Question – In Como many temporary employment agencies do not employ workers whose residence papers were issued on basis of humanitarian protection since they do not have the word “labour” printed on them. Presidential decree number 334 issued October 18th 2004 art. 14 paragraph 1 letter c states “they allow to subordinated labour…”
Can we have this decree applied? What could we do to have such agencies undestand that they can employ citizens whose papers are humanitarian protection ones.
Law 286 art. 18 says “social protection residence papers”, can it be applied to the quoted permits?
Answer – This question refers to a novelty introduced by the new rules for the enforcement of immigration law. Many labour agencies do not employ migrant workers whose residence papers were issued on basis of humanitarian protection since such papers have nowhere printed that they allow to labour. As the question underlines the rules for the enforcement of Bossi-Fini law – art.14 – state that humanitarian residence papers allow to subordinated labour and also to self-employment.
Art. 14 paragraph 1 letter c provides for that residence papers issued on basis of family rejoining, humanitarian protection do allow to labour, both subordinated and self-employed labour. This is authorised at the same conditions provided for in case of migrant citizens whose papers were released because of subordinated or self-employed labour.
Law says that humanitarian residence papers imply that labour is allowed and therefore the sentence “allowing to labour” is not necessary on papers. It may be a good idea to have it printed in order to avoid the mentioned above problems but it is not mandatory.
In the past – before the rules for the enforcement of the law became operative – the fact that humanitarian protection visas allowed to labour was not clear at all. It depended on the institution that released the permit (Central commission reccomendation, exceptional procedure adopted by governments on occasion of great migrations) but labour was usually allowed anyway.
These problems are today over: new rules for the enforcement of Bossi-Fini law provide for that humanitarian protection papers entitle their holders to work. We only strongly suggest to all citizens that have such papers to have them converted as soon as possible into subordinated/self-employed labour papers because humanitarian visas are an exceptional kind of papers: this avoids the risk of having papers revoked or renewal denied.
In fact humanitarian protection papers need to have issuing conditions evaluated each time renewal is required. In case conditions in home countries are changed papers risk to be denied, in accordance with Commissione centrale per il riconoscimento dello stato di rifugiato (Central Commission) opinion.
If employment, housing, passport are available we therefore suggest all interested people to have humanitarian papers converted into regular labour ones.