. The only place from which we can recruit those numbers is Bangladesh. If the Government is really interested in helping our industry, it will lift its block on visa applications.

“We would also like to see the rules changed to allow those who do come here to remain for three years rather than 12 months. Our members would be prepared to support such a scheme by providing a financial bond to guarantee migrants’ return within the time period.

“But, while here, the workers would contribute to the economy, pay taxes and so on. Everyone would benefit.”

Restaurateurs throughout the country are being invited to sign a petition to the Home Secretary to be published in the February issue of Spice Business.

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27 January 2005