Spanish Work Permits for Students and Irregular Migrants: Would the Government Plan Succeed?

The Spanish Minister of Integration, Social Security, and Immigration, Jose Luis Escriva, clashed with the General Labor Union and the Labor Committees over a government proposal to reform immigration regulations to facilitate the entry of thousands of immigrants into the labor market, which is supported by businessmen and rejected by the two unions.

The Spanish newspaper El Pais, which reported the news, stated that a joint statement of the two unions, issued on June 3, objected to the ministerial proposal. The statement noted that it violates the agreement on labor migration between the government, trade unions, and employers, and aims to direct foreigners to work in conditions that do not fit because they need to improve their precarious illegal situation.

The draft government project aims, according to the same source, to facilitate the employment of workers from their countries of origin and facilitate work permits for migrants already living on Spanish soil, which was approved by a group of employers who spoke to El País, where they expressed an urgent need for employment.

 

Opportunities for Foreigners

The draft also includes enabling foreign students to find job opportunities and regularizing the legal status of irregular migrants in Spain after receiving training in sectors that need employment.

Sectors such as transportation, construction, hospitality, or digital activities are experiencing great difficulties in finding workers. Employers consider that “the procedures for bringing workers from abroad are impossible, and it is logical to act by integrating foreigners who are inside Spain.”

65 percent of construction companies find it “extremely” difficult to find a manager for the construction works, although the sector does not suffer from a wage problem, as construction workers receive at least 30 percent more than the minimum wage in Spain, Pedro confirmed. Fernandez Ellen, president of the Federation of Construction Employers, told the Spanish newspaper, "Everyone who integrates into this sector does not leave it given the stimulating salary, working hours, and social benefits."

In an interview with Al-Estiklal, the director of the Maghreb center for strategic research Zouhair Attouf said: “The integration of illegal immigrants will solve many problems in the labor market in Spain. With the beginning of the economy’s recovery, after about a year and a half of blockage of almost all productive sectors, as result of the Corona pandemic.”

He added: “There is an urgent need for labor, especially in blue jobs that require physical effort instead of educational qualifications. But the matter is not limited to this type of job, as the service sector also needs manpower, so the government's proposal included opening the way for foreign students to fill this shortcoming.”

 

Highest Unemployment Rate

The agricultural business was also affected by the lack of employment, this was confirmed by Pedro Barato, President of the ASAJA Farmers Association, in a statement to El País, noting that the agricultural fields are in need of workers, which can only be achieved by hiring people from abroad or integrating those who are already inside.

The same source’s data indicate that the Spanish government worked last year (2021) to settle the status of 400,000 immigrants, most of them through family gathering and not through the labor standard applicable in the rest of the European countries that have benefited more than once from the flows of migration flows to manage shortage of qualified workers problems.

Since assuming his position, the Minister of Immigration has been trying to reform the immigration law by creating mechanisms that simplify the integration of foreigners into the labor market, considering that the current framework is known as a “huge bureaucratic stalemate.”

El Pais confirmed that this ministerial proposal coincided with Spain’s record of the highest unemployment rate in the world. The level of European countries (13%), while there are 109,056 vacancies, according to official data.

 

Labor Shortage

In an attempt to address its severe labor shortage, especially in sectors such as tourism and construction that are threatened by slow economic recovery, the Spanish government’s move came to relax the rules for work permits for foreigners.

The government's plan provides for the regularization of the status of illegal immigrants who have had professional experiences in sectors facing labor shortages. The Madrid government also seeks to benefit from foreign students arriving in the country, as well as expanding the process of employing foreign immigrants.

Spain's Minister of Social Security and Immigration, Jose Luis Escriva, was quoted saying on June 3 in press statements, that his country intends to ease work permit rules for foreigners, and grant more temporary visas to sectors that need workers.

"We are evaluating different aspects of immigration law and where there is room for improvement in order to address shortages in the Spanish labor market," he added.

The country is facing a shortage of labor in the sectors of tourism, agriculture, construction, and technology in particular, and the government plans to allow about 50,000 students from outside the European Union to combine studies with work.

A draft of the fixes listed the most urgent job vacancies to be for telemarketers, sales representatives, delivery drivers, and software developers.

Spain's tourism industry has seen a strong recovery, but companies are struggling to find workers willing to wait tables and clean hotel rooms, something the government has described as a Europe-wide problem.

It is worth noting that the Spanish economy was the most affected in the euro area by the Corona pandemic, as it contracted 11% in 2020.

Although the unemployment rate remains high by European standards, at 13.65%, the pandemic encouraged more workers in the formal economy, where formal contracts were needed to collect vacation payments.