Illegal recruitment of foreign workers, the implementing decree has not yet been adopted

The national president of Als Mcl, Paolo Ragusa , sent a letter/appeal to the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi , specifying the following: «The Foreign Workers Association – Als of the Christian Workers Movement – ​​Mcl , an organization for the assistance, protection and representation of foreign workers, intends to bring to his attention the urgency of implementing the provisions of article 1, paragraphs 888, 889 and 890, of the 2025 Budget Law (law no. 207 of 30 December 2024), with particular reference to the establishment and operation of the Fund for combating the phenomena of illegal recruitment of foreign labor ».

«As you know, paragraph 888 of art. 1 of the 2025 Budget Law has established a special Fund at the Ministry of the Interior, with an endowment of 500 thousand euros per year for each of the years 2026 and 2027 , aimed at combating illegal recruitment practices of foreign workers , particularly in sectors at greatest risk of exploitation», Ragusa underlines in his letter. «Paragraph 889 provides that this fund can be accessed by Third Sector entities , regularly registered in the first section of the Register of associations and entities that operate in favor of immigrants (art. 42 Tul), authorized to carry out the activity of Employment Agency and owners of online platforms dedicated to the matching of supply and demand for work by foreign workers, accredited with the company Sviluppo Lavoro Italia Spa . Paragraph 890 refers to a decree of the Ministry of the Interior , to be adopted in agreement with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies , within 120 days of the entry into force of the Budget Law (i.e. by 1 May 2025), the definition of the methods of implementation, access and use of the Fund».

"To date, more than twenty days after the deadline, the implementing decree has not yet been adopted, which thus slows down the planning of concrete activities to combat the phenomena in question", is the accusation of President Ragusa. "The Association fully shares the purposes for which the legislator established the Fund mentioned above, recognizing the urgency and necessity of structural interventions to combat the illegal recruitment of foreign labor, which represents one of the most serious forms of labor exploitation in our country. The failure to adopt the implementing decree within the terms established by law risks seriously compromising the concrete implementation of operational tools designed specifically to combat these forms of illegality. The absence of the decree not only prevents ETS from accessing the allocated resources, but frustrates the entire regulatory framework, slowing down interventions that are fundamental for the legality of work and social cohesion. Therefore, we ask that the Ministerial Decree be urgently adopted, which is necessary and preparatory to the full implementation of the Fund to combat the phenomena of illegal recruitment of foreign labor".

Credit: Opening photo by Dinuka Gunawardana

Tags:
• Rights
• Government
• Work
• third sector