The Right to Work of Asylum Seekers and Refugees Publication by COSTELLO, Cathryn; O’CINNÉIDE, Colm / May 2021

 

The Right to Work of Asylum Seekers and Refugees

Publication by
COSTELLO, Cathryn; O’CINNÉIDE, Colm / May 2021

This working paper analyses the right to work to asylum seekers and refugees. Part I briefly sets the scene, with an account of the reality of work rights restrictions for asylum seekers’ and refugees. Part II analysis the right to work of asylum seekers and refugees, specifically examining the right under international human rights law of global and regional scope.

European Migration Network Study on Approaches to unaccompanied minors following status determination examines Right to work

The author of this blog (also a legal guardian of unaccompanied minors) advocates for any measure that can facilitate access of unaccompanied minors to the labour market, without prior work permit and irrespective of legal status. All unaccompanied minors should have access to "student job/ student contract" after school or during holidays providing they are identified as unaccompanied minors and go to school and vocational education or have full access to the legal market beyond school age, while being protected with specific work contract for minors. We also strongly believe that alternative educational vocational programmes where UAM can spend the most of their time learning vocational skills should be promoted. Those programmes are highly efficient and relevant for some unaccompanied minors who would remained out of school or demotivated otherwise.  We believe that UAM who attend educational trainings in sectors exposed to labor shortage should be also taken into consideration for residence permit whenever possible. 

The European Migration Network (EMN) recently released a study which explores the situation of unaccompanied minors (UAMs) who have been granted a residence permit in the EU plus Norway (EMN Study on Approaches to Unaccompanied Minors Following StatusDetermination in the EU plus Norway).The findings of this study are the following:

Support to employment to unaccompanied minors in the EU+

Legal employment hardly accessible to refugees in Turkey

While refugees are allowed to seek employment under Turkish law, legal jobs are largely inaccessible for the vast majority of refugees in Turkey. In its study, “I Am Only Looking for My Rights”: Legal Employment Still Inaccessible to Refugees in Turkey, Refugees International examines the challenges and consequences facing refugees as they seek employment in Turkey. The study is based on a October 2017 research mission.

The report finds that without legal employment, refugees become trapped in a cycle of informal work where the risk of exploitation and abuse is high and wages are low. 

Refugees in Turkey face enormous hurdles to finding legal employment and commonly work excessively long hours often in difficult working conditions and are paid a faction of their Turkish counterparts. In addition, the lack of decent wages for adult refugees pushes many refugee children into the job market as well, instead of attending school.

One of the difficulties refugees face is a climate of hostility and negative myths about the impact of refugees on Turkish society. 

The report offers the following policy recommendations (a.o):

Enhancing the integration of asylum seekers and refugees at EU level

In June 2016, the European Commission adopted the Action Plan for the Integration of Third Country Nationals which sets out 50 actions to support Member States and other actors in their effort to foster migrant integration, among which asylum seekers and refugees. To implement this Action Plan a Mutual Learning Programme (MLP) thematic event on measures to support the integration of asylum seekers and refugees was held in Brussels on 22 June 2016. The results of this conference were shared at the annual MLP dissemination conference on the value of mutual learning for policy making in Brussels on 9 December 2016.

How are refugees faring on the labour market in Europe?

The OECD & European Commission recently released a working paper based on a 2014 Labour Force Survey. It answers 2 simple questions: who are the migrants who come for humanitarian reasons to Europe and how are they doing on the labour market, education, language and culture.Those questions have particular relevance in the current situation, but are notoriously hard to answer, as refugees gradually ‘disappear’ in migration and integration statistics when gradually settling in. This first evaluation provides key findings which can inform current policy debates.

Employment
Refugees represent one of the most vulnerable groups of migrants on the labour market. With an overall average employment rate of 56%, it takes refugees up to 20 years to have a similar employment rate as the native-born. Family migrants achieve comparable results, while persons arriving for employment or study purposes reach this level at the latest after 9 years.