Posted
by Belarnmino Dabalos Saguing
Rome,
Italy 05 November 2016
(Orignally posted by Belarmino Dabalos Saguing in Center for Migrant Studies and Researches, Rome, Italy 03 Dece4mber 2014)
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Picnic in the Park, Palermo, Sicily (Photo by Fr. Rey
Culaba)
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Italy is host to more than 4 million migrants of
diverse nationalities. They comprise about 5 percent of the country’s total
population.. Fifty percent of the migrants are Europeans, 20 percent are Africans,
twenty percent are from Asiatic Countries, and ten percent from the
Americas, predominantly South and Central American.
About sixty percent of the immigrant community are living in Northern Italy,
twenty seven percent are in Central Regions, and about thirteen percent
in Southern Italy.
The main worry among the immigrants is the problem of housing, employment and
their integration to the Italian society. Many migrants has to struggle
to pay rents, and for the majority, buying a house is just out of reach. On the
average, the income of migrant workers in Italy is half of the income of the
average Italian worker. There is no job security for the immigrant population,
and many of them do not have regular work. ( Data from CARITAS Report
of 2010)
Italy has been one of the countries in Europe that experienced a sustained
growth in Filipino labor migration. The works at home previously carried out by
Italians, men and women alike, are not
compensated by the public service.
It should be well noted that the political conditions and rising economic
growth in Italy, the labor segmentation, the demographic collapse, among other
factors, has necessitated the services of migrant workers including
domestic services has increased the demands for Filipinas.
However, Italy is distinguished from the others since it was more through the
personal initiatives of the migrants themselves rather than the planning of the
Philippine government that brought most of them to this country, to flee from
poverty and lack of employment that would support decent life for workers in
the Philippines.
Philippine-Italy studies indicate that most Filipinos travel with
tourist visas and found works here afterwards. The advent of stricter
immigration policies in 1986 made this mode of entry more difficult, forcing
the migrants, Filipinos included, to find other means to enter the country,
legally or otherwise, despite the insertion of more formal migration channels.
The
Number of Filipinos in Italy
In
2006, the Philippine Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) estimated that
there are 128,080 Filipinos residing in Italy: of which 23,108 are permanent
residents, 84,972 are OFWs (temporary workers whose stay in foreign countries
are limited by the duration of their contracts), and the remaining 20,000 are
illegally working and living in
Italy
The
CFO estimates maybe a bit conservative since they are basing their count from
the annual departures from Manila airport. Since the Philippine government
normally has no direct control on the contracts signed by the workers in Italy,
and their estimate on undocumented migrants is based mainly on the estimates of
the Philippine Embassy in Rome. It should of course be noted that other
estimates indicate higher numbers of Filipinos residing in Italy with some
guess indicating that there are more than 200,000 Filipinos residing in Italy.
The
CARITAS di Roma 2013 reported that there are 165, 763 Filipinospresent in Italy
of which 46, 773are in surrounding Lazio province in Rome of which
majority are concentrated in the city of Rome and it indicated indicated
that about sixty-one percent of them are women.
Incongruent may be these figures, these studies and estimates confirm the fact
that within Europe, Italy is host of the largest Filipino migrants community in
Europe preceded only by Spain, Greece and Austria. Italy is among the top ten
destinations of Filipino migrants preceded only by Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong,
Japan, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates. The largest concentration of the
Filipino migrants in Italy could be found in Rome and Milan and its surroundings.
The
Feminized Migration Flow to
Italy
The researches of the Italian Institute for Statistics (ISTATS) concerning the
regular temporary workers in Italy points out that women comprise about
sixty-three percent of the migrants present in Italy. Sixty to seventy
percent of the Filipinos are employed in the service sector, with Filipino
women in large majority. In cities like Rome and Milan female Filipinos account
up to seventy percent of all Filipinos in these cities. It cannot be considered
an exaggeration to say that Filipino outward migration to Italy and elsewhere
has always been dominated by women.
The great majority of Filipino female migrants work in the domestic service
according to some specific studies, points out that ninety-five percent are
employed in domestic field. Nursing and employment in the entertainment sector
and employment in hotels are the other fields where Filipinas are represented
in minor numbers. It is noteworthy that the economic recession in the
Philippines in the mid-90’s led to the presence of male migrant labor in Italy,
although women are still in great majority. It is also the Filipinas who made
great efforts to reunite their families in Italy more than the other
nationalities when the Italian migration policies made it easier for the migrants
to petition the entrance of the members of their family into Italy in the
mid-90’s. Also, three profiles of the Filipinas are distinguished: married
women with children, single mothers and singles women.
