Britain no decision on EU entrants' labour rights

LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuters) Britain insisted today it had not yet decided whether workers from new European Union members would be denied free access to jobs.

A cabinet minister said yesterday migrants from potential EU entrants would not benefit from the ''open-door'' policy accorded to workers from countries such as Poland.

Trade and Industry minister Alistair Darling said Britain had introduced a managed immigration system using a points system to match up skills needed with immigration, and that new EU entrants would fall under that system.

Asked whether there would be an open-door policy, Darling said: ''No. No one who deals with the immigration system fails to realise that you've got to have a system that is properly managed, properly controlled.'' Britain was one of three EU members, along with Sweden and Ireland, that gave unfettered access to workers from eastern European countries that joined the bloc in 2004.

The government is due to decide later this year whether Bulgaria and Romania get the same treatment if the two nations get the green light to join in 2007 as scheduled.

''(Darling) was talking about the general need across the board for managed migration. But in terms of Bulgaria and Romania, decisions will be made later in the year,'' Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokeswoman said today.

KEPT LID ON WAGES The government originally predicted 13,000 eastern Europeans would come to Britain but the influx has been far greater with estimates ranging anywhere from 300,000 to 800,000.

While the extra labour has helped some sectors plug skills gaps, notably construction, the opposition Conservative Party has voiced concerns another wave of eastern Europeans would put huge strains on the country's public services.

Britain's economy has managed to absorb many of the new workers and central bank chief Mervyn King said last week the new migrants had helped keep a lid on wage increases.

The workforce has grown to such an extent that at the end of June, Britain had more people in work, 28.9 million, than ever before, despite unemployment rising to a six-year high.

King also said if the flow of eastern European migrants were to slow in the future, that could lead to higher wage rises, a key economic indicator closely watched by the central bank when setting interest rates.

''The commission will report to the whole of the EU regarding (Bulgaria and Romania's) accession preparations ... at the end of September and obviously decisions regarding the nationals of those states will be made after that,'' Blair's spokeswoman said.

REUTERS SP RN1828