On 19 September 2024, EMN Belgium took part in the 8th Conference on Migration Research in Austria. Hosted by the University of Innsbruck, the topic of this conference was Global Inequalities, (Im)Mobilities and Migration Societies: Post-Migrant Perspectives and was aimed at researchers from all disciplines and fields of study who are working on migration and integration.

EMN Belgium was one of the three panelists, next to EMN Italy and EMN Austria, for the panel titled: “Unlawful employment of migrants – A comparative view of approaches by EU Member States looking at rights, vulnerabilities, and protection measures for migrant workers”. By using three countries (Austria, Belgium, Italy) with significant variations in terms of migration history, and labour market structures with different reliance on unlawful migrant labour, social regimes, as well (past) approaches to ‘manage’ irregular migration, the panel aimed to contribute to a comparative perspective on the issue. The discussion aimed to contribute to the understanding of structural factors that can influence unlawful employment, and how current trends and developments (e.g. labour shortages, COVID-19 aftermath) affect the employment situations of migrants in practice. 

Based on the information collected for the EMN Study on the Illegal Employment of Third-Country Nationals (2017-2022), EMN Belgium was able to highlight a few key points, inter alia:

• The employment of foreign labour without a valid work permit in Belgium predominantly involves low-skilled workers engaged in manual tasks in sectors such as retail, garages and car washes, horeca, and construction.
   
• A recent trend in Belgium is the use of increasingly complex subcontracting chains by employers, as shown in the recent “Borealis” case in Antwerp. These configurations create challenges when it comes to ensuring that employers are effectively sanctioned and that workers' rights are protected. Initiatives such as a new Flemish decree on chain liability, the advertisement of multilingual information on work-related rights and obligations on the website of the Social Intelligence and Investigation Service (SIRS/SIOD), or the use of data mining to identify high-risk sectors for targeted investigations can help to address this challenge.
   
• On the side of employees themselves, an important challenge remains the lack of incentives to come forward, especially for third-country nationals who are irregularly staying on the territory. Multiple mechanisms exist for employees to lodge complaints against their employer, but access to information and means of protection remains limited.

To learn more about the Belgian contribution to this panel, please watch the PowerPoint presentation attached below.

EMN Belgium is very grateful to Austrian and Italian colleagues for the invitation and fruitful discussions! The EMN Study on the Illegal Employment of Third-Country Nationals (2017-2022), along with the Belgian standalone on the same topic, will be published in the coming weeks here.