Education
and Income Levels
Although it is somewhat difficult to assess the exact figures regarding the
different levels of education characterizing the Filipinos in Italy, anecdotal
evidence indicates that the Filipino migrants are more than fairly educated
compared to other migrants present in Italy, The majority of Filipino migrants
are high school graduates, and most having at least some university education.
Philippine sources have the same conclusion. Many of them are even university
graduates and most are experienced skilled workers before leaving for overseas.
It could, therefore, be concluded that it was the salary, living conditions or
job opportunity factor that drove most of them to migrate.
The Filipino migrants in Italy could now be classified as being part of the
middle-class in the Philippines, despite their relatively low income in Italy.
It should be important to note that the middle class in the Philippines has
diminished drastically in the years of the Marcos regime. Vast numbers of the
Filipino middle class has fled the country for political or economic reasons
due to severe repressions during that period, and the majority of those who
remained were either absorbed by the lower classes, and few, indeed very few,
were graduated to the upper class.
Remittances
In 2004, the total
remittance of Filipino migrants was 8.5 billion US Dollars. These figures does
not even include remittances sent through informal channels which, should it be
included, the total could reach a very much higher figure.
Of the total USD 20.5 B sent by the OFWs scattered in the whole world in 2013,
more than USD 46 M was from the OFWs in Italy, making them the fourth in the
rank of remittance sender to the Philippines.
The actual bulk of remittance sent by the OFWs into the country for that year
was estimated between US$14 billion to US$21 billion (1/3 from USA, 1/3 from
Middle East and 1/3 from other countries) based on the studies for the Asian
Development Bank (Kevin Melynn, ADB Consultant, Worker Remittances
as a Development Tool: Opportunity for the Philippines, ADB, 2003)
The present restrictions on money transfers that is being enforced by the
Italian authorities, may make it harder to estimate how much really are being
sent from this country. Most of the undocumented Filipino migrants can not
avail of the services of banks and money transfer firms and are forced to use
informal venues to send their money to their families, and this, of course can
not be included in the estimates on the total remittances.
François
Bourguignon, World Bank Chief Economist, wrote: “We have now a
research program on migration issues surrounding remittances, high-skilled
migration, temporary movement of persons, social protection and governance of
migration, and the link between trade, foreign direct investment, and
migration.” – Global Development Finance 2003 Annual
Report. (Global Economic Prospects 2006: Economic Implications of
Remittances and Migration.)
In the midst of a crisis, they use this tool as a crushing vise in exploiting
the country. The Philippines, like all the labor exporting countries, are
dependent on the remittances being sent home by the migrants. In fact, about
10% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product income are the remittances of the OFWs.
3.
The impact of the Global Financial Crisis
“THE
PRESENT SITUATION IS THE CULMINATION OF DECADES OF NEOLIBERALISM, CORPORATE
GLO-BALIZATION AND FINANCIALIZATION BETWEEN 1995 AND 2007 THAT REDUCED THE
SHARE OF INCOME GOING TO WORKERS’ WAGES BUT INCREASED THE SHARE GOING TO THE
FEW RICH CAPITALISTS AND CORPORATES IN THREE QUARTERS OF THE WORLD’S NATIONS.”
-
Prof William K. Tabb
The words of this American Economist echoes the sentiments of world’s workers
including the migrant workers who are shouldering the heavy burden of
sufferings caused by globalization, and now, the same workers again has to be
sacrificed by the people who created the sufferings by saving themselves and
leaving them in a mire of hardships they have to endure.
The problem has hit most the lower income bracket workers which includes the
migrants. Thousands has been the victims of retrenchments or cutting shorts of
working time and lowering of salaries. The migrants most affected in Italy are
those working in factories, constructions, and hotel/restaurant and supermarket
services, where hundreds were laid off or whose working times are abbreviated.
But worst is the flight of those who do not have regular contracts since they
cannot avail on unemployment compensations and has to tighten their belts.
There are still no official record of Filipino migrants in Italy directly
affected by the global crisis, but sixty to seventy percent of Filipino migrants
in Italy are in the service sector most domestic workers.
This phenomenon is universal. Like this crisis, it is global. It affects
both rich and poor country, although the third world countries are hit
harder because they are dependents of the neocolonist countries, they do
not have the means to remedy the situation.
