Brussels wants to clamp down on employers

The European Commission will tomorrow propose sanctions, including possible prison terms, against employers who hire illegal immigrants, a practice widely believed to go on in Malta where penalties are weak. A Commission source said this will be among new measures against illegal immigration to be proposed by Commission Vice President Franco Frattini.

"The Commission wants to step up its efforts against illegal immigration and the employment of these workers is one of the pull factors attracting illegal immigrants to Europe.

"That is why we will propose that member states toughen their stance against employers who employ illegal migrants, most probably to evade tax and pay low wages," the source said.

The proposals follow last year's initiatives by the EU executive to better manage the EU's southern maritime borders through better surveillance. Now the European Commission wants to tackle one of the fundamental attractions for illegal immigrants - work.

The Commission sees the need to intensify its efforts to reduce the informal economy, which serves as a clear attraction for illegal immigration as well as a catalyst for exploitation.

As part of the new package, it will table a legislative proposal in the form of a directive on sanctions against employers of illegally staying third-country nationals. The aim is to ensure that all member states introduce similar penalties and enforce them effectively.

Currently, all EU member states, except Cyprus, this have sanctions against employing illegal workers. However, only 14 have provisions for prison sentences. Malta is not one of them. Here, an employer found to be employing illegal workers is liable to a fine of a mere Lm25 per irregular employee. The implementation of penalties also varies considerably among member states, with some more lax than others, thus distorting competition among companies.

According to the draft directive, the new rules will also allow immigrants to lodge complaints against their employers and demand unpaid wages. It is believed there are currently between four and eight million illegal immigrants in the EU. An estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants enter every year.

The Commission's proposal will need to be supported by the majority of member states (qualified majority) and by the European Parliament before coming into force.