Migration minister Ben Macpherson visited Inverness yesterday to meet EU workers and their employers in the hospitality and tourism industries.
The Brexit referendum has had an unsettling effect on both workers and bosses particularly in Highland where 41% of the work force is from the EU.
EU workers have been told they can apply for settled status to remain in the UK after Brexit.
Mr Macpherson started his day in the Kingsmills Hotel talking to hotel management and EU staff about the challenges they face.
He said: “It was great to hear first hand about the sheer importance and hugely positive contribution that EU citizens make here in the Highlands.
“I was pleased to hear that they still feel very welcome here and determined to stay. There were some concerns and confusion about how to go through the process of obtaining settled status, which emphasised to me why we are creating an advice service to make sure we reach out and assist as many EU citizens as we can.
“We want to push the UK government away from its hostile environment policies and emphasise the benefits of free movement.”
Craig Ewan, general manager of the Kingsmills Hotel said 28% of the hotel’s staff are from EU countries and the mood among them, and management, about the future had been of uncertainty since the referendum.
He said: “Things are a bit clearer now since the Minister’s visit in terms of the support service they are setting up both for individuals and employers.
“The UK government has put together a tool kit for employers and if it hadn’t been for today’s meeting I wouldn’t have known it existed, so there’s a piece of communication missing there.
“There’s definitely a feeling of relief and reassurance among the staff, including those who have only worked here for a short period, that they will be looked after.
“We couldn’t operate this hotel without our Eastern European staff in terms of their numbers and attitude.”
Hungarian Boglarka Bodnar, a restaurant supervisor at the Kingsmills, has been in Scotland since 2012.
She said she feels settled Inverness and has made her life here with fellow Kingsmills worker Kasha Mankiewicz from Poland, adding that despite the improved economies back home, they wanted to stay in Scotland.
She said EU colleagues felt kept in the dark after Brexit.
She said: “Speaking to the people from the government today was very helpful. I see they are trying to make Brexit as easy as possible for us so it makes us feel a bit safer, especially colleagues with concerns about children and family.
“We’ve got so many friends here, over the years you build up a life from nothing, that’s why it’s so extremely important to feel safe to stay here.”
Mr Macpherson said UK Government’s proposals that EU citizens pay a fee of £65, children £32.50 for settled status when they had worked and contributed to the economy and communities was completely unacceptable.
He said: “The Scottish Government, within in the limits of devolution, has committed to meet the cost for all EU citizens working in the devolved public sector. However, the UK Government should abandon their proposal to charge a fee for all EU citizens in all sectors across the UK.”