Like the others, Filipino migrants has suffered the same fate. I do have the
data on migrants of other nationalities, but the table shows how the loss of
jobs, and also the stoppage of jobs long awaited by other workers that is by
now held in abeyance by the employers in the countries of destination caused by
the global crisis, is real and steps has to be done specially by the countries
that are dependent on the remittances being sent home by us migrants. The
Philippines is the world’s third largest recipient of remittances after India
and Mexico, The remittances of Filipino migrants represent 10.5 percent of the
country’s GDP, and about 20 percent of the country’s total earnings. The
diminished numbers of remittance senders could also affect the national
economy.
In terms of human sufferings,
almost all of the migrants, with a few exceptions are from the poorest sectors
of the society of the country where they are from. The loss of jobs would mean
hunger for many families. And since the majority are not covered by
unemployment insurance, it would mean more than just being hungry. It would
mean the education, housing and many others.
Italy:
the frontline of Fortress Europe
Italy
has seen a sustained inward migration in the past 20 years, given its
geographical position in the center of the Mediterranean, with more 8,000 km.
of coastline, the country is considered as the most accessable to Europe by the
migrants of many countries of origin.
The economic gaps between various regions of Italy also governs the way in
which migrants has entered the labor market. In the north, more markedly in the
industrialized northeastern regions with a low unemployment rates, immigrants
are mainly employed in industrial activities and are occupied in more or less
regular positions. In the central regions, notably in the city of Rome and its
surrounding provincial regions populated by well to dos, the migrants are
employed in the service sectors, mostly as domestic helpers, nannies and
caregivers especially the female migrants, In the South, the majority of
migrant workers are employed in seasonal jobs and in the clandestine
underground economy particularly in agriculture and construction sectors.
Aside from legal immigrants with regular documents and resident permits, there
is a great number of illegal migrants present in Italy. There are no precise
count available for the clandestines. The only estimate availble is from the
Caritas, a Catholic Church agency which gives assistance to the poor including
the clandestine migrants.
Because of negative propagandas by some political parties particularly the
extrem right Lega Nord and Forza Italia, criminality was tied with clandestine
migrants, breeding hatred and distrust among the people. As a result, incidents
of migrants being mauled by some extremist gangs, leading in some cases, to
death of the victims has occurred. Due to discriminations, migrants find it
very hard to find work and accomodations. They are also deprived of
social rughts and services.
Immigration
Laws
The
earliest attempt at regularizing and integration of migrants was
conceived in latter parts of 1988 and finally was approved by the Italian
Parliament in the beginning of 1990 as Law 39/90 otherwise known as the
Martelli Law. This law aims to make plans on migratory inflow to the country
with the collaboration of the immigrant’s country of origin. This law was later
further amended by the Amato-Ferrero Law.
In 1998, the center-left coalition government passed the Law 40/98 also called
the Turco-Napolitano Law which was an attempt to regularize the position of non
EU immigrants and improve their integration into Italian society. This law
imposed an intricate procedures for the deportation of illegal immigrants, who,
once accosted by the authority and tried by a magistrate and could be deported
in the event that he is judged by the court as illegal immigrant. The immigrant
is given 2 weeks to appeal his case. In most cases, this period is utilized by
the migrants to go underground.
The
Bossi-Fini Law
The xenophobic leader of Lega Nord Umberto, Bossi and the extreme right Forza
Italia of Silvio Berlusconi criticized the Law 40/98 as too soft. The
Center-Left coalition used, what in their opinion, the shortcomings of the law,
and the black propaganda against illegal immigration, as campaign issue and won
the May 2001 general election. From the onset of their coming to power, the
Center-Right government has made the immigration issue a priority and after a
bitter debate in the Parliament, passed the Law 189/2002 that regulates
immigration in a more strict term and issued a decree to regularize immigrants
already present in the country.
This law 189/02 also known as Bossi-Fini Law named after the politicians who
proposed it, took effect on July, 2002, amended the 1998 Imigration Law and
introduced new stringent clauses. The most significant aspects of the law are
the following:
· Before
November 30 of each year, the Prime Minister will lay down the number of non-EU
workers to be admitted into Italy for the following year (the so called Flussi
Decree).
· There shall
be no limitations for the entry in Italy for highly skilled workers (university
lecturers and professors, professional nurses, etc.).
· Other
workers of non-EU origin will be allowed to enter Italy only after obtaining a
“residence contratct”, signed both by the employer and the worker (contratto di
soggiorno).1
· An
immigration office will be set up in every province of Italy to oversee the
rectruitment all migrant workers.2
· Residence
permits for reason of employment with a maximum validity period of 2
years shall be issued to migrant workers.
· Clandestines
and irregular workers shall be accompanied by the authorities to the
border and deported. Deportations are immediate and cannot be suspended even
through an appeal through the courts.
