The European Union has bolstered its actions in the quest to eradicate illegalities dealing with irregular migration. Employers who are illegally hiring immigrants to pay them low wages and avoid taxes had better beware because the EU plans to make this a criminal offence punishable by high fines and prison sentences.
The European Parliament’s civil liberties committee has just given the green light to this new legislation, as the rules have already been agreed upon by the member states.
Myself, together with all the other MEPs, are to endorse the new rules during the next plenary session on 19 February.
At this moment in time, illegal employment is tackled differently in the 27 member states. Thanks to this directive, sanctions will be harmonised so that irregular migrants are deterred from searching for employment, and on the other hand abusive employers are heavily punished. The rules will also lay down criminal law penalties against employers for repeat offences; where a large number of people in an irregular situation are employed, where the working conditions are exploitative.
The directives are aimed at reducing one of the main factors that attract irregular migrants. Most believe that when they land, they can find some form of “job” or other with relative ease. Their compatriots back home seem to get the message, and this has developed into one of the major driving forces for these people. It is estimated that some eight million are working illegally in the EU at the moment. The actual numbers are probably much greater.
Coming back to our little island, it is well known that some Maltese companies, particularly in the tourism and construction sectors, employ irregular migrants. They are denied legal conditions and get paid very low wages. Through this directive, employers could be fined, forced to pay wages in arrears at legal levels or even banned, for p to five years, from bidding for public service contracts or receiving state aid- whether national or from the EU.
The Maltese show the highest level of concern about migration issues of all 27 EU member states, according to a recent survey commissioned by the European commission. This is mainly due to the fact that for the size and population of our country, the number of illegal immigrants landing here is simply very high. Suffice to say that last year a record number of 2,704 irregular migrants landed in Malta.
On the European front, things have been moving. There is little doubt that the French presidency’s European pact on immigration and asylum was a big step in the right direction. However it is now vital that we keep moving forward under the Czech and after that, the Swedish presidency. The Czech Presidency of the EU Council agreed to put a common document on the way forward on irregular migration, presented by Malta, Cyprus, Italy and Greece, up for discussion among all member states during an informal meeting of the Home Affairs Council of Ministers.
The document in question was agreed upon and signed by the four member states on during a meeting of the Quadro Group in Rome. It sought to keep irregular migration high on the European Union’s agenda through the speedy implementation of certain measures listed in the Pact for Immigration and Asylum. It included the drawing up of readmission agreements with countries of transit for illegal migrants, the establishment of better mechanisms for the repatriation for such migrants, the strengthening of Frontex border patrols and the creation of the burden-sharing mechanisms mentioned in the Pact
Malta has repatriated 3,020 irregular migrants since 2004, however the issue still exists. Last Sunday in Marsaxlokk we saw a boatload of another 262 migrants, and this is February we’re talking about. We have made our position clear with the EU with regards to illegal immigration, and we are standing our ground. We must keep working, together with the European Union, to make sure that this issue is brought under control. While recognising the weight of this problem and the enormous challenge it encapsulates, we must keep in mind that we are talking about human beings.
David Casa is a Nationalist MEP
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www.davidcasa.eu