The process of recruitrnent of

inunigrants in the construction sector.

The cases of Italy and Portugal
By Ivana Fellini*, Pcdro (;(Jis** ano Jose Carlos Marques***
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I'hD Student in Sociology and SOI'i,d Research allhe University ol"Ii'cnto
I edUll'l in Sociology 'II Ihe University 01 I'orto and I\"ol'iatcd R.ese'Hl'her al
the ('entll' 1'01 Social I<.esl'arrh at the University 01 ('oimhra
Lcclll1'l'l' in Sociology 'II the l';ttlwlic University of I'orlug:d and I\sv,cialed
Researchl'l al the ('l'ntrl' 101 SOl'i,i1 ({('search at the University of ('oimhra
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Introduction
The prescnce of illlllligr,lIlts in thc constmction scctor ill various countries Ihrollg!Hlut
Illl: world is so hro:tdly recognised hy studics on thc cl'l)J\()Jllic incorporalion 01' immi
gr:tnts that sonic authors considcr that thc construction seetor 'reprcsents the quint
essential ethnic niche' (Waldinger 1
1
)1)5: 577). The explan:ttions for thc attr:tctivelless of
the construction scctor normally makc refercnce to the ch:traclcristics 01' the immi
grants, to their netwmks, to thc ch:tr:tcteristics of Ihc sector, or to:t comhinatil In of these
I'actors. Less attention has hn'll devoted to the dircct or indirect proccss or rccruitmcnt
01' immigrants into this scctor. Migration is no longer drivcn hy thc nccds of thc hthour
market as:J whole hut hy thc nccds 01' spccil'ic sectors :Jnd olTlipatiolls in thc I'rallicwork
of a scgmcntnl lahonr markct.
This article comparcs thc pr<llTSS 01' ICLTuitnlcnt III' immigrants in the Italian and
Portugucsc conslruction scctors 11\ ordl'l' (ll shllw I1llw the scctor is a kcy Olll' lor inuni
grailis' ecunomic insertion alld ;1l!aplaliol1. In Il1l'se tWll countrics thc construcliun sec
tor is \l'IY dilTen:nt lrom other Sl'ltors, not ,,"lv ill kilns of pJ'()ductivity, hut alsu in
tl'l'llIS of thc slructlllT 01' Ih,' I;dHlllr 1ll;lrkl'l. 11 reprl'Sl'nls :J proccss adding signil'icant
valuc, it leads to the appcar:JIllT ul' ptlsitivc exteJ'llalitics ill other :tctivities and gcner
alcs signific:Jnt multiplying eelinolllic :Jnd soci:J1 dlcets upstrc:J1ll :Jnd downstre'llll. III
h"lb Clllliltries, this sector is l,dHllll-intellsivc with ;1 signific:Jnt proportion of undilTer
cllli:Jted, undeclared and lowly qualified workCIS, and is:J Sl'ctor whCle immigrants have
h;1I1 :J critic:J1 impact lin recent l:Jhour 1ll;lrkct histllry. r;lII'lhernHlre. this is a sectllr where
:/'"," IK1NSU./i ,'flU
...
.'
IIlId},I\(' ('IIIi< IS '\!(lI'(IIi{'.I'
IIIHlecl;u'l'd 1:i\mLIr represents an undefined but surely significant proportion of the
working popillation inllJe sector. III this article, we demonstrate the similarities between
I'orlllg:i\ ;llId Ilaly in terms of immigrants' insertion in the labour market and we pre
sellt cvidencc related to the str,ltegies of recruitment of the labour force in the two
countries. Noteworthy is the fact that Italy is now exclusively <In importer of construc
tion workers whereas l'ortug;i1 is both an importer and exporter of eonstructio1l labour.
