Per la libertà di movimento, per i diritti di cittadinanza

Memorandum 79 Oct. 16 2002: explanations

Regularized workers fiscal code release

Memorandum confirms that FISCAL CODE is to be released on the occasion of Prefettura multifunctional counter calling.

Memorandum gives practical instructions in order to solve cases of homocodes (two or more persons holding the same fiscal code because their personal data are similar). Mistakes will be quite easily changeable, as provided for by law.
Migrant workers may also already hold their own fiscal code (they might have previously had residence papers for any reason or they might hold it by mistake). Memorandum suggests to write the fiscal code on regularization application forms in those cases. This will help controls and correction of eventual mistakes.

Prefettura multifunctional counter calling is to come later than the what expected just because offices will only be able to examin few application forms a day.
An example: Padova’s Prefettura
Padova’s Prefettura received 8600 forms by October 10. The counter will study 15 forms a day. Even if more people are to be employed in this, awaiting times are a year long at least.

The first Milan Labour Court order

Good news are coming from Milan concerning the problem of employers denying regularization to their migrant employees and they “fire” them as a consequence. We’ve already talked of judicial proceedings on urgent petitions concerning this matter submitted to Labour Court, supporting the thesis that employers aren’t allowed to choose whether to regularize their migrant employers or not but they have to regularize them.
Milan Labour Court first judgement on this matter followed the above said interpretation of the law. Accepting petition’s claims labour judge in formal terms ORDERED the employer to give regularization application forms in (this is binding because otherwise employer can be criminally prosecuted.
This is the first result of workers protection campaign started off in different Italian cities, it is the first court order on those proceedings. This court order shows that it is worth to appeal to magistrateship to have a correct interpretation of the law and to have the assurance that regularization is binding.
We will give more information on this matter when the grounds for the judgement will be published.

2002 Flows Decree

Council of Ministers President decree on “non EU workers entry flows temporary planning for year 2002 in Italian territory.”
Surprisingly October 16 flows decree was signed, a measure that authorizes new entries within migrant flows planning. The decree hasn’t been published yet, the letter of the decree is readable on the net, therefore Labour bureaus haven’t received any memorandum nor instructions telling how to bring the decree into act. The letter is rather concise and the word “temporary” isn’t clear at all. Let’s try to read it together.

Article 1
1.During year 2002 on self-employed work basis 2000 people coming from non EU countries are admitted in Italy. Art. 3 and 4 tells which countries are excluded. The following working categories are to be admitted:
– researchers
– entrepreneurs working in interesting to national economy fields
– freelance
– collaborators
– shareholders or non cooperative firms administrators
– international fame artists and also qualified artsists emloyed by privates and public offices as well.
2. Conversions from study visas to self-employed residence papers are not allowed.

This article holds a derogation of the existing consolidated act laws on immigration (the Regolamento di attuazione del Testo Unico) – which shouldn’t change since they were enacted by a legislative decree prevailing on a decree signed by the cabinet. Study visas cannot be turned into a self-employed work residence paper. We are entitled to believe that tourism visas should be able to turn into self-employed work residence papers, self-employed work needs to be one o the above said.

Working categories review

– “entrepreneurs working in interesting to national economy fields”: this makes us think that a discretionary rating on the business ENTITY and also on the kind of activity run.
– “freelance”: many problems are raised by freelance workers, in fact are the entitled to be put on professional registers when necessary?
– “collaborators” many working relations employ collaborators. Doubts on the effectiveness of the contract easily raise, in fact many subordinated works are disguised as collaborators.

A question coming from the first accomodation centre in Bolzano asks whether a person holding a pregnancy visa and having the chance to sign a working contract (as a house cleaner in a cooperative) can switch the pregnancy visa into a self-employed residence paper or not. The question goes on asking if that person needs to go back to her country of origin to obtain a self-employed residence paper on the basis of the contract.

The above said article 1 also refers to collaborators (co.co.co). Anyway the case referred from Bolzano says that Department of Labour replied that “the conversion into self-employed residence papers is verified case by case and the conversion is usually denied when a person is to work in a cleaning cooperative. We wonder if a labour department discretionary evaluation is possible when studying collaborators cases.
Labour Department could study the contract in order to verify if it is a real collaborator’s job (too often subordinated work is disguised as collaborator’s work) and the department could deny to turn the residence papers into self-employed residence papers. If no doubts raise, the conversion is accepted and a receit is released.

Article 2
1.During year 2002 500 non EU citizens are admitted in Italy beeing employed in highly qualified subordinated working relations. People coming from country excluded in art. 3 and 4 are not allowed to stay in Italian territory. Highly qualified refers to top managers, of coarse.

“Highly qualified subordinated working relations” implies a discretionary evaluation that cannot be based upon the contract offered to the migrant workers.

Article 3
1.During year 2002 Italy accepts workers holding Italian origins and living in Argentina – this means that at least one parent is Italian in a direct line up to third grade relationship – are allowed to ask for resedence papers for subordinated work, for seasonal work and also for self-employed work. Those workers need to ask to be registered in a specific list at Italian diplomatic delegation or embassy in Argentina, explaining their working qualification. Up to 4000 people are to be allowed to resedence papers.

Argentine citizens are to benefit from this article (Argentine citizens who aren’t also Italian in fact if already Italian they don’t need to ask for permission to enter). Argentine citizens, living in Argentina, need ALSO to hold Italian origins – that is to say that their greatgrandparents must be Italians.

