Italy: Law No. 943 of 1986, Regulations concerning the Placement and Treatment of Immigrant Extra-Community Workers and Against Clandestine Immigration

Date of entry into force: 30 December 1986 This legislation includes amendments up to and including: 16 March 1988

Chapter ONE - GENERAL PRINCIPLES. INSTITUTION OF CONSULTATION ON THE PROBLEMS OF IMMIGRANT WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES. INSTITUTION OF THE SERVICE FOR IMMIGRANT WORKERS' AND THEIR FAMILIES' PROBLEMS

Article 1

The Italian Republic, giving effect to ILO Convention No. 143 of 24 June 1975, ratified by the Act of 10 April 1981, No. 158, shall guarantee to all extra-Community workers legally resident in their territory and to their families equality of treatment and full equality of rights with Italian workers.The Italian Republic shall further guarantee the rights relating to the use of social and health services in accordance with article 5 of the Legislative Decree of 30 December 1979, No. 663, as converted in amended form into the Act of 29 February 1980, No. 33, to the maintenance of cultural identity, to schooling and to the availability of housing, within the limits of the regulations governing the exercise thereof.

Article 2

1.In order to promote, with the participation of those directly concerned, initiatives calculated to remove the obstacles impeding the effective exercise of the rights referred to in article 1, a Council on Extra-Community Workers' and Their Families' Problems shall be established in the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

2. The following shall be appointed by decree of the Minister of Labor and Social Security to membership of the Council referred to in paragraph 1:

(a)six representatives of the extra-Community workers, nominated by the most representative associations in operation in Italy;

(b)four representatives nominated by the national trade union confederations of workers;

(c)three representatives nominated by the national trade union organizations of employers in the various economic sectors;

(d)four experts nominated by the Minister of Education, the Minister of the Interior, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Finance respectively;

(e)four representatives of local government, including two nominated by the regions, one by the National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI) and one by the Union of Italian Provinces (UPI);

(f)three representatives of the associations working in the field of assistance to immigrants.

3. One alternate shall be appointed per actual member of the Council.

4. The Council referred to in this article shall be presided over by the Minister of Labor and Social Security.

5. A Commission shall be established in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote and supervise the application of the bilateral and multilateral agreements which are provided for by ILO Convention No. 143 of 24 June 1975, ratified by the Act of 10 April 1981, No. 158, and which are concluded to govern migratory movements, the prevention and punishment of illicit manpower trafficking, inter alia, in the countries of origin, and reciprocal collaboration to safeguard the civil, social, economic and cultural rights of immigrant workers and their families.

6. The Commission referred to in paragraph 5 shall be composed of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Labor and Social Security or their delegates, three representatives nominated by the workers' trade union organizations and three representatives nominated by the employers' trade union organizations, appointed by ministerial decree by agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

7. Within six months after the entry into force of this Act, the regions shall institute, by analogy with the provisions of paragraph 1 and paragraph 2, subparagraphs (a), (b), (c) and (f), regional councils on extra-community workers' and their families' problems, with competence in matters assigned to the regions by the Constitution and the laws of the State.

8. The participation of all the public bodies, central and local, referred to in this article shall be unpaid for members and alternates alike, save for the reimbursement of travelling expenses, if any, for those who are not employees of the public administration and do not reside in the municipalities in which the aforementioned bodies have their offices.

Article 3

1.A special Service for Extra-Community Immigrant Workers' and Their Families' Problems shall be established in the Directorate General of Manpower Placement of the Ministry of Labor and Social security and shall, on the basis of the Minister's directives and the opinions expressed by the Council referred to in article 2 and by the Central Employment Board, promote, directly or through the government departments or institutions competent in the matter, intervention or action in favor of:

(a)the information of extra-Community workers and any other form of activity designed to guarantee equality of rights and duties with Italian workers;

(b)the continuity of flows of information to Italian consulates abroad and to foreign consulates in Italy with reference to the problems of citizens of the States concerned;

(c)the enumeration of offers of employment and the information of extra-Community workers thereon;

(d)the integration of extra-Community workers in the new social reality and vocational training;

(e)finding housing;

(f)safeguarding the language and culture of extra-community workers and their education;

(g)safeguarding associationism;

(h)the social welfare and protection of the trade-union, fiscal and national insurance rights of extra-Community workers;

(i)safeguarding the rights of extra-Community workers in the matter of disability and accidents, inter alia, at the time of their return;

(j)the examination of problems relating to remittances of foreign currency.