Tbe materi;i\ and preliminary results presented in this article arc drawn from the
rcsc:trl:1J project 'The Political Feonomy of Migration in an Integrating Europe'
(I'EMINT), supported by the Fifth Framework Research Programme Ill' the EU and
involving eight rescarch teams in six different countries, The main aim of the project,
which lUll.' from 200 I III 2()(l4, is to understand how the ways national and multination
al firms recruit labour lead to diffel"l:nt outcomes in terms of labour mobility and inter
11<1Iillnai migration under the impact of different forms of welfare provision, fiscal sys
leill.' and regulatory Irameworks. This research is based on a liter<lture review, data
all;i1ysis ami interviews with construction firms conductcd in thc I<lst IX months.
Till' ;Irticle is organiscd as foJ[ows: the first section scts out the framcwmk constr:lining
thc rcnuilllll'llt slr:ltegies of the construction firms. Following a description of the struc
tur:Ji characteristil" :lI1d recent (rcnds in the sector, we an:i1ysc the presence of illlllli
i'.r;lIll.s in the sector ,llld the reeelit development of nation:ll policies on immigration. \Vc
tllen dcscribe the recruitment slrategies concerning immigrants that arc followed,
respectively, by It:i1ian :Ind Portugllese construction firms, Finally, the rcsults arc sum
mal i'l'll.
Construction as a crucial sector for immigrants'
economic insertion in Italy and Portugal
('onstl'llclion firms' behaviour "hould be considered in the framewmk of eXlemlllcol/
,I/,."illls on thc rceruitment :lnd employment of foreign wprkers:
the ecpnolllic structure of the sector, such thc size of thc firms, the role pf sclf
elllplpYlllenl ami the incidence of irrcgular work;
lahour markl'1 conditipns such as the presence/absence PI' labour shortages, the avail
:lhility of a more or less large pool of foreign wmkers already present in the coun
try, the 'el hn ic' char:lcterisa t ion of the labou r fmee, etc.;
t he legislative and rcgulatory framework alsp in terms of sector-specific regulatipn
("uch as the prescnce/absence of diffcrent rules for el1rpJ[ing fmeigners, the differ
ences hl'1wecn the contrihutioll schemcs applying to fmeign and dpmcstic wmkcrs,
hut alsp, in gcneral terms, the role of trade unions in the scetor, the presence/
ahsencc of a skills cl'rlifieation system, immigration Iegislatipn, etc.).
In thi, article we will consider the factors thaI seem to be the most relevant in allecling
Il'l"ruilmcnt strategies concerning foreign construction wmkers in It;tiy and Portugal.
'j'fl,1 NSII.R .1/11.1
I 454
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cilmactcristic'; imrJ recent lrcl1lb
The structure of the cpnstruction sectm in Pmtugal and Italy is quite ,imilar, although
the Italian construction scetm has recovered following the seripus crisis in the middle of
the II)I)OS .- caused by the prtlhlelns of cmruption that emerged with '1IIIIgcll!o]Joli' that
hlpeked inve,stments in construction - while Portugal is experiencing a conjunctural
slowdpwn after the intensive growth sus{;lined hy Ell structur:t1 fUllds and state financ
ing asspciated with a consistent grtlwth of private investlllent in public Winks.
In general terms, the epnstruction industry in hpth countries presen1S a quite./ingmclllcd
]JmdIlCliJ'I' 11.1'.1('1 based on a very limited number of large companies and a myriad of
medium-sized and small firms, Oil a significant presence PI' self-emplpyed, on an inten
sive usc of suhwntracting relating micro, sm;t11 and medium-sized firms to larger ones,
,Ind on intensive reepurse to irregular wllrk.
!\cl'ording to national dat:l
l
, in 1
1
)1)(1 Italy registercd about 4411 O()(l construction firms
2
,
YX,(l% of which had fewer 1h:ln 20 emplpyees and employed about XO';;, of construction
wmkers. ('onstruction firms employing mme than 100 employees account fm only 0.1 %
PI' the firms and 7';; of the workforce.
