Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143) - Norway (Ratification: 1979)

Articles 2, 3 and 6 of the Convention. Measures to detect illegal employment of migrants and irregular migration. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the Labour Inspection Authority (LIA) does not have any statistics on the number of migrants illegally employed in Norway. It further notes that the 2011 annual report of the LIA shows that 94 violations of the Immigration Act were registered. In addition, the Government indicates that in 2011, the police received about 250 reports of offences regarding employment of irregular workers and, the same year, the Directorate of Migration reported offences committed by 37 employers concerning mostly the lack of work permits. With reference to its comments under the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97), the Committee notes that the new Immigration Act, dated 15 May 2008, provides for the same sanctions (section 108) as the Aliens Act of 1988, inter alia, against those who engage in an organized activity with a view to assisting foreign nationals to enter unlawfully into the country or any other state (fine or imprisonment up to three years) and those who wilfully, or in a grossly negligent manner, employ irregular workers (fine or imprisonment up to two years). The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to collect and provide data on the illegal employment of migrants. It also requests the Government to indicate the outcome of the violations reported by, and to, the police and the LIA, in particular with respect to administrative or legal proceedings initiated against employers and penalties imposed under the Immigration Act or otherwise. Recalling that Article 3 of the Convention requires States to adopt the necessary measures to suppress clandestine movements of migrants and measures against the organizers of such movements, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken in this respect, including steps taken or envisaged to combat trafficking in persons and protect migrants against abusive employment conditions.

Article 9(3). Costs of expulsion. The Committee notes that the Government reiterates that, in general, the costs of expulsion are to be borne by the person expelled and that where such costs are not paid by him or her, they will be paid by the State. It further notes the Government’s indication that if police officers have to accompany the person expelled, he or she shall pay for their tickets and expenses. The Committee recalls that according to Article 9(3) in case of expulsion of the worker or his or her family, “the cost shall not be borne by them” and draws the Government’s attention to the following: (i) if the migrant worker is in an irregular situation for reasons which cannot be attributed to him or her, the cost of his or her return, as well as the return of family members, including transport costs, should not fall upon the migrant; and (ii) if, on the contrary, the migrant worker is in an irregular situation for reasons which can be attributed to him or her, only the costs of expulsion may not fall upon the migrant (see General Survey on migrant workers, 1999, paragraph 310). The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the costs falling upon foreign nationals in an irregular situation who are being expelled, making a distinction between migrant workers who are in an irregular situation for reasons that cannot be attributed to them and those in an irregular situation for reasons that can be attributed to them.

Articles 10 and 12. Equality of opportunity and treatment. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the evaluation of the Action Plan to Combat Racism and Discrimination (2002–06), carried out in March 2007, concluded that the overall results had been positive and the measures taken were appropriate. With respect to the Action Plan for Integration and Social Inclusion of the Immigrant Population, which ended in 2010, the Committee notes the 2011 results of the “New Chance” programme – still in operation. The results show that 39 per cent of the participants carry on to the labour market or to further education. The Committee also notes the conclusions of a socio-economic study indicating that this programme is profitable. Further, the Government also indicates in its report under Convention No. 97 that the above Action Plan for Integration has been an important tool in achieving equal opportunities for everyone living in Norway in the areas of employment, childhood, education and language. Furthermore, the Government indicates that a moderate affirmative action trial scheme (2008–10) for the employment of persons with immigrant background was designed for positions in 12 state-owned enterprises. The evaluation of the scheme showed that it had not been fully used and a new trial period started in 2012 for two years.

The Committee further notes the concerns expressed by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in its concluding observations, with respect to discrimination against migrants in terms of access to public services, housing and the labour market (CERD/C/NOR/CO/19-20, 11 March 2011, paragraph 9). The Committee also notes from the Government’s report under Convention No. 97 that, in November 2010, 55 per cent of the participants in the introduction programme for the year 2009 were employed or participated in education. The programme, which is designed to provide basic Norwegian language skills, basic insight into Norwegian society and prepare for participation in working life and/or education, does not apply to migrant workers but to refugees and persons admitted on humanitarian grounds and their family members. Migrant workers who were not admitted in the country pursuant to the EEA/EFTA regulations have a duty to participate in Norwegian language training and social studies but are not entitled to free tuition. In this respect, the Committee notes that, in its concluding observations, the CERD urged Norway to take appropriate measures to ensure that the free-of-charge language instruction programme is available to everyone who wants it and its pedagogic methods and content are adapted to gender, educational and national background, and that it expressed concern at the drop-out rate from the mandatory language instruction (CERD/C/NOR/CO/19-20, 11 March 2011, paragraph 11). Noting that the unemployment rate of immigrants remains significantly higher than the unemployment rate of nationals, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any steps taken to address discrimination faced by migrant workers with respect to employment, in particular access to employment, and promote equal treatment in respect of employment and occupation, social security, trade union and cultural rights and individual and collective freedoms for persons who, as migrant workers or as members of their families, are lawfully within its territory. Please continue to provide information on the results of the assessments of the various measures taken to promote equality of opportunity of migrant workers, including affirmative action schemes, both in the public and private sectors. Please also provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to increase access to language training for all migrant workers.

Women migrant workers. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Government recognized that double discrimination was a genuine problem for women with immigrant backgrounds and therefore intended to launch labour market measures designed specifically to increase their participation in working life and society in general. In its report, the Government merely indicates that immigrant women who do not work and who do not receive social benefits are one of the main target groups of the “New Chance” programme. The Committee notes that in its concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) urged Norway “to improve the access and participation of women with minority backgrounds in the labour market by providing adequate information and training and by facilitating the accreditation and approval of prior education and work experience, as well as by conducting research on the impact of institutional regulations that limit women, in particular migrant women of ethnic and minority communities” (CEDAW/C/NOR/CO/8, 9 March 2012, paragraph 30). The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the labour market measures taken to increase the participation of migrant women, in particular women with ethnic minority backgrounds, in the labour market, including any measures taken to promote equal access to education and vocational training.

Article 12(a) and (e). Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the issue of migrant workers is regularly on the agenda of the meetings between the Government and the social partners and that the authorization scheme for cleaning is a result of such cooperation. The Committee further notes that the Action Plan to promote equality and prevent ethnic discrimination (2009–12) provides for numerous measures to be taken jointly by the Government and the employers’ and workers’ organizations, including the production of a guide on the duty to make active efforts to promote equality and prevent ethnic discrimination and report on such efforts, the development of an information and training strategy and the compilation of statistics on the number of migrant workers employed in the private and public sectors. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the concrete steps taken jointly by the Government and the workers’ and employers’ organizations to promote equality and prevent ethnic discrimination against migrant workers and the results thereof.