Tuesday morning MEPs will debate new legislation that will punish employers who employ illegal immigrants.
Tuesday morning MEPs will debate new legislation that will punish employers who employ illegal immigrants. Fines, paying back wages and even criminal sanctions are proposed in the directive. It is estimated that 4-8 million non-EU citizens work across the 27-member bloc. They often work as builders, farm labourers, cleaners and in the hotel trade.
The practicality of any steps is likely to be a key concern. European trade unions have already raised concerns and business representatives are worried it will mean more red tape. Watch the debate live online from 0930 CET on Tuesday from the Parliament's session in Strasbourg using the first link below.
Unscrupulous employers in firing line
In a public hearing on the directive held last July, MEPs called for rules to help tackle unscrupulous employers, many of whom hold their workers in slavelike conditions. Italian Socialist Claudio Fava drafted the report on the legislation. He said that "migrants are often subjected to terrible exploitation, sometimes even treated as slaves".
It is also hoped that the measures will help tackle people trafficking and deal with some of the criminal gangs involved.
The proposed legislation on "Sanctions against employers of illegally staying third country nationals" is part of a wider package of measures including the "return directive" and the "blue card" scheme to encourage legal immigration.
With the economic crisis, the labour market, both legal and illegal, is likely to get a lot more competitive. A recent report by the International Labour Organisation has concluded that total global unemployment could increase by 18-30 million this year due to the recession.
Employers/Trade Unions: where do they stand?
Marcus Schwenke from BusinessEurope, the Confederation of European Business, told us European employers supported measures to reduce illegal immigration: "Black-market labour represents 'unfair competition' for honest businesses."
However, he said: "We have strong concerns because the proposal is disproportionate: It puts a heavy administrative burden on companies and includes too severe penalties."
The legislation has been greeted with caution by trade unions. Catelene Passchier for the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) said, "taking measures against employers sounds nice but experience in the US has shown that it drives a lot of the illegal work further underground; the nice employers become nicer and the nasty ones nastier".
Employer or subcontractor: who will be responsible?
One of ETUC's main concerns is over subcontractors. "We know that illegal workers are mostly employed by agencies and intermediaries and by subcontractors and not by big employers themselves; they don't burn their fingers by employing illegal workers," Ms Passchier said.
MEPs have stipulated that employers should be liable if a contractor is acting illegally but in practice "long subcontracting chains and putting letterbox companies" make this unenforceable, she said.
Mr Schwenke also raised the issue of subcontractors: "We strongly oppose the foreseen subsidiary liability, because companies are in practice not in the position to control the compliance of their subcontractors."
Šaltinis:
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