Portuguese data shpw a wry similar structure: in I')Y7 there were nearly 64 000 con
structilln firms in Portugal, with larger companies (lllme than 100 el11ployees) repre
senti11g ahoLlt 0.3% of the total and emplpying al'!lulld 20% of the workforce in the sec
tor. At the opposite side of the spectrum, firms with fewer than 20 employees represent
In% of Portuguese construction firms and employ around (l()'Yr, of Cllnstruetion workers,
Mme rccent data I'm Portugal for 2tlOO (INE) ShllW that within a gener:J1 positive trend
I'm the sector:1, medium-sized and small firms arc growing hpth in numher and relative
llecupation:d weight while larger companies have lost 4"(, of firms and nearly J I % of
workers since 11)ln. These trl'llds Cln ill' accounted fill' Ily a reorgallisation strategy car
ried out in the sectm through downsizing and externalising many 11l1l1-essenti:ll produc
tive functions in order to achieve a greater entreprcneurial competitiveness, The
strategy is likely to have Icd tp the sllhCllntracting of the different stages of the
execution of the building works to smaller firms, leaving to the main Cllntraetm or to the
owner a function uf general eomdination (llaganha, Gois and Marques 20(2).
i\ very similar pattern can he seen fill' Italy (Zanottelli and Bigliazzi II)I)lJ), cven though
data I'm recent years arc not availahle
4
In Italy ,IS well. 1he fragmentation of the
[S'lAC Interim Census llil Illdl"tr)' alld Services, 1')'!7 I'm It;dy, alld IN!:. /\nu{lrio ICstatisticu
dc Pmtug;d. 19 iK I'm Portugal.
'
2 I'llI' h"th Portllgal and [Ialy, data pr"vided rl/l' rirms als" Like int" aCl'lllln( individnal entrepreneurs.
:1 Iii" wmlh notillg Ihallhe late 1')')lIs were very lIllllsual vear, Illl the growth or the Pmtuguese
conslruelion sCC(,lr: in I')'i.'i the numhcr or enterprises was Ie" lI1:1n tile half oj tile numher
registered in 2000 and Ihe volume of cmpl"vmellt has gl'llwn hy ncarly 7Y;, since then.
" f)ata rrom IS'IAC Census Oil indnstry and service,. 2001, pmvitie only general details Oil eCll
nonlie activity thai do 1101 allow for allalysis or the construction sector.
"Il&INSFlcf( .W3
4551
I hl/"(l (;'I/S (/I/_d,-,,-h,-},,-I'l_'_C_"_"_h_',_I' _
I'lOductiVl' asscl can be considered a traditional feature of the construction sector, and
downsi/.ing and subCllntracting policics explain many of thc changcs that took place in
t hc 1990s: from J99 I to 1997 largc companies lost 27% of their workforce and micro
firms of up to 5 cmployccs incrcascd their workforce by
As a wholc, Italian construction firms have a lower averagc size (3 workcrs aecording to
19()(j data) comp,lrcd with Portugucsc firms (5 workcrs according to 19l)7 data and 4.4
in 2(jOO) suggcsting that thc impetus towards downsizing and subcontracting might bc
strongcr in Italy than in PortugaiS,
TIll; lowcr averagc size of Italian construction firms could partly account for the diffcr
cnce in thc relative wcight of sclf-employment in the sector, which, though a significant
aIIII distinctive featurc in both countries, is exceptionally high in Italy. According to
nat ional data(, for 2002, in Italy self-employed workers in construction reprcsent 3H% of
total cmploymcnt in the scctor. Their incidence has significantly increascd in the last tcn
ycars (33% in 1(93) and is much higher than the avcragc ratc of self-cmploymcnt (somc
27'X, of ,ill pcople in cmploymcnt),
In Port ugal in 19
l
J7, self-cmployed construction workcrs made up 17% of cmployment
in thc scclor (Moreno ('I 1/1. I99(): 52), a figure substantially unehangcd from thc early
19l)()s, and lowcr than thc averagc rate of sclf-employment (21 % of all people in
employment),
A third clemcnt that Italy and Portugal seem to share is the significant prcsence of
undcclared labour in the construction scctor. It is wcll known that Mcditcrrancan coun
trics show a highcr propensity to irrcgular and informal work and different interrelatcd
rea,sons concur to explain this phcnomenon: the structnre of employment (concen
lrated in vcry small firms, high proportion of self-employmcnt, subcontracting), thc tax
aIII I contribution wedge, thc level of efficiency of statc controls and the degrcc of social
acceptance of economic informality (Reyneri 200 I: 22).
