HUNDREDS of migrant care workers from Kerala have been left stranded and financially devastated after paying large sums for UK job offers that did not materialise.
Many paid recruitment agents and care homes thousands of pounds for visa sponsorships but arrived in the UK to find no work. Some have returned to India, while others remain in the UK in precarious conditions.
Alchita Care, a domiciliary care home in Bradford, is among the companies accused of taking money from workers but failing to provide jobs. The UK Home Office revoked its sponsorship licence last year.
At least three workers told the BBC they had paid large sums but were not given the promised work. One worker said he had been surviving on charity food for months.
Arun George, not his real name, spent £15,000 in savings to secure a UK care worker job for his wife through Alchita Care.
After arriving in the UK, they found no work and returned to India within months. The BBC has seen evidence of his payment to the company.
Sridevi, also using a pseudonym, paid £15,000 for visa sponsorship and £3,000 for travel. She remains in the UK, struggling with long hours and low pay. She said she is unable to return to India because of the debts she took to make the trip.
Cambridge mayor Baiju Thittala, a Labour Party member, has represented at least 10 victims and estimates that 1,000-2,000 Keralites in the UK have been affected. He said pursuing justice is difficult due to cross-border legal issues and high legal costs.
In Kerala’s Kothamangalam town, about 30 people claimed they collectively lost millions to Henry Poulos and his agency, Grace International, which offered fake job offers. Poulos allegedly sent some applicants on long trips for non-existent visa appointments.
Kerala police have sealed Poulos’s local offices and said he is absconding in the UK.
The UK government acknowledged care worker visa fraud in 2023 and tightened rules in 2024, increasing the minimum salary and restricting dependents.
The Home Office has revoked about 450 care sector recruitment licences since July 2022.
Kerala police said they are investigating and may seek Interpol’s help.
Many affected workers, however, remain without justice.
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, in Scunthorpe, northern England, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Dominic Lipinski
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. (Representational image: iStock)
FBU chief raises concern over rise in racist online posts by union members
THE FIRE Brigades Union (FBU) and other trade unions are increasingly concerned about a rise in racist and bigoted online comments by their own members and officials, according to Steve Wright, the FBU’s new general secretary, speaking to the Guardian.
Wright said internal inquiries have revealed dozens of cases involving members using racist slurs or stereotypes, often aimed at asylum seekers.
He said similar issues were reported in other unions, prompting a joint campaign to counter false narratives around immigration and race promoted by far-right groups online.
“People with far-right views are becoming more brazen in what they do on social media, and I’ve witnessed it with my own union around disciplinary cases and the rhetoric of some of our own members,” Wright said to the newspaper.
He added, “Some of our members and sometimes our reps have openly made comments which are racist and bigoted. In my time in the fire service, that has gone up.”
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. A formal statement addressing far-right narratives will be launched at the union’s annual conference in Blackpool next month.
Wright cited the influence of social media and figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage as factors contributing to these incidents. “It feels like an itch that we’ve got to scratch,” he said.
The FBU barred a former official last year for allegedly endorsing racist content on X, including posts from Britain First and Tommy Robinson.
Wright also warned that the union could strike if the government moves to cut frontline fire services.