By UK Migrant Workers Sing Asa’s ‘Jailer’ in Protest Against Exploitation, Deportation Fears
Migrant care workers in the United Kingdom have turned to Nigerian singer Asa’s song Jailer to protest what they describe as exploitation, oppression and immigration rules that leave them vulnerable to abusive employers.
The workers sang the song while posing symbolically as chained slaves during a demonstration organised by public service union UNISON outside the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on September 28, 2026.
The protest formed part of the Fair Visa Campaign, which is demanding changes to a sponsorship system that ties migrant care workers’ visas to individual employers, potentially making it difficult for them to leave abusive workplaces without risking their immigration status.
Asa’s Jailer, a song about oppression, freedom and the relationship between those who exercise power and those subjected to it, provided a fitting soundtrack to the demonstration.
The workers’ use of chains and the song’s message underscored their argument that immigration restrictions can leave vulnerable employees feeling trapped by the very employers sponsoring their stay in the country.
The protest also targeted government proposals that could extend the qualifying period for permanent settlement for lower-paid workers, including care staff, from five years to 15 years.
UNISON has called on the government to abandon the proposed extension and retain the five-year qualifying period.
The union is also pushing for a sector-wide visa sponsorship system that would allow care workers to change employers without being left at the mercy of individual sponsors.
At the demonstration, UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan accused ministers of breaking promises to migrant workers recruited to help address staffing shortages in the UK’s health and social care sectors.
She argued that workers who care for vulnerable people should not be subjected to prolonged insecurity or made scapegoats for failures to invest adequately in public services.
The union said around 400 people attended the Liverpool protest, with many wearing symbolic balls and chains.
