Ever felt like the world keeps turning while you sleep? Meet the ghostly crew keeping Britain awake 🌙🕒
The hidden backbone of the night
For the past decade, Britain’s 9 million-strong night-time workforce has relied more and more on migrant workers from places like Angola and Bolivia. They’re the ones cleaning our offices, stocking shelves, and caring for patients when most of us are in dreamland.
“We are ghosts on the night shift,” says Leandro Cristovao from Angola, who’s been pulling the graveyard shift at a South London market for 7 years. His words capture the invisible but essential role migrants play in maintaining our 24/7 society.
Why migrants are twice as likely to work nights
According to official data from 2022, migrants are twice as likely to work nights compared to UK-born workers. Industries labelled “low-skilled” – like cleaning, logistics, and care – depend heavily on overseas talent. In fact, over a third of night workers in health and care are migrants. 🤝🏥
Faces behind the mop: Roxana’s story
Meet Roxana Panozo Alba, a 46-year-old cleaner from Bolivia. From 10 pm to 7 am, she and her team scrub toilets, kitchens, and over 500 desks for a London Living Wage of £13.85 an hour. “I moved here because there was no work left in Spain,” she explains, wiping the last coffee stain before dawn.
Shining a light on the night
Projects like the Nightwork Footprint from University College Cork are studying this “invisible workforce” to push for fairer recognition and rights. Julius-Cezar Macarie, a sociology professor, reminds us that “their work is very, very essential.”
As debates around immigration heat up, it’s time we acknowledge the faces behind the midnight shifts. Next time you grab dawn’s first coffee, remember the ghosts who made it possible. ☕✨
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
