Moray Council: Move to back asylum seekers’ right to work thrown out
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A move to back a campaign to allow asylum seekers to work was not been discussed at Moray Council today due to a procedural reason.
Councillor Jérémie Fernandes (Elgin North, SNP) had wanted the council to support charity Refugee Action’s Lift the Ban appeal.
This would allow asylum seekers in Moray and elsewhere to get a paid job if their claim takes longer then six months to process.
At present asylum seekers, such as those housed in the Eight Acres Hotel in Elgin, are only permitted by law to do voluntary work.
Cllr Fernandes, as part of his motion to today's full council, wanted Kathleen Robertson (Forres, Conservative) to send a letter to the UK government calling for a change in the legislation.
However, cllr Robertson, who is the leader of Moray Council, did not allow a discussion because the motion did not include a copy of the letter.
Cllr Fernandes responded: "I’m really disappointed by that.
"Is this the way the council’s going to operate if the Tory group doesn’t like a notice of motion?
"It’s a shocking shocking decision."
However cllr Robertson stated again her point that the motion was being removed for a procedural reason.
She said: "It’s not a Tory group decision, it’s mine as chair.
"It can be deferred to a future meeting if you care to do so."