As far as lhe construction sector is concerned, it could be argued that the distinctive
envirol}11lent of building activitics, together with the structural characteristics of the scc
lor, fac'ilitatcs abusc. A sct of factors has then to be considcred: the labour intcnsity of
construction works, thc mobilc naturc of construction sites, the high turnover of work
cr.s in construction building yards, the tcmporallink among different phases of the build
illg project which often rcquircs one phase to bc carricd out beforc the following onc
can start (allli the consequcnt need for rcspect of deadlines that might require an
'unforeseen' labour forcc), the entrcpreneurial fragmentation of the scctor and the
chain of subcontracting rclations. Also, thc inccntivc for both workers and employcrs to
h:lvc rccoursc to irrcgul:lJ' agrcements to cut down labour costs for thc laller and to
:; INF -- Stalistical Yearbook (sevcral years),
ISTAT --, Llhour force survey, for Italy, and INE - EnquilY inlo Employment, for
I 45'6 7RANSI-FI? J/lU
__.ill!: I'/"(In's\, of recrultlllent of /lIl1uigmnt' in Ille colISlruel/oll ,1','('101: nIl' ellS,''> of flllly (/1/11 Porlugal
ohtain a higher net wage for the formcr should he taken into account in a sector char
acteriscd by insecure working conditions and relatively low unionisation rates. Of
coursc, irrcgular cmployment is not always thc outcome of collusive interests and often
relkcts imbalances of power between cmployer and cmployec, and this is especially true
in the casc of unauthorised fmeignworkers
7
Thcre are no data on irregular work but estimates are available. For Italy, for 1999
ISTAT estimates an irregularity rate
K
of about 15%. Particularly relevant is the
incidence of irregular workers among cmployees in the construction sector (22'J,,).
For Portugal, rescarch in the ficld strongly suggests that this scetor is among those that
prcsent a higher than averagc rate of informal working hoth because of the growing use
of subcontracting (Morcno 1991)) and hecause of the sector's traditional function of
inscrtion for workers in situations of precariousness, newcomers to the labour market or
as a complemcnt to other activitics (13aganha, Gois and Marques 20(2).
Tile (regular and irregulm) presence of immigrants in the sector
It is very difficult to determine how many foreigners are cmployed in the construction
sector and it is even more difficult to cvaluate the hreakdown by regular and irregular
workers heeause of the scctor's heterogencity, the diversity of products and the condi
tions of production in thc different segments of activity, Although hoth Haly and
Portug:r1 generally lack data 011 the 11IImhcrs of immigrants working in the sector, vari
ous sources suggest that construction is a key sector for immigrants' economic insertion.
For Italy, social security data for 2000 show :Ibont 2(j 000 non-EU workers in construction
represenling ahout 13'/;, of registered non-[:U wage earners'!, their number having douhled
sincc 19(}J Ill, As cmployillent in lhe scelor shows a certain of territorial concentra
tion (46,g% of total employment is in northern regions) immigrant C(lnstruction workers
also tend to be conccntrated in those areas whcre the sector is more dynamic and where
therc arc 1,lbour shortages for construction workers: in 2000 almost two thirds of non-EU
constructiol1workers in Italy wcre cmployed hy firms working in the northcrn regions.
