PAKISTANI students in the United Kingdom are being exploited at workplaces mostly by Pakistani businesses, who pay them well below the minimum wage, as low as three pounds an hour, taking advantage of their desperate need for work.
These underpayments force students to break their visa restrictions which limit them to work 20 hours a week (In some cases 10 hours). If they exceed the limit of their hours, the immigration department then under the migration Act is entitled to cancel the visa.
Students do not want to work longer hours but because they cannot survive on 60 pounds a week they are left with no choice.
Students think working with their own people would make them feel part of the community but they don`t see it that way.
They just take advantage of their need for work.
Asian businesses target international students for cheap labour but the laws that protect international students work exactly the opposite way. Making a complaint is not easy because their employers threaten to report them to immigration and have them deported. This fear makes things even worse.
These employers assume that students have no idea of their rights; they do knowtheir rights but limited jobs available in the market and language and cultural barriers reduce their job chances. This is a very serious issue that needs the attention of responsible authorities in the UK and Pakistan.
