Mutual Learning Programme

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1 Mutual Learning Programme DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Peer Country Comments Paper - Belgium Largely failing inclusion, but not for lack of policy effort. Or, why context matters. Peer Review on 'Labour market inclusion of international protection applicants and beneficiaries' Madrid (Spain), May 2016 Written by Ive Marx April, 2016

2 EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Unit A1 Contact: Emilio Castrillejo Web site: European Commission B-1049 Brussels

3 EUROPEAN COMMISSION Mutual Learning Programme DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Peer Review on 'Labour market inclusion of international protection applicants and beneficiaries' April, 2016 Madrid (Spain), May 2016

4 Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): (*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you). LEGAL NOTICE The information contained in this publication does not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Commission This document has received financial support from the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Innovation "EaSI" ( ). For further information please consult: European Union, 2016 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

5 Table of Contents 1 Situation of asylum seekers and refugees in the country Assessment of the policy measure Assessment of the success factors and transferability Questions... 7 Annex 1: Example of relevant practice... 8 Annex 2: Summary table... 9

6 1 Situation of asylum seekers and refugees in the country This paper has been prepared for a Peer Review within the framework of the Mutual Learning Programme. It provides information on Belgium s comments on the policy example of the Host Country for the Peer Review. For information on the policy example, please refer to the Host Country Discussion Paper. Immigrants, defined as those born abroad whatever their nationality, make up a significant and rising share of the Belgian population (16 per cent in 2013 according to the OECD). Immigration levels have reached unprecedented levels over the past decade. Immigration has accounted for the bulk of population growth in Belgium since the 1990s. Inflows have become more and more diverse, with a decline in the relative importance of neighbouring countries and Italy, and surging arrivals from the new EU Member States, Morocco and the rest of the world. Family reunification has made up the bulk of migration inflows over recent decades, replacing relatively more dominant labour migration flows before. Humanitarian immigrants has become particularly important over the past couple of years. The labour market integration of immigrants in Belgium is especially poor according to Eurostat and OECD statistics. Compared to other EU countries with a similar state of economic development, the employment rate of immigrants in Belgium is among the lowest, lagging the native-born by one of the widest gaps in the EU (the gap is about twice as large as Spain's in percentage points of the employment rate). That said, there are very important differences by region or country of origin. The employment status of immigrants from EU origin is broadly comparable with that of natives. In contrast, the labour market performance of non-eu immigrants is much worse, with high unemployment and among women low participation levels. In , the employment rate gap improved slightly but since 2008, non-eu immigrants have been hit hardest by the crisis. There is no agreement on what explains Belgium's poor performance. Low educational attainment among migrants is a factor but even the highest skilled do not fare well in Belgium's labour market. Labour market rigidities are widely thought to play an important role. Many jobs come with strictly defined educational requirements. Wage setting is almost entirely done through multi-tiered collective bargaining producing one of the most compressed wage structures in the OECD. As a consequence, low-skilled work is both relatively expensive and heavily regulated in terms of hiring, employment and dismissal. This means that there are few employment opportunities in the regular labour market with those with few skills, or educational qualifications that are not recognized. However, many survive in Belgium's sizable underground economy. April,

7 2 Assessment of the policy measure Asylum seekers and refugees Like Spain, Belgium has seen a significant influx of asylum seekers and refugees over recent years. In per capita terms, inflows in Belgium far exceed Spain's. According to Eurostat figures for 2014, there were 2.1 asylum applicants per 1,000 inhabitants in Belgium, compared to 0.1 for Spain. To be more specific, in 2015, the Immigration Office registered 35,476 asylum applications, representing an increase of per cent compared to Especially in the second half of 2015, the number of asylum seekers rose significantly. Provisional figures for early 2016 suggest that inflows remain substantial. Most asylum seekers come from conflict areas: 21.8 per cent of asylum seekers come from Iraq, 21.3 per cent from Syria, and 20 per cent from Afghanistan. In particular, the number of applications from Syrians has surged. In addition, significantly more unaccompanied minors applied for asylum in In 2015, the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons concluded that the asylum seeker needed protection in 61 per cent of its decisions. The total number of positive decisions was 8,122, involving 10,783 persons (including minors). 51 per cent of these decisions were decisions granting refugee status, 10 per cent were decisions to grant subsidiary protection status. The 61 per cent positive decision rate in 2015 was up from 47per cent in 2014 and 29 per cent in Federal and regional competencies Belgium is a federal state. As in Spain, the federal and regional levels have different competencies. Broadly speaking the federal state is competent for immigration and asylum policy (access to territory, residence status, removal), formal access to citizenship (access to nationality, social rights) and access to political rights (right to vote and be elected). Labour law is also for the most part decided and implemented at the federal level. age setting and work conditions are collectively bargained at the national level, albeit with important sectoral differentiation, and collective agreements are made generally binding by ministerial extension. The regions are competent for integration policy. There exist important differences across Belgium's regions in this respect. The Flemish Region - Belgium's largest - has had compulsory civic integration programmes since In the Walloon Region there was no compulsory civic integration until very recently. There were local and subregional initiatives in places but these were not strongly coordinated. In the Brussels Capital Region there are two competent institutions, one following the policy in Flanders and the other following the policy in Walloon. Civic integration Our focus here will be on Flanders as it is the largest region and has the most developed and longstanding coordinated integration programmes at the regional level. The legal backbone of Flemish integration policy is provided by the Decree on Civic Integration that was voted on 28 February Implementation started in A key policy is the Inburgeringsprogramma (Civic Integration Programme) which new immigrants are either invited or obliged to follow. Basically, it consists of two tracks. In the first track the adult migrant is offered 1) an orientation course labelled civic integration (maatschappelijke oriëntatie, MO), 2) a basic course in Dutch (Nederlands als tweede taal, NT2) and 3) labour market orientation (loopbaanoriëntatie, LO) or educational orientation. The second track is situated within the mainstream services in such fields as education, training or job placement. It is thus more differentiated by participant profile and needs. April,

