Study calls for rethink on immigration

A new study concludes Switzerland should identify the kind of migrant workers it wants Keystone

New research into immigration says Switzerland should spend more on integration policies, and identify more clearly the kind of migrant workers it wants.

But the study also reveals serious inequalities between the salaries of Swiss and foreign workers.

The study, carried out by the Swiss National Science Foundation between 1995 and 2002, identified trends in immigration over the past 50 years, and recommended a series of policies for the future.

One of the main findings was that Switzerland, while now considered a country of immigration comparable to the United States or Australia, has been slow to adopt coherent immigration policies.

“We just recruited workers without really thinking about it,” said Dr Werner Haug, who was in charge of the study. “And certainly the debate about integration never really happened.”

Easier citizenship required

The study recommends Switzerland adopt a more liberal policy towards foreigners who are already here, by making it easier to become a Swiss citizen.

“There are a huge number of foreigners in Switzerland who really should be Swiss,” Haug told swissinfo.

“And these groups should be fully recognised. That would give us much more freedom to discuss what future immigration should be, if we digested, so to speak, the old immigrants first.”

Another recommendation from the study is for greater investment in integration. Research revealed that many foreign workers remain marginalised in Swiss society, and that their salaries are significantly lower than those of Swiss workers.

Foreigners with permanent residency rights earn on average SFr4,715 a month, while a Swiss person can expect to take home around SFr5,525 a month.

The gap widens even further for foreigners with annual work permits (SFr4,376 a month) and seasonal workers (SFr3,573 a month).

“The Swiss labour market is operating a system in which some migrant workers are being exploited,” said researcher Hans Rudolf Wicker. “Some sections of the economy are really profiting from this, and it needs to be tackled,” he told swissinfo.

“In future migrant workers should have the same rights on the labour market, and be guaranteed the same access to the labour market.”

Asylum seekers

The study found that the difference in income is biggest among asylum seekers, who are often unqualified, and who are given restricted work permits by the Swiss authorities.

Salaries among asylum seekers are especially low, but some sections of the Swiss labour market, most notably hotels, restaurants and hospitals, now cannot function without these workers.

“Asylum seekers have in fact replaced the old seasonal foreign workers,” said Wicker.

Future immigrants

In combination with more liberal integration and naturalisation policies, however, the study recommends that Switzerland should clearly define for the future what kind of immigrants it wants.

Instead of being selected according to their geographical origin (in the past Switzerland has shown preference to immigrants from northern Europe) the study says immigrants should be selected on their skills and qualifications, and their suitability for the requirements of the Swiss labour market.

“We have to go in this direction,” said Wicker. “It’s not new: English-speaking countries like the United States and Australia have operated such policies for quite a while, with a degree of success.”

But, Wicker continued, no one should expect selective immigration policies to be adopted over night.

“It will demand a huge change,” he explained. “So my best guess would be around 20 or 30 years for such policies to come into force.”

See foreign workers in a positive light

The study has been published at a time when the whole debate over asylum and immigration is highly politicised and often emotional. The researchers say they hope their findings will bring a bit of clear thinking into the discussions.

But Werner Haug also says he expects more positive leadership from the Swiss government on the question of foreigners and immigration.

“I think the federal government should take a clear stance,” he said. “Some cantons are doing it, but not the Swiss government.

“Canton Geneva for example is currently running an excellent campaign,” he continued. “Showing people who the foreigners are, what jobs they do, and explaining that all of them are citizens of Geneva.”

swissinfo, Imogen Foulkes

In brief

Almost 20 per cent of Switzerland’s population is foreign.

A foreigner with permanent residency rights earns on average SFr4,715 a month compared with SFr5,525 for a Swiss.

Asylum seekers on restricted work permits are the lowest paid workers in Switzerland, but many hotels, restaurants and hospitals could no longer function without them.

Until 1952 a foreigner had to live six years in Switzerland before becoming eligible for Swiss citizenship. After that it was changed to 12 years.