Clamping down on illegal work

Patrolling our maritime borders more effectively and seeking meaningful support from the EU Frontex agency has been high on the agenda over the past days. However, this is just one way of combating illegal immigration.

Another is to make illegal immigration less attractive by clamping down on illegal employment and making it more difficult for would-be immigrants to engage in illegal work.

It is common knowledge that immigrants staying here and in other EU countries illegally may well also end up working illegally in the black economy. The very possibility of being able to do so presents, in itself, an attraction for more immigrants to make the perilous crossing to Europe. Illegal employment therefore fuels illegal immigration and it needs to be stamped out once and for all. The consequences of illegal employment are known to be serious on all concerned.

First of all, illegal immigrants working illegally are known to be exploited and subjected to what is possibly nothing short of modern-day slavery. They are paid a very low wage, often far less than the minimum wage. They are not covered by social security and, therefore, have no social protection. And they are subjected to harsh, often inhumane, working conditions, unreasonably long working hours and low health and safety standards.

Persons in this situation are often caught in a trap. They are unhappy with their state of affairs but powerless to do anything to change it because it would lead to the loss of their job and their livelihood.

Secondly, employers who engage illegal immigrants in illegal work profit unfairly form lower costs and their business operations present an unfair competitive threat to companies that go by the book. Illegal employment is often concentrated in the construction, agriculture, cleaning and hotel and catering sectors.

Thirdly, illegal employment presents a threat to workers who are seeking a job in a legal manner but who find themselves blocked out of the labour market because of unreasonably low wages, standards and working conditions. In turn, this often fuels xenophobic feelings towards immigrants.

Finally, illegal employment also comes at a very high cost for public coffers because it denies the authorities the tax and social security revenue that would otherwise have accrued. In this sense, it is also unfair with respect to all those who pay their dues.

So there is no doubt that illegal employment constitutes a grave social injustice and that more should be done to tackle it.

The scale of illegal employment in the European Union is estimated at between 4.5 and eight million and whereas illegal employment is, by definition, illegal, the sanctions that are applied in EU countries vary greatly and are hardly dissuasive.

A few days ago the European Commission published a new legislative proposal to prohibit the employment of illegal immigrants and to provide for common sanctions against employers.

The applicable sanctions would apply to employers and not to employees because, under a separate proposal, illegal immigrants found in illegal employment will be subject to a return order.

Sanctions against employers would consist of fines as well as the full payment of outstanding wages, including taxes and social security and the cost of returning the immigrant involved. But they would also include the exclusion of the employer from public tenders, from state aid and from EU funds for a period of time.

More significantly, criminal sanctions would also apply in the most serious of cases, such as in case of repeated offences, the employment of a significant number of illegal immigrants at any point in time, cases where working conditions are particularly exploitative and cases that involve workers who are victims of human trafficking.

Since this proposal is part of the immigration package it only applies to work offered to illegal immigrants. Now it is clear that illegal immigrants are not the only ones who get involved in illegal employment. Far from it. Nationals, EU nationals and other non-EU nationals with a residence permit may also be working in an undeclared manner. Nevertheless, the new law is expected to force a significant improvement in the enforcement capacity of the national agencies that are responsible to control illegal employment and this will certainly help to hit out at the problem across the board.

Indeed, the proposal obliges national authorities to drastically increase on-the-spot inspections from the current annual average of two per cent of enterprises today to 10 per cent.

The proposal should be welcomed because it sends a clear message that Europe should no longer be a magnet for illegal immigration and for illegal employment. If migration is required to fill shortages in the labour market then this should be done in a legal manner, above board and not clandestinely.

The proposal also sends a message to employers that abuse can no longer be tolerated.

Last week I was appointed as the main spokesman on this new law by my parliamentary group, the EPP-ED group in the European Parliament. This responsibility will allow me to participate actively in shaping this new and important European law.

Over the coming weeks I shall embark on a consultation process in Malta and in Brussels with all interested parties who want to have a say. I look forward to contributions from individuals, enterprises, trade unions, constituted bodies, civil society organisations as well as from the relevant national authorities.

A copy of the proposal may be obtained from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:52007PC0249:EN:NOT.

A copy of the impact assessment on this proposal may be obtained from http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/cia_2007_en.htm.

Readers who would like to ask questions to be answered in this column can send an e-mail, identifying themselves, to contact@simonbusuttil.eu or through www.simonbusuttil.eu.