REGINE Regularisations in Europe Final Report - European ...

admission policies. 181 The Danish Union of Electricians, by contrast, suggests more limited measures,
including Europe-wide regulation of (temporary) work agencies. 182 The Belgian LBC-NVK calls for a
comprehensive approach and argues that “an adequate response to the current problems on a
European level requires a wide range of measures and policies, addressing undeclared work,
precariousness of work and the need to open up more channels for legal migration” and considers the
employers sanction directive to be an important first step. It sees major advantages in the fact that
European level policies would increase transparency, reduce social dumping and competition between
Member States and would prevent “country shopping”. Finally, such measures would promote the
protection of (irregular) migrant workers. 183 Similarly, a comprehensive approach towards
regularisation is advocated by the Portuguese union CGTP, including enhancing control mechanisms
against companies employing illegal migrants. However, it also has more concrete suggestion
regarding regularisations. Thus, regularisation programmes could be carried out on the European level
at the same time, which would reduce unsolicited inflows from other Member States. 184 UGT, another
Portuguese union, similarly suggests a harmonisation of regularisation procedures and generally
supports the harmonisation of admission policies. 185
UNISON, the British trade union, suggest that “Europe might have a role in supporting common
principles and a legal framework”, the advantage being that it would bring a more consistent approach
“at a time when the role of Europe is being recognized in terms of regulating Europe’s borders.”
However, a European policy on regularisation might also “detract from the role of national
governments in delivering a coherent regularisation programme at a national level”. 186 In a similar
vein, the Greek trade union, GSEE, argues that given the significant economic and social differences
between Member States, the natural locus of regularisation policy should remain the national level:
every country has different structures concerning the labour market and a different immigration
history. For instance, Greece since 1990 has been receiving third country nationals on a large scale for
the first time in its history. In addition, the size of the informal economy is large. Consequently, Greek
regularisation policy must be part of a general effort to combat illegal or flexible employment in the
country, while in Germany or in France the social inclusion of ethnic minorities and migrants or the
fight against discriminations should be the priority. 187
Finally, the Slovenian Association of Free Trade Unions emphasises the positive (potential) role of
the UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families and
recalls the recommendation of the European Economic and Social Committee (2004/C 302/12) calling
upon the Commission and the Council Presidency to undertake the necessary political initiatives to
ensure speedy ratification of the Convention. 188
181 CGSLB, op. cit.
182 Danish Union of Electricians, Response, ICMPD TU Questionnaire, 2008.
183 LBC-NVK op. cit.
184 184 Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses –Intersindical Nacional (CGTP), Portugal, Interview
with Carlos Trindade (Executive Committee, Migrations Department), Manuel Correia (President of “Sindicato
das Indústrias Eléctricas do Sul e Ilhas”), Yasmin Arango Torres (União dos Sindicatos de Lisboa), Lisbon, 26
February 2008,
185 União Geral dos Trabalhadores (UGT), Portugal, Interview with Mr. Cordeiro, Lisbon, 27 February 2008.
186 Unison, op. cit.
187 GSEE, op. cit.
188 Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia, Response, ICMPD TU Questionnaire, 2008.
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