2. The Service shall be headed by a senior director appointed from among those currently serving in the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, who shall be a member de jure of the Council referred to in article 2. He shall be assisted by technical and administrative staff assigned to the Service by decree of the Minister of Labor and Social Security, without any other change or any increase in the Ministry's establishment.

Article 4

1.Extra-Community workers legally resident in Italy and employed shall have the right to reunion with their spouse and their unmarried dependent children deemed minors by Italian legislation, who shall be admitted to the national territory and may reside there for the same period as that for which the worker is admitted, provided that the said worker is in a position to provide them with normal living conditions.

2. After a year's regular residence in the State, the members of the worker's family referred to in paragraph 1 shall be granted a work permit subject to compliance with the directives and criteria referred to in article 5 and article 8, paragraphs 3 and 4.

3. On family grounds, dependent parents shall be allowed to enter and reside in the State, provided that this is not for the purpose of work.

Chapter TWO - PLANNING THE EMPLOYMENT OF EXTRA-COMMUNITY EMPLOYEES IN ITALY

Article 5

1.The Minister of Labor and Social Security, after consulting the Central Employment Board and the Council referred to in article 2, shall lay down by his or her own decrees, in agreement with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of the Interior and in conformity with Community and international commitments, general directives on the employment and occupational mobility of extra-Community employees in Italy, and in particular for the purpose of:

(a)the submission and collection of applications from extra-Community workers legally resident in Italy and, where appropriate, from those living abroad who ask to be given access to work in the employ of an enterprise operating in the territory of the Italian Republic;

(b)the keeping of special placement lists of extra-Community workers and the establishment of gradings thereof.The said lists shall be so kept that foreign workers already legally resident in Italy precede in grading, in the following order: workers who are members of their families; extra-Community workers, resident abroad, in search of initial employment in Italy, whose application has been submitted in accordance with the directives concerning the implementation of subparagraph (a);

(c)the monthly enumeration of offers of employment left outstanding with the competent Regional Employment Boards and the collection of annual forecasts concerning sectors in which the rhythm of work is predominantly seasonal.Employers and trade-union organizations shall collaborate with the Regional Employment Boards, supplying them with all possible information concerning variations in the supply of employment;

(d)access to employment for the aforementioned workers in response to a numerical request after it has been determined for at least a month that Italian or community workers are not available to take up the posts on offer.

2. When 24 months have elapsed since an extra-Community worker was first given access to employment in Italy, he shall, if unemployed or seeking fresh employment, be entered in the placement lists kept for Italian workers.

3. The Italian Republic shall not make the gradings subject to the existence of reciprocity agreements but shall favor the implementation of such agreements whenever they become feasible.

Article 6

1.Access to employment by personal invitation and direct travel shall be governed by the regulations applicable to Italian workers.

2. Extra-Community workers to be employed in domestic service shall be recruited on the basis of a request for them by name.The permit referred to in article 8, paragraph 3, may be issued to the aforementioned workers, inter alia, for the establishment of a plurality of relationships which together afford full-time employment.

3. Students attending Italian public and private educational establishments of any kind and at any level may apply for a permit to perform work of specified duration, in the course of their studies, for an aggregate period not exceeding 500 hours a year.They shall be given access to employment after extra-Community workers already legally resident in Italy and the workers referred to in article 5, subparagraph (d).

Article 7

1.The Regional Employment Boards shall plan the use of manpower originating from abroad on the basis of the ascertained requirements of the labor market.

Chapter THREE - PROCEDURE FOR ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT

Article 8

1.For the purposes of admission to Italy in order to work, an extra-Community worker shall be in possession of a visa issued by the competent consular authorities on the basis of the work permits granted by the competent Provincial Labor and Full Employment Offices in accordance with the directives referred to in article 5.

