The UK will benefit from the arrival of more skilled workers from India under a new deal, Narendra Modi has said.
India and the UK have agreed an arrangement which will make it easier for people from each country to go to the other and work on a temporary basis.
The Indian prime minister said the deal will “inject new energy into the service sectors of both countries” and the UK economy will “benefit from India’s skilled talent”.
He confirmed a deal had been agreed on the so-called double contributions convention (DCC) as he signed a broader UK-India free trade deal alongside Sir Keir Starmer at Chequers in Buckinghamshire on Thursday.
Sir Keir faced accusations of implementing a two-tier tax system when the DCC issue came to light in May.
The deal means Indian workers employed by an India-based employer will be able to work in the UK for up to three years without paying National Insurance.
They will continue to pay into Indian social security during that period, with reciprocal rules in place for UK workers who go to India.
The change was a key demand made by Indian negotiators but it prompted a backlash from some opposition politicians in the UK who claimed it risked undercutting British workers.
The deal comes a matter of months after Labour imposed higher National Insurance on British companies and follows calls from within Labour for the party to toughen its immigration stance amid the rise of Reform UK.
Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, increased National Insurance contributions for employers in last year’s Budget in order to raise an extra £25bn in tax.
The change took effect in April this year. The Tories have argued the move has suffocated economic growth.
Speaking alongside Sir Keir at Chequers, Mr Modi said they had “reached a consensus on the double contribution convention”.
“This will inject new energy into the service sectors of both countries, especially in technology and finance,” he said.
“It will promote ease of doing business, reduce cost of doing business and increase the confidence of doing business.
“Additionally the UK’s economy would benefit from India’s skilled talent.
“These agreements will enhance investments and generate new employment opportunities in both countries.”
The Government said the arrangement “is not expected to have a long-term impact on net migration”.
Jonathan Reynolds, the Business and Trade Secretary, said it was “completely false” to claim British workers could be undercut.
On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he said: “On this issue, I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt if you were to hire an Indian worker they would pay exactly the same taxes as a British worker, you would have higher costs because of the visa charges, the NHS surcharge.
“It is completely false to say any British worker is undercut by this deal. I would never agree a deal that undercuts the people I represent or grew up with. That is completely wrong.
“The specifics of this are that a person on a temporary secondment from an Indian company to the UK or a UK company to India pays into their own social security systems for a short period of time if they are here on a temporary basis.”
The Government said the UK already had similar agreements in place with numerous other countries, including Chile, Japan, South Korea and Iceland.
The post Britain Will Benefit From Indian Migrants, Says Modi appeared first on American Renaissance.
American Renaissance