Article 4
1.During year 2002 Italy accepts 10.000 subordinated migrant workers, even on seasonal work basis. Workers coming from countries who stipulated migration agreements with Italian government are allowed to work in Italy. Numebers are divided are following:
3000 Albanian citizens – 2000 Tunisian citizens – 2000 Moroccan citizens – 1000 Egyptian citizens – 500 Nigerian citizens – 500 Moldavian citizens – 1000 Sri Lanka citizen.

There are new countries involved in cooperation agreements, such as Egypt, Niger, Moldavia, Sri Lanka. Those countries benefit from reserved immigration quota.

The 2000 self-employed workers entries and the 500 highly qualified workers and managers entries do not benefit from those quota. Argentinian citizens and also citizens being entitled to register into reserved quota won’t be allowed to benefit from those quota, too.
No entry provision is made to normal subordinated work categories a part the ones entirled to register themselves in reserved quota.

Article 5
1.During year 2002 Italy accepts 4000 non EU migrant seasonal workers.

Those 4000 entry permissions allow foreign workers coming from any country to ONLY seasonal work here in Italy.

It is quite easily understood that these numbers are not enough compared to the demands given in at Labour Departments from january 2002 on. Anyway, all those people are already living in Italy and they’ve probably already applied for regularization or they are about to do so.

Minister Maroni memorandum, published few months ago, stated that all foreign citizens employment applications presented in January were voided only because there wasn’t a flow decree. We suppose that another memorandum will come and it will state that all foreign citizens employment applications are to be PRESENTED AGAIN, also in cases of people allowed to benefit from reserved quota.

Family rejoining visas release

Family rejoing procedures are quite easy, in fact the application can be given in at Police Headquarters. The application must state that a fit accomodation (a Council certificate is necessary) will host family members. The application must also state that a minimal wage guarantees the family maintenance.
Police Headquarters give permission to family rejoining, unfortunately Italian embassies are not releasing visas and aren’t even fixing appointments to give in application forms nor are they authorizing police Headquarters to proceed on rejoining.

Italian General consulate in Casablanca wrote a note on October 10 2002:

“since the closing of Tangeri vice consulate in June 30 2001, since the enlargement of our territorial jurisdiction, since the progressive reduction of personnel established by Minister of Internal affairs and started off 18 months ago and since the Police calling back of 4 of their employees, this Consulate is not able to keep on working because of the scarsity of personnel and the increasing number of application demands. Since today on we shall temporary close our visas offices giving up a long time seriously comprised activit. Visas office will only consider the thousands applications still awaiting and also particular cases…”

I personally received this note because I had previously received the authorization to apply for family rejoining proceedings by a Maroccan citizen. The man sent the authorization to his family members to take it to the consulate, but they couldn’t manage to give the paper in neither fix an appointment. I of coarse sent a warning in the name of the Maroccan man, and the above reported note was the answer. Visas office is closed to public services and the only application studied are the 2001.
The note cgoes on stating:
“The release and the study of visas applications is limited to urgent cases. In order to proceed to the study of more contemporary cases we therefore ask to avoid other warnings”.

There’s no need of remarks to this note which simply says: “we are close, leave us alone otherwise it will take much longer the study proceedings”.

The lack of personnel is a seriously worrying issue. The closing of VISAS OFFICES is even more worrying. The fact that the consulate chose to close down the office instead of working in a slower way doesn’t find any excuse.
Proceedings being at the moment verified are last year ones, there’s in fact a 10 months delay in the release of visas, which are a fundamental right of workers ling in Italy. This right is sanctioned by the Labour International organization International agreement 143/1975.

Other diplomatic delegations signal the length of waiting periods and the lack of answers on visas release.
An Asgi legal advisor from Verona tells us that he/she had to appeal to the worker’s living place ordinary court which allowed the worker’s family rejoining.
Immigration Consolidated act art. 30 (unchanged by Bossi-Fini law) states that the court is allowed to issue immediate visas release orders to consulate delegations.

Another note comes from the embassy in Tirana (Albania) unwilling to release rejoining visas. It recently refused the release of a visa ORDERED by Padova court (sentenced according to T.U. art. 30) and which was immediately feasible. Today the embassy hasn’t released the visa yet.
A cultural mediator who works in Lecce signals that Italian embassy in Albania almost stopped the release of visas. The reason seems to be “an instruction coming from top authorities”.
Don’t forget that those office should work in the respect of individual RIGHTS acknowledged by both state and international agreements.

Italian embassy in Monzambico is another case. The family rejoining (parents in this case) visa authorization came from Verona Police Headquarters before the enactment of Bossi-Fini law. The authorization should therefore follow previous laws and shouldn’t take into consideration the new Bossi-Fini drastic measures which say that parents need to be older than 65 years old, they cannot have other children who could help them out in the country.
The legal advisor received a first positive answer but then the embassy asked for the NEW requisites to be presented. Bossi-Fini law IS NOT RETROACTIVE and it doesn’t say anything on this matter. The fact the above said visa was asked after the enactment of the new law doesn’t change the court order which simply is a OWED ACT.
Embassies duty is to verify that the presented documents state the degree of kindred since all other issues were previously evalueted by Police Headquarters.
This is a doubtful behaviour which only confirm that the release of family rejoing visas is being limited.

Please note all similar cases because paying attention on the seriousness of the problem is extremely important.
Art. 30 is a remedy, in fact a court order cannt possibly be eluded.