2. The visa referred to in paragraph I may be issued by the Italian consulate in the worker's State of origin or permanent residence if he is in possession of a work permit bearing the provisional authorization of the competent provincial police authority.

3. The Provincial Labor and Full Employment Offices shall provide for the issue of a permit after determining that Italian or Community workers having vocational skills for which the work permit application has been submitted are not available and after checking the conditions offered by the employer to the extra-Community worker.Such treatment may not in any case, for the purposes of article 1, be inferior to that prescribed for Italian workers by the collective agreements for the sector.

4. A work permit shall be valid for two years and shall apply to the duties for which recruitment is requested.

5. In the event of repatriation, the extra-Community worker shall retain the national insurance and social security entitlements accrued and may enjoy the same irrespective of the existence of a reciprocity agreement.

6. The local authorities of the place of residence shall make arrangements, through the social services, for every requirement to be met with regard to integration in the community and for suitable housing to be made available in advance, where appropriate establishing councils for the purpose.

7. Participation in the councils referred to in paragraph 6, even for alternate members if any, shall be unpaid, without attendance fees or reimbursement of expenses.

8. The functions of the Workers' Advisory and Social Welfare Institutes referred to in the Legislative Decree of the Provisional Head of State of 29 July 1947, No. 804, as subsequently amended and amplified, shall be extended to include extra-Community workers engaged in regular work in Italy.

Article 9

1.Italian and extra-Community workers may apply for the recognition of vocational training qualifications acquired abroad; failing specific agreements, the Minister of Labor and Social Security shall, after consulting the Central Employment Board, lay down conditions and procedures for the recognition of qualifications in individual cases.

Furthermore an extra-Community worker may participate, pursuant to article 2, third paragraph, of the Act of 21 December 1978, No. 845, in all training and retraining courses held in the territory of the Republic.

2. In order to encourage the integration of extra-Community workers and their families in the Italian community, the regions shall promote appropriate courses in the Italian language and culture.The regions shall further encourage the participation of extra-Community workers in vocational and other training courses.

3. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, in agreement with the Minister of Labor and Social Security and within the limits of the programs and agreements referred to in article 14, subparagraphs (g) and (h), and article 16 of the Act of 9 February 1979, No. 38, may prepare comprehensive schemes for the reintegration of extra-Community workers in their countries of origin where the conditions therefore are met and appropriate guarantees are provided by the Governments of the countries of origin, or shall approve requests from public and private bodies for the preparation of similar schemes, inter alia, for other countries.

4. The regions shall, directly or through other local bodies, promote cultural programs for the various national groups on the proposal of the Council referred to in article 2, which shall arrange to indicate annually the initiatives calculated to achieve such purposes, inter alia, through courses held at establishments of higher education or university institutes.

5. By analogy with the provisions for the children of Community workers and the children of Italian emigrants who return to Italy, specific supplementary instruction shall be given in the language and culture of origin.

Article 10

1.Notwithstanding the provisions of article 5, bilateral agreements may provide for the utilization in Italy, under a contract of employment, of groups of workers to carry out specified works or to perform specified services of limited duration; at the end of the employment relationship, the workers shall return to their country of origin.

2. The agreements referred to in paragraph 1 shall prescribe procedures and arrangements for the issue of work permits.

Article 11

1.If an extra-Community worker is dismissed pursuant to the agreements in force concerning collective dismissals before 24 months have elapsed since the date of establishment of the first employment relationship after immigration into the national territory, the enterprise which engaged the aforementioned worker shall, in order to arrange placement and economic assistance therefore, notify the dismissal to the competent Provincial Labor and Full Employment office which issued the work permit, for entry in the placement lists; the said Office shall arrange for the extra-Community worker dismissed to be entered in the list referred to in article 5, paragraph 1, subparagraph (b), with priority over new extra-Community workers and with an obligation to give him priority in the search for a new offer of employment in the locality where he lives or in those closest to it.

2. In a case of individual dismissal ordered pursuant to the laws in force before the time-limit laid down in paragraph 1, or in a case of resignation, the employer shall notify thereof, within five days after the ending of the employment relationship, the Provincial Labor and Full Employment Office which issued the work permit and which shall arrange for entry in the ordinary placement lists.

