Trade unions: let illegal immigrants sue employers

Illegal immigrant workers should not bear the brunt of sanctions which the European Commission will propose to combat illegal labour, employees’ groups have warned.

Undocumented migrants must be allowed to sue their employers for unpaid wages and receive damages before they are deported, says a position paper by the European Trade Union Confederations, the Platform for International Co-operation on Undocumented Migrants and Solidar, an alliance of trade unions and non-governmental organisations.

The groups say that sanctions should apply not only to companies which directly exploit such workers but should also be levelled at firms which knowingly buy goods produced by such workers.

"Employers and their organisations should be clearly asked to take responsibility for what is happening in their companies and sectors," says the paper.

The call comes ahead of the publication next week (16 May) of a proposal for a directive which would force EU states to impose fines, sanctions and possibly criminal penalties on companies which employ undocumented workers. Farms could have EU subsidies withheld if they employ illegal workers.

Sanctions against employers exist in all member states except Cyprus, but the Commission wants to see a more unified approach to such penalties, including better checks on companies to see if they are employing illegal workers. Of the 22 million companies registered throughout the EU, regular checks for exploitation are carried out on only 2%, says the Commission.

There are between seven and eight million illegal immigrants in the EU with that number increasing by 500,000-1 million every year, according to the Commission. Franco Frattini, justice, freedom and security commissioner, has said he wants to tackle the "pull factor" of illegal work.

In a letter last month to Wolfgang Schaüble, Germany’s interior minister and current chairman of the Home Affairs Council, Frattini wrote: "If nothing is done, the situation is likely to worsen and what is currently difficult to tackle will become impossible."

The Commission will also bring forward proposals on "circular migration", which will involve skilled labour from developing countries working in the EU for specified periods of time. A centre in Mali is due to open which the Commission says will help workers apply for such employment in the EU.

In response to some member states’ concerns that much of the illegal immigration debate has focused on the inflow of people from Africa, the Commission will also propose ways of stemming inflow from the EU’s eastern borders. The proposal is expected to suggest missions by Frontex, the EU’s border agency, along these borders and on the Black Sea to tackle human trafficking.

Illegal immigrant workers should not bear the brunt of sanctions which the European Commission will propose to combat illegal labour, employees’ groups have warned.

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