8 For a subgroup of newcomers the civic integration programme is compulsory. Recognized asylum seekers and persons under subsidiary protection (refugees, asylum seekers with a stay longer than 4 months, victims to slave trade, etc.) belong to the target group. Onthaalbureau s (reception offices) guide and monitor newcomers throughout the integration tracks. There are offices in each of the Flemish provinces and in the Brussels Capital Region. At the start of the first track, a contract of inburgering (civic integration) is signed between the newcomer and the municipality. On condition of sufficient attendance, a certificate of inburgering is granted at the end of the first track. Note that attendance is the criterion and not the passing of tests. Non-compliance can result in administrative fines. The first track can be completed within a year. The course on 'civic integration (MO) takes about 60 to 90 hours and is usually spread over three months. The course Dutch as a second language (NT2) is differentiated by the participant's education level, and may last between 90 and 240 hours. The professional orientation pillar is organised together with the Flemish (VDAB) or Brussels (Actiris) public employment services. No fees are charged. The second track is organised within the mainstream services in the fields of education at all levels, placement and training (VDAB) or entrepreneurial training (Syntra Vlaanderen). Recognition of qualifications NARIC National Academic (and professional) Recognition and Information Centre is responsible for recognising the equivalence of foreign study certificates: According to NARIC, a foreign certificate is equivalent to a corresponding Flemish certificate unless there is a substantial difference in the application of one or several of the following criteria: a) content or learning outcomes; b) level; c) student workload; d) the duration of studies of the course; e) the quality of the course, including the assessment method, the quality of the awarding institution, possibly guaranteed by an external quality assurance body. The criteria are such that getting a foreign degree recognized is not easy. A fee (90/180 euros) is normally charged but is waived for asylum seekers, recognized refugees or subsidiary protected. NARIC received 316 applications in 2014 from asylum seekers, recognized refugees or subsidiary protected, 61 per cent concerning higher degree recognition applications. Clearly, this is a very small proportion of the potential number of applications. An important barrier is that people often do not have the full documentation required. Labour market access of asylum seekers The framework legislation on employment conditions falls under the competency of the federal government. The implementation of this law is to a large extent part of the competence of the regional authorities, which includes among others the granting of work permits to third-country nationals. Since 2010, asylum seekers who fulfil certain criteria are allowed to work with a work permit card (C). It concerns asylum seekers who have not yet received a first instance decision on their asylum case within four months following the registration of their asylum application. In October 2015, the federal government brought this period down from six to four months. The work permit C allows the asylum seeker to do any paid job for any employer, subject to meeting relevant qualifications and skills, and is valid for 12 months and renewable. The asylum seeker has to apply for the permit with the competent regional authority. The permit automatically ceases to be valid once the asylum procedure has ended with a final negative decision. April,

9 Asylum seekers are also eligible for self-employment under the condition that they apply for a professional card. Asylum seekers are not yet allowed to do voluntary work, but they are entitled to perform certain community services (maintenance, cleaning). Asylum seekers who have access to the labour market can register as job-seekers at the regional Offices for Employment and are then entitled to a free assistance programme and vocational training. April,