7 As by (200 I). we will always refer to res/'/mee sil/III.I as authorised versus
un'luthurised allli to enll"O\,/iI/'nl ,I'll/IllS as Versns The crossover of the two
dimemions cstablishcs;1 thaI can accoullt for dilTnell1 situatiolls: foreigners holding
a valid residence permit and workillg regul:lrly, WIHl hold 110 residence permil and
work foreigners holdillg a valid residence pel'lnil alld working irregularly. This lat
ler case is of partiCUlar illtncsl in the Meditenanc'lll countlics likc Italy and Portugal since
Ill<llly <luthorised illlllligr<lllis contilluc 10 work in the irre!(ular CCO]HlIllY C\TIl though thcy arc
cntitled to hold <I joh,
K Ibtio betwcell the people in cmplovmcnt alld the tot<llllumhcr of pcople in cmploYlllcnt.
'! Data do 1I0t include housekecpers,
10 SOllle <luthors (Bollifazi 'Illd Chiri 20lll) that IN!'S dala seriously undereslimatc thc
volume of illunigrants with special refercilce to Cllllstruclion (and to the service sector).
rn-IN,IFI-R JflU

II
lilli/II 1"1/;11;. _
It 1\ dilficliit 10 111:11' n:llion;J1ilies 01 foreign workl'l's as they ;'ppe:lr dilrcrcnliated ;Ind linked
10 Ilation;d sub-arr:ls: in the north-e;ast thne is an important prese;nce; of cast Europe:lll
workl'ls while in Lllillhardy thne; is a gre:lter presene;e of North Afriean workers.
Provisional data flOm the Italian Ministry of Lahour (2002) sugge;st an increasing poten
tial for immigrants' insertion in construction in northern areas as some 27''/0 of vacan
cies in the sector ,Ire forceast to 1Jc filled hy reeourse to foreign lahour employed main
ly in micro allli small firms (70r;(, Ilf joh openings ,lddressed to non-EU workers in firms
of up to 10 employees) in the north of the eountry (45',1;) of job openings for non-ELJ
workers). In the north-e;ast. in p,lrticular, one third of vaeandes in the sector will he
filled hy non-EU workers.
AIthough the regular employme 11 t of immigrants has grown significan tly in re;cent years
(partly as a re;sult of regularisation schemes that took plaee in II)l)fJ and 11)1)l)) immi
grants' involvement in undeclared work is still very high (Zineone; 2(01). Data from
inspection\ carried out by the Ministry of LJhour - though partial and bi,\sed - show
that the proportion of irregular non-ELJ earnns (ahout 3X%) is more than twice that of
dOlllesticworke;rs. It is worth noting that the; pattern of immigrants' irregular work is less
,1I1d less linked to an unauthorised stay (no reside nee permit) but is more and more simi
lal to thai of Italian workers, though the; exislene;e of unauthorised immigrants is still
very rl'iev'lIll. In particular in the richest and dynamic lahour markets, the sphcre; of
mutually acecpted irregular employment is increasing (Reyneri 20(1).
SUdl trends arc likely to involve the construction sedor as well. Moreover, this sector
seelll\ \() play an important role for the irregular economic insertion of immigrants.
d"t:l, showing which irregular johs unauthorised migrants were holding,
point tll:ln incre,lsing trend of imertion in the construction industry (Reynni 201Jl).
1\\ in Italy. the construction and public works sector in Portugal has a very important
rclative weight in the structure of employment on the mainland (hetween Xr;" and 12%
in llle perilld under study). and has, for the last few years. sustained the level of the total
l'lllployme;nt in Portugal.
.. \ considerahle part of this emplnyment is gu:tr:tnteed by foreign wurkers. Analysis of
lhe working integration of immigrants in Portugal, carried out at the end of the !1}l)Os by
a group of researchers coordinated hy 13aganha, Ferr;\u and Malheiros (I (Jl)S, 11)1)1))
SIH lived already that thc construction and public works sector was the main force fOl
integration ofthc immigrant labour force, thaI immigrants already madc up a significant
pI< lportion of this sector, and thai the relevance of this fact increased 'if we takL' into
:lel'oun! thc specific prohlem of informal work, not only hecause of thc grcat numher of
invo!vl'll in ccrtain CeOlllllllic activities, but also because of the high kvel of
vulnerahility of this kind of work' (11)1)1); 147).