· After 6
years of regular residence in Italy, non-EU citizens with stable jobs and the
necessaty economic requisites to support themselve and their family may apply
for a permanent residence permit.
· Minors of
non-EU origin in Italy shall be issued a residence permit when they reach adult
age (18 years), provided that they have already lived in Italy for at least 3
years, and have attended a social and civil integration programme provided by a
public or a private organization. This organization must guarantee that they
have adequate accommodations, study school or go to work. The number of
resident permits issued on this condition shall be deducted from the
pre-defined number of total annual permits.
Regularization
A decree on regularization was issued on 6 September, 2002 provides the
regularization of of two types of irregular immigrant worker: The undocumented
or clandestine migrants who had not been regularized since ttheir entry
into the trretory and the irregular immigrants with expired residence permits.
The categories include Domestic workers and home helpers, ie:caregivers
and nannies; and other dependent workers engaged in other suburdinate
employment.
The requirements fot the regularizations are as follows:
The
worker must have been employed by a company or individual employer for at least
3 months.
The
empl;oyer must agree to engage the worker on an open-ended or on a fixed term
contract the worker must receive a minimum monthly salary of € 700
within
10 days from the submission of the application for the regularization, both the
worker and employer shall be convoked by the prefecture or the police to
formalize the working contract.
and
to other EU Member States. For instance, there is anecdotal evidence indicating
that a number of Filipino domestic helpers brought along by their Arab
employers for a vacation in Europe succumb to the temptation of abandoning
their employment in favour of irregular stay in Italy or Europe with the help
of other Filipinos.
The
CFO does not have any available information on human trafficking or smuggling
activity involving Italy. Meanwhile, there are some reported cases of Filipinos
being recruited for fictitious work in EU countries including Italy, with the
aid of illegal recruiters – Filipino and Chinese – using fake passports and
visas.
A 2006
advisory from the POEA reported that some Filipinos in Hong Kong were lured
into paying HKD 25,000 to HKD 40,000 (or USD 3,214.83 to USD 5,143.73) for
their plane tickets and for processing tourist visas for Italy (POEA, 2006a).
Migrant
workers who are in Italy without the proper work documentation are ineligible
for basic social services and often find themselves in vulnerable and
exploitative work conditions. They cannot access formal financial, banking or
remittance services because of the inability to present formal work documents,
or for fear of disclosing their undocumented status. This sector has no choice
but to send money home through informal channels and, as the survey showed,
keep their earnings at their residences or carry money personally wherever they
go. It is expected that these irregular workers will persevere in such status
in the hope of obtaining amnesty in the future.
A
significant number of undocumented Filipinos in Italy have availed of the
amnesty and regularization program offered by the Italian Government. The last
amnesty was in 2002,when 646,829 foreigners were granted permits – including
9,820 Filipinos. Among regularized migrants who are in domestic work, Filipinos
(89% of regularized undocumented domestic workers) are the biggest ethnic group
(Carfagna et al., 2008). From June to September 2009, the Italian government
accepted amnesty applications from irregular foreign workers (Buenafe, 2009).
Integration
and occupational mobility of Filipinos. There are programs and procedures
available to foreigners who wish to upgrade their credentials to qualify
themselves for higher occupations. Among these are advanced professional
training programs administered by the regions.7 Legal recognition of
academic qualifications through an application with the appropriate university
or educational institutions, which must issue decisions within prescribed
periods, or recognition of professional titles such as nurses, doctors,
teachers, lawyers, accountants, biologists, consultants, and various other
expertise may be obtained through applications filed with the different
ministries. The basic requirements are a high level of knowledge of the Italian
language, and a valid permit to stay, aside from educational credentials and
other requirements. Scholarships and grants are also available to those wishing
to pursue higher studies.8 Some of the key informants suggested that
Filipinos are not benefiting from such programmes, as a good number of
Filipinos are juggling multiple jobs to augment their incomes to support the
family’s immediate needs or pay for various financial obligations, leaving no
time for upgrading their skills.
Filipino
migrants often do not have time for self-improvement because of their multiple
work engagements. In the words of Cristina Liamzon, a Filipino advocate for
socio-economic empowerment, Filipino migrant workers “lack the confidence or
mindset for self-improvement, in availing of language and training programmes,
or even educational grants, particularly those offered by city or provincial
authorities.” 9 This stresses the need for more initiatives in
capability building and raising awareness of opportunities for the Filipino
community. As many of these workers are focused on increasing their incomes
through hired work, and few are self-employed, the Filipinos as a group miss
out on the numerous entrepreneurship programmes promoted by the Italian
government.