10 3 Assessment of the success factors and transferability As stated section 1, the labour market integration of new (and second generation) migrants in Belgium is especially poor compared to other European countries. This also applies to the Flemish Region, where overall labour market conditions are more favourable and where policy efforts to further immigrant integration are substantial. It is difficult, for various reasons, to provide a clear answer to why this is the case. First, there is little evidence on the effectiveness of integration efforts in Belgium. Civic and labour market integration efforts are being monitored in terms of participation inflows and outflows, resources and personnel committed etc. Figures from the relevant agencies show that relatively high proportions of the target groups are reached. But there is also evidence that the language skills attained by the majority of participants remain insufficient for labour market integration, even at a basic level. There is also evidence that transitions to work or to agencies that help in the search of work remain very limited. That said, real impact assessments at a high level of methodological sophistication (especially controlling for selective inflows) are lacking. We thus know relatively little about how civic integration affects people's ability to find a job, suitable housing, education and a place in society. This has in part to do with a lack of suitable longitudinal data. Belgium has strict privacy laws, which are moreover enforced in a legalistic manner. This puts severe restrictions on the linking of administrative data sources that would allow for systematic monitoring of migrant trajectories from the moment of entry and as they pass through various government programmes, although technically it is potentially possible. Second, as it is not entirely clear how contextual factors matter to labour market integration processes and outcomes of government interventions, it is difficult to make informed guesses on transferability. We do know however that there are vast differences between Belgium and Spain which affect labour market integration outcomes of new migrants. As one the world's first industrialised economies, Belgium s economy has long remained heavily reliant on manufacturing industry. The early 1970s brought major structural adjustments in the steel, coal and textile industries, with Belgium experiencing among the largest relative job losses in manufacturing industry in the industrialised world. The southern part was particularly hard affected and this is still struggling with high structural unemployment creating an unfavourable environment for the labour market integration of new migrants. In Flanders the situation is by and large better but the economy remains heavily reliant on exports, for the most part in niche markets where technological and know-how advantages matter. Consequently, skills requirements tend to be demanding. Even among the domestic labour force, the employment differences between the high skilled and the low skilled are significant. Unlike Spain, Belgium has relatively small agricultural and tourism sectors, both of which tend to offer significant employment opportunities for immigrants with few or unrecognized skills. Belgium s overall employment rate remains comparatively low compared to other northern European countries. Hence both in Belgium and Spain, a significant portion of the labour force potential remains unused. Unlike in Spain, the crisis has had a very limited impact. Unemployment is just below EU average and far lower than Spain's, however with strong gradients by level of education and region. It is however interesting to note that there are significant and intensifying supply shortages for a growing list of occupations, including occupations that do not require extensive education. Female employment and especially maternal employment rates are high in Belgium in part thanks to strongly developed subsidised child care facilities. Therefore, (informal) April,

11 child and domestic work provides fewer employment opportunities for immigrants than in Spain. As in Spain, there are vast regional and local differences in employment outcomes. No European country has such diverse labour market outcomes within such a confined geographical scale, with unemployment rates ranging from around 5 per cent to 20 per cent in a matter of kilometres. The main differences is between the Flemish- and the French-speaking parts of the country, but even within regions the differences are considerable. This is important to note given that the government is striving to spread out asylum seekers across the whole territory. This implies that people may and will end up in places with weak labour demand. International studies tend to categorize both Belgium and Spain as comparatively regulated labour markets, resulting in significant segmentation and insider/outsider issues. Belgium has among the most compressed wage distributions in the developed world. Less than 6 per cent of Belgium s workers earn less than 67 per cent of median earnings, compared to Spain's 15 per cent. This relates directly to Belgium comprehensive and multi-tiered collective wage bargaining system and by the fact that collective agreements are made generally binding by law ensuring close to full coverage. The high cost of low skilled labour probably reduces demand within the regular labour market with those with few skills, or with educational qualifications that are not formally recognized. The latter point is particularly important to stress since recent analyses suggest that the educational and skills profiles of the most recent waves of humanitarian migrants are especially poor. The Flemish Public Employment Service (VDAB) categorizes one out of four as uneducated (including illiterate). In a labour market where the domestic low skilled have very weak job prospects, newcomers with few skills, language handicaps and weak social and cultural capital are likely to fare even worse in the years to come. April,

