Northern Ireland Departments provide a wide range of information and services to migrant workers. Key areas are:
Migrant worker access to information on health
The Department for Health and Social Services and Public Safety is currently developing a booklet for those new to Northern Ireland which provides key information about health and social services and how to access them. This will be made available in a range of languages.
The Department is currently in discussions regarding the future provision of interpreting, with the aim of meeting the needs of the changing migrant worker communities.
The Department in collaboration with the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland will produce a second edition of the 2003 good practice guide “Racial Equality in Health and Social Care” by March 2007.
Migrant worker access to information on social services
The Social Security Agency has a statutory obligation to ensure that migrant workers have access to social security benefits where they satisfy the necessary conditions. The Agency ensures that migrant workers are, on request, allocated a national insurance number to enable them to pursue legitimate employment or obtain access to social security benefits.
The Agency publishes benefit information and fact sheets in a number of languages including Arabic, Chinese, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish and works closely with voluntary sector support groups to ensure that information about the benefits system is as widely available as possible.
Telephone and face-to-face interpreting and translation services are provided by the Agency to those customers who have difficulty communicating in English.
Migrant worker access to information on housing
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive provides or facilitates the following services to ensure that migrant workers in Northern Ireland have access to information about housing services.
An interpreter service (language line) is available to all housing executive district office staff.
The housing executive intranet site includes advice leaflets available in the following languages: French; Lithuanian: Polish; Russian; Mandarin and Cantonese.
The housing executive provides inter-cultural awareness training to equip its front-line staff with the knowledge and skills to deal with culturally sensitive issues. The training also provides information on support services and organisations assisting migrant workers.
Migrant worker access to information on other public services
Government Departments who provide services to migrant workers are taking similar measures as are being taken on health, social services and housing, some examples include:
Driver Vehicle Licensing NI (DVLNI) produces leaflets and posters in a number of languages and on a range of issues including how to buy a car, obtain a drivers licence, insurance and use of seat belts.
Provisions of English for Speakers of other Languages courses are available in Further Education colleges.
“Language line” interpreting services are provided in all jobs and benefits offices and Jobcentres.
The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (H and SENI) operates a telephone interpretation service and translation service for customers whose first language is not English. It has also produced a picture booklet on safety in the workplace specifically for migrant workers working in high-risk industries.
A key step that the Government are taking is the recent establishment by the Race Forum of a thematic group on migrant workers. This group will examine the work that individual Departments and agencies have been doing to date and identifying those information practices which should be consistent across all Government. It will make recommendations to Ministers in the autumn.