3. The loss of his job shall not constitute grounds for depriving an extra-Community worker and the legally resident members of his family of their residence permit.

4. In order to safeguard rights deriving from an employment relationship, an extra-community worker may, pursuant to articles 413 et seq. of the Code of Civil Procedure, file an appeal with the magistrate serving as labor judge.

Article 12

1.Any person who, in breach of this Act, engages in trafficking in illicit or in any way clandestine movements of workers migrating for employment purposes from or to the national territory or in transit through it, or who employs extra-community immigrant workers under illicit conditions in order to encourage the exploitation thereof shall be liable to long-term imprisonment (reclusione) for not less than one year and not more than five years and, for every worker recruited, to a fine of not less than 2 million and not more than 10 million lire.

2. Any employer who has in his employ extra-Community immigrant workers lacking the work permit prescribed by this Act shall be liable to a fine of not less than 500,000 and not more than 2 million lire and, in more serious cases, to short-term imprisonment (arresto) for not less than three months and not more than one year.

Article 13

1.A fund shall be established at the National Social Security Institute (INPS) for the purpose of providing the necessary resources for the repatriation of any extra-Community worker who lacks such resources.

2. The fund, for which separate accounts of income and expenditure shall be kept in the administration of the compulsory unemployment insurance scheme, shall be financed by a contribution from the extra-Community worker equal to 0.50 per cent of the remuneration referred to in article 12 of the Act of 30 April 1969, No. 153.The said contribution, which the employer shall be bound to pay, shall be subject to the provisions in force concerning the assessment and collection of contributions due to the Employed Workers' Pension Fund.

3. In order to ensure balanced administration, the rate of contribution referred to in paragraph 2 may be changed by decree of the Minister of Labor and Social Security in agreement with the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of the Treasury, after consultation with the board of directors of INPS, on the basis of the results of the final balance of the said Fund.

Article 14

1.The following shall be excluded from the application of this Act save as provided by paragraph 2:

(a)frontier workers;

(b)aliens who are guests for reasons of study or vocational training;

(c)aliens employed by organizations or enterprises operating in the territory of the Italian Republic who have been admitted temporarily, at the employer's request, to perform specific functions or tasks for a limited and specified period and who are bound to leave the country when the said functions or tasks are completed;

(d)aliens employed at institutions governed by international law;

(e)artists and workers in the performing arts;

(f)seamen.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Act, extra-Community workers in the performing arts may be engaged by employers in order to meet requirements connected with the direction and production of artistic performances in virtue of an appropriate permit issued by the Special Office for the Placement of Workers in the Performing Arts or the branch offices thereof, which shall take the necessary action, after consulting the Ministry of Tourism and the Performing Arts, subject to a provisional authorization from the provincial police authority.The permit shall, save in the case of artistic personnel or personnel to be employed for periods not exceeding three months, be issued before the extra-Community worker enters the national territory.Extra-Community workers authorized to work as employees in the performing arts sector may not change their sector of work or the capacity in which they have been engaged.The Minister of Labor and Social Security, in agreement with the Minister of Tourism and the Performing Arts, shall determine the procedure and arrangements for the issue of the permit provided for in this paragraph.

3. Similarly, this Act shall not apply to nationals of States Members of the European Economic Community (EEC) or to extra-Community workers for whom special, more favorable regulations are laid down pursuant to international agreements or otherwise.

4. Nothing in the foregoing shall affect the provisions which prescribe the possession of Italian citizenship for the pursuit of particular activities.

Article 15

1.The foregoing shall be without prejudice to the provisions concerning the entry of aliens into and the residence of aliens in Italy.

Chapter FOUR - REGULARIZATION OF PREVIOUS SITUATIONS. FINANCIAL COVERAGE.

Article 16

1.Within three months after the date of entry into force of this Act, extra-Community workers who for any reason whatsoever were residing or staying in Italy on that date and employers who were irregularly employing foreign workers on the same date shall be bound to give notice thereof to the Provincial Labor Office competent for the territory in order to regularize their position.

