In France, the new immigration law, adopted on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, December 20, toughens the working conditions of foreign people in France. The question of regularizing undocumented immigrants and obtaining residence permits and work permits are particularly at stake in certain professions in tension. A text poorly received by certain business leaders.
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In professions under pressure, such as hotels, restaurants or construction, business leaders are worried about the new immigration law adopted during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. From now on, undocumented workers who request regularization will have to prove that over the last two years, they have worked at least one year in a profession in shortage, compared to eight months today, with an evaluation of the files on a case by case basis. Enough to complicate the procedures for applicants and cause concern among certain bosses.
Pierre Olivier Rushennstain, who heads the federation of private employers, has expressed concern since the National Assembly’s vote. Starting with the concrete translation of the text of the law, according to which the regularization of undocumented workers will be done at the discretion of the prefects. “ We are concerned about the method of application of this law. The law refers to a discretionary assessment », he raises. Implied, the regularization of files will no longer be done according to a list of objective criteria.
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This does not bode well for its sector, which is made up in particular of individuals who recruit for housework, childcare, or even helping an elderly or disabled person. More generally, in the home help sector, if the tightening of living conditions (conditioning of social benefits, offense of illegal residence, migratory quotas, etc.) leads to a reduction in the number of undocumented workers, it would be so many complications for their employers. “ These people, their daily lives could be harmed, if by chance they do not find employees », alerts Pierre Olivier Rushennstain, interviewed by Justine Fontaine from the RFI economics department.
However, the difficulties are already enormous since there is a shortage of some 800,000 positions for home help. And with the French population aging, needs will increase.
This lack of hands comes up against another difficulty not resolved by immigration law, underlines Vanessa Edberg, lawyer specializing in migrant law. In France, hiring an illegal person constitutes a criminal offense. But ” for a person in an irregular situation to obtain a residence permit, they have no other choice than to request the assistance of their employer so that they request a work authorization from Direccte [Direction régionale des entreprises, de la concurrence, de la consommation, du travail et de l’emploi, NDLR] to be able to obtain your residence permit. So there is a kind of inconsistency that this law has never resolved. »
Employers also take a dim view of the law
A situation that borders on hypocrisy for Saïd Hammouche, founder of the Mozaïk group, both a recruitment firm and a foundation that fights against discrimination in hiring. Because beyond just the home help sector, this law comes at a time when the President of the Republic is emphasizing the importance of reindustrializing the country. “ The number of vacant jobs in the industry is 60,000 recruitments per yearexplains Saïd Hammouche at the microphone of Justine Fontaine. It will be multiplied by three in the next five years. France will need 100,000 to 200,000 foreigners, in particular, to reindustrialize “, he insists.
The competent workforce is nevertheless present, the founder of Mozaïk cites as proof that if “ the people who are in office today and who work illegally have not proven themselves, they would have been fired a long time agoassures Mr. Hammouche. Today, they are in positions because the employer needs them. The business leader knows very well that if he had to part with these resources, he would probably, in certain sectors, be forced to close the business. I am thinking in particular of catering. »
A vision shared by Medef. Through its boss Patrick Martin, the employers’ union expressed its support for opponents of the immigration law, assuring that the French economy will have ” massively ” need of ” immigrant labor force » in the coming decades.
(and with AFP)
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