Whether
due to the pressure to provide for the family’s needs or to cultural
inhibition, a good number of Filipino workers prefer earning a stable income by
taking more than one domestic or caregiving job. Doing so enables them to send
more remittances and/or increase their savings. This is preferable to upgrading
their skills or handling a business that does not offer prospects of financial
gains in the short term. As the survey for this research reveals, many depend
on a stable high income to pay for investments, house amortizations, insurance
premiums and loans in the Philippines.
Those
who advocate that in the long term, it would be beneficial for migrant workers
to take advantage of such training courses (which reportedly are in abundance)
may perhaps highlight stories of migrants who successfully made the leap from
domestic to professional or self-employed status.It is also possible that there
could be cultural barriers involved, since such training courses are reportedly
provided by Italian agencies in Italian language. It may therefore be worth
studying by the Philippine NGOs in Italy that they initiate the conduct of such
training courses in the embassy or Filipino church grounds. A vehicle to do
this might be the Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC), whose successful
FWRC skills training in Kuala Lumpur can be replicated in Rome and/or Milan,
where there are none at present.
Filipino
youths in Italy. The family reunification policies of Italy have provided for
Italy-based Filipinos a remedial solution of sorts to address issues relating
to the prolonged absence of their loved ones, as well as expanding their
household’s income base. The outcome of the family reunification, however,
appeared to be a little rather more complex. For one, there are concerns that
Filipino youths in Italy face immense challenges, including cultural adjustment
and acculturation. Some are seen engaged in socially destructive behaviour such
as juvenile delinquency and drug abuse, particularly among Filipino youths
whose move to Italy was decided by their parents. Given this opportunity to
join their parents, there are also documented cases of children not finishing
their schooling in the Philippines to join their parents in Italy and become
domestic workers (Añonuevo & and Añonuevo,
2002). The Italy–Philippines
Migration and Remittance Corridor
The
Italy–Philippines Migration and Remittance Corridor
In
another survey of 99 Filipino youths and 101 parents and NGO workers in Rome
(Liamzon, 2007), it was found that:
Ø Filipino youths in school
face serious social and academic problems, given their lack of Italian language
skills that hinders them from making friends; and
Ø Filipino parents admit to
difficulty in dealing with the struggles their children face in integrating
into Italian society, especially in circumstances where many parents have the
desire to work extra hours to augment the family income. Children
(especially those aged below 18 years old) complain of lack of family time, and
of the decision of their parents to have them come to Italy.
While
documentation on the Filipino minor population is not available, the issues
that face the youth are worthy of consideration, as many of them appear to have
been forced to move to Italy in order to contribute to the family income. Their
inclusion in programs on the productive use of remittances might be considered
as early as possible, although psychosocial counselling appears also to be a
paramount need. In the long term, the real cause for concern regarding migrant
Filipino minors is the emergence of a generation of OFs in Italy that pose new
challenges to:
o
both the sending and receiving governments in terms of the demand
for the smooth integration of the young migrants transplanted in a new country;
o
OFs who have to cope with their socially and culturally challenged
youth; • the Philippine government that must prepare for the future
reintegration of Italy-based
Ø Filipinos that may want to
return to the Philippines upon retirement or old age.
Ø The global economic crisis
and Filipinos in Italy. Many expected the global economic crisis that began in
2008 to affect migrants in various ways. The impacts, as mentioned by IOM
(2009), include:
•
restrictions on new admissions of migrant workers and non-renewal of work
permits;
• job losses,
wage reductions, ineligibility of newly arrived migrants for social benefits;
• racism and xenophobia;
• return
migration of displaced migrant workers;
• diminished
remittance volumes for countries;
• Increased
irregular migration; and
• specific
gender issues, e.g. which gender was more affected by job attrition.
The
admission of new migrant workers was heavily restricted in Italy. For the first
time, in 2009, no quotas were provided for new workers except for 80,000 slots
for non-EU seasonal workers. A report by the OECD (2009) states that Italy may
see its employers abandoning applications for immigrant workers.
Last year, about 10,000 employers withdrew requests for immigrant workers.
However, it seems that demand for domestic workers remains significant in Italy
and elsewhere despite the downturn. Most (at least two thirds) of the 2008
quota for foreign workers – and the entire quota for entries in 2009 – are
reserved for domestic and personal care workers (OECD, 2009). Although the
trends do not portend a doom scenario for Filipino workers in Italy (including
domestic workers), the Filipinos’ economic survival and better management of
resources remain urgent needs.
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