12 4 Questions Programme assessment in Spain seems to be hindered by data protection and privacy issues, as is also the case in Belgium. Is this being recognized as a problem and are initiatives underway to tackle this problem? As Belgium, Spain is a state where the regions play a key role, with a substantial degree of autonomy. As in Belgium, economic and labour market conditions differ strongly across the regions, offering the potential for policy that is better tailored to the needs and conditions at that level. Is that potential being used to its full potential? Is policy at the central and regional level sufficiently coordinated? The recognition of qualifications and degrees is flagged as an issue of concern by the Host Country Paper. To what extent may be this a problem of advertised job qualifications being defined in ways that insufficiently recognize the diversity of new labour market entrants? How does Spain deal with the recognition of skills and qualifications that were not acquired through (documented) formal education? The Host Country paper refers to an extensive involvement of NGOs. It would be interesting to receive more information on how this collaboration is organised and funded, and how it is being assessed. April,

13 Annex 1: Example of relevant practice Name of the practice: Integrated one-point reception pop-ups Year of implementation: 2016 Coordinating authority: Local Welfare Agencies (OCMW)/ Agencies for Civic Integration/ Flemish Public Employment Service (VDAB), additionally funded by AMIF and ESF Objectives: The main objective is to implement the "first work then integrate" principle put forward by the Flemish Government. The idea is to guide people who want to work and are fit to work faster towards jobs, bypassing the normal linear trajectory of reception, language and civic integration courses, and then labour market orientation. To this end the Flemish government allocated extra money to the VDAB to hire 35 additional staff. Main activities: Fast skills screening of refugees and asylum seekers with a high likelihood of recognition and with direct labour market potential. The primary target group are those with higher degrees and a knowledge of Dutch, German, French or English. Instead of guiding people to civic integration and language courses they are directed towards jobs or internships. Insofar that they need further language skills these are provided within firms, as part of the VDAB projects called 'Learning Dutch on the work floor', a project that not only involves teachers but also co-workers. The language skills learned there are more attuned to professional needs. They can simultaneously get training, again in an operational context. Those who are higher skilled are directed to jobs or courses adapted to their prior education. Results so far: These initiatives are only now starting up but they follow similar practices implemented elsewhere, apparently with some degree of success. Similar one-point reception initiatives in Germany and Portugal have served as a particular inspiration. April,

14 Annex 2: Summary table Labour market situation in the Peer Country Immigrants make up a significant and rising share of the Belgian population. Inflows have become more and more diverse, with a decline in the relative importance of EU arrivals, and increased inflows from the new EU member states and the rest of the world. The labour market integration of immigrants in Belgium is especially poor relative to other EU countries. There is no agreement on what explains Belgium's poor performance. Low educational attainment is a factor but even the highest skilled do not fare well in Belgium's labour market. Labour market rigidities are widely thought to play an important role. Assessment of the policy measure Relative to Spain, Belgium has a much higher per capita inflow of asylum seekers. The federal state is competent for immigration and asylum policy but the regions are competent for integration policy. The Flemish Region has had compulsory civic integration programmes in place for over a decade. The other regions have more recent coordinated programmes. Asylum seekers who fulfil certain criteria are allowed to work with a work permit card (C) after four months. An agency is in place for recognising the equivalence of foreign study certificates. It works free of charge for asylum seekers and refugees but the procedure is rigorous and few apply. Assessment of success factors and transferability While we know that the labour market integration of new migrants in Belgium is highly problematic, there is little direct evidence on the effectiveness of integration efforts in Belgium. This has in part to do with a lack of suitable longitudinal data on migrant trajectories that would allow sophisticated integration policy impact assessments. As it is not entirely clear how contextual factors matter to labour market integration processes and outcomes of government interventions, it is difficult to make an informed assessment on transferability. We do know however that there are vast differences between Belgium and Spain which may affect labour market integration outcomes of new migrants. In a labour market where even the domestic low skilled have very weak job prospects, newcomers with few skills, language barriers and weak social and cultural capital fare are destined to fare even worse in the years to come. Questions Programme assessment in Spain seems to be hindered by data protection and privacy issues, as is also the case in Belgium. Is this being recognized as a problem and are initiatives underway to tackle this problem? April,

15 As Belgium, Spain is a state where the regions play a key role, with a substantial degree of autonomy. As in Belgium, economic and labour market conditions differ strongly across the regions, offering the potential for policy that is better tailored to the needs and conditions at that level. Is that potential being used to its full potential? Is policy at the central and regional level sufficiently coordinated? The recognition of qualifications and degrees is flagged as an issue of concern by the Host Country Paper. To what extent may be this a problem of advertised job qualifications being defined in ways that insufficiently recognize the diversity of new labour market entrants? How does Spain deal with the recognition of skills and qualifications that were not acquired through (documented) formal education? The Host Country paper refers to an extensive involvement of NGOs. It would be interesting to receive more information on how this collaboration is organised and funded, and how it is being assessed. April,

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