According to data from the Portuguese Foreigners and I30rders Bureau (SEF), in 11)liX,
47.7';:;, of the e('()nomically "etive foreigners living legally in Portugal were working in
JRANSFI./i .1/03
I 45H
>iil'cn Iv II III!...", III
thc (,ollstrnl'lion or Illanuf,I('luring seclllrs
il
. Mosl of thl'\e inlllligranis c'lme. until
re;l'cntly. 1""11 the African eoulltrics wherc PortUgUl'Sl' is lhe official language (espe
ci;illy ("'Ile Verde).
No\V,ldays, there is also a notahle prese;nec of Imlnigr:tllts from Ukraine. Romani,\ and
Moldavia. The data from the last regularisation pillcess, initl:lled with Law 4/2001, show
that (until 31 Decemher 2(01) appn'ximately 41 ')" of thc 141 fJ:\(1 immigrants who until
then had hcen living in Portngal without authorisation werc cmployed in the construc
tion sector.
An important point that applies bllth to Italy and Portugal is that the (widespread)
unauthorised presence of non-ELJ foreigncrs is a very important feature of the labour
market dynamics of the construction scctor. In fact, in Iwth countries. non-EU foreign
ers represent a huge recruitment pool for ('()nstrllction CIlmpanics, especially for sub
contractors, who have no need to recruit directly Irom ahroad. Thc ahundant presence
of (unauthorised) immigrants on the Itlealmarkets can be explaincd by the; notion of the
domestic undergmund economy having pull effects on immigration (Reyneri 200 I). an
underground economy in which the cllnstruction sector is deeply involved.
Nevertheless an important difference in the migratory dynamics of these two cnuntrics
involves the construction sector. Italy is no longer exporting construclion workcrs. with
thc exception of some national construction workers moving to horder countries like
Switzerland. Rather the country cannot re;ly on internal mobility to cope with tcrritorial
labour market mismalches (l;lhour shortages in the northern and high levels of
unL'mp!oyme;nt In the southern oncs). The presence in the country of a pool of foreign
labour therd'ore case.s prcssurcs on wagl' levels in thc sector.
By Cllntrast. Portugal is a cOlnltl'y where migratory outflows arc still relevant and whose
construction workers arc involvcd in a nctwork of tl ansnalion,d subcontracting.
Portugucsc ('()nstruction wmkns are often posted to Germany and thc Nethcrlands by
Portugucsc CIlnstruetion firtlls since in thc\e; conntries workers cmployed in a foreign
firm ('an ('()ntinue contributing to their national insur,lnlT system. In the case of
(Jermany the high cost of labour can he cut dowlI hy exploiting the contrihution wedge
dillcre;ntial with countries where the wedge is lowcr, as PortugaL On the other hand,
(Jerman wages are higher than Portuguese wages. so lhat wage differentials provide an
incentive for workers' mobili ty l2. Portuguese Cl1l1\trul'tion workers also move to lIon
l'Ilulltries. (e.g. Switzerlal1ll
lJ
) hoth as \e,lsoll,J! :Ind pcrl11alle;llt workers.
II The available stalisties do not allow U\ 10 ;\"Lill' 11'01 kl'rs ill Ihe constrllct;llIl sector flllllllhe
workl'ls in Ihe industrial sector
12 I'herc are 110 rcliahle \t,lt;stics on po\led Portll!!lIeSe workers in Clcrmany or in the
Netherlands although in thc research wc found C<1\eS of 1'0rtll!!"C\e firms wLlrking
as \lIhconlracted fillllS in Iiolland and self-employed or [1o\led workers in (Jerl11any.
