STEM workers raise Brexit concerns

The concerns members of the science community have around Brexit have been published in a booklet, launched in the House of Commons. 

Scientists and engineers from a wide range of institutions were present as the union, Prospect, released the booklet on the 7th March.

The booklet details how different sectors will be affected and highlights the worries of EU scientists working in the UK. Prospect is a union with almost half of its members working in STEM.

Sue Ferns, Prospect deputy general secretary, said at the launch on the 7^th March: “Continued uncertainty for our science funding and collaboration is not neutral. It damages relationships day-by-day and brings a high emotional cost. The government must make tangible commitments to end uncertainty and set a positive path to future economic success.”

The union is campaigning on a number of issues including:

• Guaranteed rights for EU nationals working in the UK to remain here.
• Continued international mobility for UK citizens to work in other EU countries.
• Assurances that until adequate provisions have been made, the UK will not leave Euratom – an European treaty to promote research and cooperation on nuclear research.
• Assurances about STEM funding after 2020.

Prospect also carried out a survey amongst all their members in which over 60% of participants said they felt less secure in their employment since the referendum. More than 10% are planning to leave the UK with almost 25% still undecided.

Mary Creagh MP, chair of the Commons environmental audit committee, who was at the launch, said: “The UK gets much more out of EU research funding than it puts in. UK science has benefited from collaboration with European research partners.

“We have called on the government to replace EU funding for research after we leave, and give clear commitments about how UK scientists can continue to work with our international partners to tackle the great environmental problems of our age, which do not respect national borders.”

The booklet, The implication of Brexit for STEM: Experiences from the frontline, can be viewed here. More than 2,750 people took part in the survey of which 11% were involved in STEM.