In 2020, some 59,000 immigrants lived in Tunisia, of whom 80% are from the Maghreb and sub-Saharan regions of Africa, according to the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in a 2022 report.
Approximately 5,500 immigrants are officially authorized to work each year. 40% originate from European countries, 31% from Arab countries, 14% from Asian countries and 4% from sub-Saharan Africa, according to a pamphlet on immigrant access to work in Tunisia, published by the NGO Terre d’asile.
The overwhelming majority of immigrants thus work under the table. They are employed primarily in the sectors of agriculture, construction, domestic work, manufacturing, service and tourism, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).
« Evaluation tools for the employment situation in Tunisia are disconnected from the reality of the Tunisian market », observes human resource economist in the study: « Regularizing the status of undocumented workers: European case studies and proposals for a Tunisian strategy compliant with international migration standards ». The study was published in 2020 by the German foundation Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Tunisie.
The job insecurity experienced by immigrants in Tunisia is inherent to the conditions of their residency. Living in Tunisia without a valid residency card, immigrants are compelled to look for informal work. And the ground is laid for exploitation.
« Faced with the perpetual risk of expulsion, laborers who find themselves in a situation of irregularity are very complaisant with their employers in order to avoid being denounced, which could mark the end of their migration trajectory », underlines Ben Sedrine.
To remedy this situation, the status of immigrant workers must be regularized. But the government has turned a blind eye to this informal market, even as it continues to grow.
Regularization to stem exploitation
Failure to regularize the status of immigrant workers will mean the continuation of this exploitation. However, the process that regularization entails promises to be long and complicated. This workforce—cheap, flexible, docile—is a boon for employers, even while some of them are favorable to regularization. These employers are prepared to recruit workers in compliance with Tunisian legislation, Ben Sedrine reports. To do so, the administration is called upon to accelerate regularization procedures for immigrant workers.
« Multiple back-and-forths between departments results in a great deal of uncertainty around the administration’s final decision, which discourages potential employers, especially small to medium businesses. The application of the principle of opposability with regards to the work situation raises questions around the efficacy of the tools in place for filtering work permit requests », writes Ben Sedrine. « Evaluation tools for the employment situation in Tunisia are disconnected from the reality of the Tunisian market. Administrative procedures in which different departments are involved in the processing of work permit requests are opaque ».
And yet it is only regularization that can guarantee the fundamental rights of immigrant workers and thus protect them against economic enslavement.
Regularization also serves to stamp out unhealthy competition between the local workforce which is more vocal about its rights, and the foreign workforce which is at once inexpensive and less demanding. This competition weakens social gains for all workers. Regularizing the situation of immigrant workers therefore offers « the best means of ensuring that migration is not used to bring down the quality of work conditions » writes Ben Sedrine.
It will also bring an end to unhealthy competition among employers. « The regularization of undocumented workers enables us to combat unfair competition in the work market, promotes decent work for all and provides an opportunity for the government to ensure efficient and fair market regulation », according to Ben Sedrine.
The need for legislative reforms
By way of example, the author describes how France and Italy have previously set to the task of regularizing immigrant worker status. Whereas France opted for a « case-by-case » approach, Italy at one point chose to tackle regularization en masse. In Tunisia, Ben Sedrine argues that existing legislation should be reformed to promote employment in the formal sector. In this vein, several articles must be abrogated, including article 259 of the Labor Code which bans workers’ geographical mobility. This ban impedes immigrant worker access to jobs in the formal sector.
The study further calls for the reform of legislation governing the conditions around a foreigners’ residency in Tunisia. Today, an immigrant’s residency permit becomes invalid once the reasons for which it was granted change. In this scenario, it is important that foreigners are guaranteed the right to actively seek employment and/or undergo professional training in order to secure work in the formal sector once his or her contract expires.
According to Ben Sedrine, an advisory committee must be created to oversee the regularization of immigrant worker status. This committee—to be composed of representatives from social partner organizations, associations that work in defense of human and migrant rights, concerned governmental departments and the National Authority to Combat Human Trafficking—would support the decision-making process of the administration which examines applications submitted by foreigners. The outcome of this process must be favorable with regards to the applicant’s situation, especially if he or she can provide valid proof of a professional activity.
The study does not neglect to point out the challenges that undocumented workers face in obtaining written proof of the true conditions and duration of work under former employers. In order for an immigrant to be able to provide proof of employment, social partners must play a role in supporting him or her. « The role of social partners (UGTT and UTICA) and of the Labor Inspectorate is to help the worker obtain this proof. The National Authority to Combat Human Trafficking could also help victims of this phenomenon », explains Ben Sedrine.
While certain texts are to be abrogated, others are to be upheld in order to guarantee the social and economic rights of undocumented workers. This includes provisions within the Constitution that guarantee the right to unionize, the right to strike, the right to health and to a healthy environment, the right to education, the right to work and the right to property. Other legal provisions are also to be applied, such as the organic laws which relate to combating human trafficking and violence against women, as well as the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination.
Regularizing the status of immigrant workers requires knowledge about the job market and awareness among workers about their rights and obligations.
Interviewed by Nawaat, Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) member Abdallah Echi affirms that the Union does not dispose of adequate information concerning immigrant workers. « There is absolutely no visibility with regards to this issue », he remarks, adding that « even undocumented workers themselves are not well-informed about their rights ».
And yet the UGTT has often spoken out in favor of regularizing the status of undocumented immigrant workers. It also launched the concept « Espace migrants » in different regions across the country to inform, guide and provide legal support for documented and undocumented immigrants in cases of rights violations. However, much remains to be done.
« Today, the UGTT and civil society organizations must contribute to building a public policy of regularization which assures immigrant workers that they can remove themselves from situations of irregularity and thus gain access to services provided by designated union offices and humanitarian associations » urges Ben Sedrine.
Regularizing the status of undocumented immigrants guarantees their right to decent work conditions. Moreover, it responds to the need for laborers in different sectors. Finally, regularization places foreign and local workers on an equal footing, offering another way to undercut the scapegoating and expulsion of immigrants who are accused of stealing jobs from the Tunisian labor force.
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