LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) - A coalition of British industrygroups and education bodies, worried by the prospect of Brexitworsening skills and labour shortages, has called for the nextprime minister to relax proposed reforms of the immigrationsystem.
The #FullStrength campaign said on Wednesday it had writtento both Boris Johnson, frontrunner to be the next leader of theConservative Party and prime minister, and his rival, foreignminister Jeremy Hunt, calling for the government they would leadto lower the salary threshold proposed in draft immigrationlegislation from 30,000 pounds ($37,000) to 20,000.
In December, Britain set out in a policy paper the biggestoverhaul of its immigration policy in decades, ending specialtreatment for European Union nationals.
Concern about the social and economic impact of immigrationhelped drive Britain's 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU.
#FullStrength brings together bodies including London First,techUK, the British Retail Consortium, the Recruitment &Employment Confederation, UKHospitality, the Federation ofMaster Builders and Universities UK. Collectively they representtens of thousands of businesses and employ millions of workersacross all sectors and regions of Britain.
Their joint letter said more than 60% of all jobs in the UKcurrently fall under the proposed 30,000-pound salary threshold,highlighting the risk in setting the future level too high forvital services such as health and social care.
The coalition also wants the government to extend thetemporary work route for overseas workers from one year to twoyears, revise the sponsorship model to make it easier for firmsof all sizes to bring in the overseas talent they need, andreinstate the two-year, post-study visa for internationalstudents to work in Britain post-graduation.
“Without the ability to access international talent, many ofour world-class sectors are at significant risk," the jointletter said.
"As the UK prepares to leave the EU in the near future, itis imperative that the government puts in place measures thatwill avoid employers facing a cliff-edge in recruitment, andworks towards building a successful economy that is open andattractive.”
Johnson has pledged that Britain will leave the EU with orwithout a transition deal on Oct. 31 if he becomes primeminister, while Hunt has said that he would, if absolutelynecessary, go for a no-deal Brexit.($1 = 0.8061 pounds)(Reporting by James DaveyEditing by Mark Heinrich)