Employers of illegal migrants to face severe penalties

Plans to impose severe penalties on employers of illegal immigrants were discussed by MEPs during a meeting of the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament yesterday.

The proposed directive aims to set out Europe-wide minimum penalties for defaulting employers. The proposed penalties include paying the costs of returning workers to their country of origin and ensuring they get paid any money owed.

The proposals form part of a series of rules being adopted by the EU against illegal immigration and are aimed at discouraging the exploitation of illegal immigrants in Europe by those commissioning cheap labour.

Work is considered to be one of the main pulling factors of illegal immigrants towards Europe.

Adopting a co-decision report by Socialist Italian MEP Claudio Fava, the committee agreed criminal sanction should only be imposed on employers in worst-case scenarios.

In general, the directive would introduce minimum penalties at a European level including fines, the repayment of outstanding wages and legally-required contributions or even disqualification, for up to five years, from public procurement or assistance, whether at a national or European level.

According to the proposed rules, offending employers will moreover be required to repay assistance granted in the previous year. They may also be subjected to a fine that increases in line with the number of illegal immigrants employed.

The rules would also oblige member states to put in place mechanisms that enable illegal immigrants to file complaints against their employers.

The EU has no rules to combat the employment of illegal immigrants and every member state adopts its own regulations. In some states, including Malta, sanctions are considered to be quite lax.

The EP plenary will vote on the proposals next month. Member states will have to unanimously agree on the rules for them to be adopted.