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Employers' sanctions directive: Migrant workers, not employers, will pay the price of their exploitation

On the 4 February, the European Parliament voted in favour of a report by Claudio Fava MEP (PES) on EU legislation aiming to introduce sanctions for employers of irregular third country nationals. SOLIDAR along with the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), European Women's Lobby (EWL) and Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) issued a joint statement.

The statement put forward that although we have been encouraged to see the high priority given by the European Parliament to addressing the exploitation of migrant workers, we are also disappointed that a compromise has been reached by the EU Council and MEPs that retains the focus on the status of the migrant, rather than the exploitation by the employer. While welcoming key protective provisions, we are concerned that this directive does not recognise that undocumented workers have labour rights and that the priority must be ensuring such rights are enforced.