Migration is an age-old and complex phenomenon. People migrate from one place to another for many different reasons: in search of work, for education, for business opportunities, to be able to live with one's family, to escape political instability or to escape poverty. This research focuses on labour migration, and more specifically on people who initially migrate from non-EU countries to work in Flanders on a short-term basis via legal pathways such as the single permit: a single procedure for obtaining a work and a residence permit, which since 2019 has been the main pathway for extra-European labour migration to Flanders. Such migration is integral to on-going processes of global economic and social restructuring (Yeates & Wintour, 2021).
Part One of this study focuses on labour migration and more specifically on people who migrate from non-EU countries to work in the Belgian region of Flanders. Due to upcoming labour market shortages in Flanders, this specific form of migration will be of great relevance in the near future. In the first part of this study, we sketch the labour market supply and demand in Belgium and Flanders in the next ten years, identifying challenges that will lead to labour market shortages and the importance
of attracting extra-European labour migrants to address them. We then elaborate on current labour market shortages and the process of identifying bottleneck professions in the Flemish labour market.
After providing an overview of the general legal framework at EU, national and regional levels with a brief statistical overview of the single permit in numbers, the focus then switches to the co-option of the Single Permit to address labour market shortages in medium-skilled bottleneck professions.
The implementation of the single permit in Flanders, since 2019, is then assessed taking into account its limited scope, the cumbersome procedure, the lack of legal guarantees for the migrant worker, the dependence of the migrant worker on the employer and the difficulty to change employers during the period of validity of the single permit (SERV, 2020; Myria, 2020; Fairwork Belgium, 2019). The emphasis on this group of migrant workers is premised upon the fact that despite their legal migration status, the tied, temporary nature of the single permit regime can still lead to the risk of labour market abuses and even severe forms of labour exploitation.
The second part of this study will consider the protection of social and labour rights of medium skilled migrant workers employed in bottleneck professions, based on findings of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with this category of single permit holders. The study will share the findings of empirical research conducted with third country migrant workers where we sought to determine the extent to which their working conditions are safe and secure, the extent to which their socio-economic rights are respected, and opportunities are available for social inclusion and integration. We will also outline whether or not migrant workers are aware of and provided with information about their rights.
Considering the findings from the desktop and empirical research, we conclude in Part Three by outlining key findings and policy recommendations for the implementation of extra-European labour migration pathways in economic sectors where there are labour market shortages. It is hoped that
these recommendations will in turn help to overcome the challenges policy makers encounter by striving for labour migration policy that (i) matches the labour market needs of Flanders in the future; (ii) guarantees the welfare of migrant workers and; (iii) ensures due consideration of their labour and social rights.
