Are workers in Scotland and the UK as a whole being forced to take less secure jobs because of the competition provided by mass migration? 

Professor David Blanchflower, a member of the interest-rate setting Monetary Policy Committee has posed the question in light of an influx of foreign workers which has damaged job security by increasing the number of temporary and short-term posts. He said the trend was leading to stagnation in long-term growth, with employers using migrants to avoid permanent contract costs such as pension contributions etc.

We can all see the evidence in the above scenario when go shopping or eating or phone for a plumber or joiner.  Shops, pubs, restaurants and other parts of the service sector are now almost entirely staffed by migrant workers.  It has not been lost on employers in all sectors of just how cheap migrant workers are and that their work is of a high standard.

But Professor David Blanchflower says that ‘there have been strong increases in temporary workers who can't find permanent jobs and part-timers who can't find full-time jobs. The number of self-employed has also grown at a rate that is clearly unsustainable'.

Employment figures reported show that the number of temporary workers in the UK has risen by 12 per cent in the past year, from 355,000 to 400,000.The number of permanent jobs created over the same period is a little over 1,000.

The professor's concerns came to light as unemployment continues to rise, with official figures showing that the number of unemployed people increased by 6,000 between July and September to 1.67million.  A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: ‘UK employment has reached record levels of 29.2 million. Of these, over 92 per cent of employees are in permanent jobs'.

The damage done to the Scottish and UK economy as Scottish and UK citizens leave taking their skills to Australia and other countries of the Commonwealth is immeasurable.  These deficits are being filled by such initiatives in Scotland as the The Fresh Talent initiative was launched in Scotland in February 2004.

Would it not be better and cheaper for Scotland to try and keep their own home grown talent by giving them secure jobs and training incentives in preference to such novelty initiatives?