2. The Service referred to in article 3, through the branch offices of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, and also workers' advice bureaux and institutions or foundations having a social purpose, shall arrange to give maximum publicity to the provisions of this article in order to promote the regularization of the position of extra-Community workers present in the territory.With a view to the regularization of their previous positions, those concerned may avail themselves of the services of the voluntary advisory organizations referred to in the Legislative Decree of the Provisional Head of State of 29 July 1947, No. 804, as subsequently amended and amplified.

3. Following the notice referred to in paragraph 1, the Provincial Labor Office shall issue a work permit to irregularly employed workers and shall arrange to enter unemployed extra-Community workers in the placement lists.

4. The regularization referred to in the preceding paragraph shall include recognition of the rights referred to in article 1.

5. In a case in which the worker is without papers or is in possession of papers that are no longer valid, the municipality in which the extra-Community worker is staying may proceed to recognize him or her by certification through the simultaneous collection of a sufficient number of depositions from Italian citizens or from persons originating from the same State as the worker who has applied for regularization.

6. Within three months after the date of entry into force of this Act, employers who intend to take into an employment relationship extra-Community workers present in Italy on the said date may request the prescribed permit from the competent Provincial Labor and Full Employment Office even if the said workers are not entered in the lists.

7. Extra-Community workers who, by the date of entry into force of this Act, have contravened the provisions concerning the residence of aliens laid down in the Single Text of the Police Acts and the related regulations of implementation shall not be liable to a penalty if, within three months after the said date, they report to the provincial police authority of the place where they are staying in order to make a declaration of residence and declare their own work situation.The Provincial Labor Office shall proceed with the regularization of extra-Community workers in possession of a residence permit.

8. Work actually performed before the notice referred to in paragraph 1 is given shall be recognized, subject to the statute of limitations, not only for the purposes of article 2126 of the Civil Code but also for those of the compulsory general disability, old age and survivors and involuntary unemployment insurance schemes.The contributions thereto shall be calculated on the basis of the minimum remuneration valid for contribution purposes and shall be paid, without the increments prescribed for delayed payment, within the time-limit laid down in paragraph 1, solely in respect of periods preceding the same. These provisions shall also apply to employment relationships that ended before the date of entry into force of this Act, provided that they are declared in accordance with paragraph 1.

9. An employer who has promptly fulfilled the obligation imposed by paragraph I shall not be liable to a penalty for breaches of the regulations concerning the establishment of an employment relationship, or for breaches of the provisions concerning the residence of aliens laid down in the Single Text of the Police Acts and the related regulations of implementation, which were committed in connection with the employment of alien workers and for which no enforceable sentence has been imposed.The same provisions shall apply to employers who, within three months after the date of entry into force of this Act, declare the existence of previous employment relationships which ended before the said date.

10. Any employer who fails to fulfill the obligation imposed by paragraph 1 shall be liable to the penalties prescribed in article 12, paragraph 2. Any foreign worker who fails to fulfill the said obligation shall be liable to the administrative penalty of a fine of not less than 100,000 and not more than 500,000 lire.

Article 17

1.An appeal by the person concerned shall lie to the administrative judiciary against any denial relating to the phase of regularization.

2. Any immigrant workers clandestinely in Italy on a date subsequent to that of the entry into force of this Act shall be immediately repatriated, with due observance of the international safeguards and procedures relating to human rights.Any extra-Community workers who fail to apply for regularization of their position pursuant to article 16 within the time-limits prescribed by this Act shall likewise be repatriated under the same safeguards.

Article 18

1.Within a time-limit of six months after the date of entry into force of this Act, the Government shall communicate to Parliament the data concerning the regularization of previous situations, stating the number thereof, the category of workers and the country of origin.

Article 19

1.The expenditure entailed by the functioning of the Council referred to in article 2 and of the Service referred to in article 3, estimated at 60 million lire a year, shall be covered by chapter no. 1093 of the expenditure budget of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the corresponding chapters for subsequent years.

This Act, bearing the State seal, shall be included in the Official Collection of Acts and Decrees of the Italian Republic.It shall be incumbent on all concerned to observe and enforce it as an Act of the State.

Comments:
This is an unofficial translation.
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