Ending the cycle of misery for migrants

Luxembourg's jobs and immigration minister has appealed to employers to end the cycle of misery facing migrants who are tempted to Luxembourg by a few days' work.

The practice, says Nicolas Schmit, attracts migrant workers to the Grand Duchy with the prospect of earning a bit of cash on a short-term contract. But, when the contract ends, the same employees are left impoverished and stranded in Luxembourg. Many are forced to sleep on building sites or in cars because they have no financial income and are not eligible for unemployment benefits.

“They come with an employment contract for a few days or a few weeks in Luxembourg. Then they become unemployed with no right to unemployment benefits.

“It cannot be that high unemployment is attracting additional people and thus individual businesses are profiting from their misery,” he said at a press conference.

According to the minister, some 10,559 EU citizens moved to Luxembourg last year, many of which were Portuguese nationals. The movement places a strain on employment as well as education and often creates poverty issues, he said.

As well as problems facing migrating EU citizens, Mr Schmit outlined the difficulties of people travelling to Luxembourg from outside of the Union, in particular asylum seekers.

Last year the Grand Duchy received 2,164 asylum applications, nearly three times as many as the year before. A large part of the wave of people travelling to Luxembourg came from the Balkan countries (1,386), including Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia. In the majority of cases these applications are rejected because the countries are considered “safe”. Indeed only 41 applicants were granted refugee status.