1:1 In 200 I. 7 OO() Portllgucse workers wcre working in thl' Swis\ constrllction industly as sea
son;d workcrs and 12 (JO() as permanent workers.
1/CtNSrUi .1/0.1
4591
1111,[ .10,'" ('''r/I._)_S_''_.f_''_I'I ... I'_'_C',5 _
Heccnt developments in national policies on immigration
N'ltillnal policies l'n innucnce the posll!on of immigrauts in the labour
markl'l aud the characteristics of their oceupational position in the construction SCCtOL
Thcir of c10scncss has au impact on the level of unauthorised entrics, especially
iu those countries like Ilaly and Portugal that have a pull crfect on immigration thanks
to their widespread irregular cconomy.
Italy ;lIld Portugal havc a long history of emigration amI a very short expericncc of iUllni
ion. A cousidcrable part of the political framework to immigratio!l has
thndorc had a pa,sivc and a rather instable nature
l4
. Rcccntly, however, both Ullln
tric, !lave developcd a more active 'Ipproaeh to immigration pUlling in force a legisla
tive framework that, at least in theory, should permit the state better to plan and l'lln
trol the work, entry and residence of foreigners.
In Italy thi, was accomplished, for example, by Act No 40 of (, March IlJ9K and by thc
fourth process which resulted from it. This Act clearly dcfined thc Illllll
bn of permits to be issued as part of a national plan to control the total number of peo
ple entering the country (Strozza and Venturini 2002: 2W). According to the Act, the
'quota of foreigners allowed to enter the l'Ountry (oo.) will be established annually, by 30
November of the year prior to the year to which the Decree relates, on the basis of the
gcnnal criteria ,et out in the planning document' issued by the Prime Minister',
[n this framcwork special quotas were established for construction workers signalling
also fllJm a politicd point of view how crucial the immigrant labour force is perceived
tl> be for thc ,cclor, even though, according to the firms' organisations, the quota rar
flOm sal isried occupational needs, It should be borne in mind that the Italian Law
changed v'ery reccntly in a more restrictive direction allli some time will be needeu to
cv;t!ualc thc cffccls of this.
I'llrtllgal auoptcu a similar strategy to deal with the changes in immigr,ltion nows
rCl'llrded in reccnt years. Law 4/2001 of 10 January 2001 regularised the situation
of immigrants living without authorisation in the country and, simultaneously, set an
;lnllu;II lIllota lor future iillmigration established according to the needs of the labour
market. The iuterpretation of this new legal framework by the differcnt actors iuvolvcd
in the nligratiou proee,s profounuly transformed the Portuguese migratory environment
(Baganha and Marques 200l: K7). It contributed not only to a quantitative rise in the
foreign population, but also to a change in their soeio-demographic characteristics the
most visible ,ign of which was, as stateu above, a sudden inllmv of thousands of eastcrn
\,1 1'<11' example, since IlJKO Italy allll:nded its legislation on immigration four times (Ael
lll.l2,Kh, No 943: Act 2K.2.<)O, No llJ: Act 6.3.lJII, No 40; and Aet 30.07.02, No 1119), allli
I'urtugal amended its legi,lation five times (Law 37/111, Law 59/93 of 3 March, Law 244/911 of
S August, I,aw 4!2001 of I() J;1I1uary alld Law 34/2003 of 25 Fehruary).
Jim
O!:!!!'I11(C'!'II{1 CIISCS of 1/11/1' lind l'or/lIgll!
I'uropeans m;lillly direclL'd toward, the so-calkd 3D job, -- dirly, dangnous, and
denlanding Uvlalileilos 20tH): 2111)- of thL' CLlIlstrul'lion 'l'dOL
Recruitment strategies of construction firms
addressed to foreign labour in Italy
[:rom intcrviews carrieu oul with Italian wnstruction employers as p,lrl of the PEMINT
project, it wllulu appear that recruitment stratcgies addressed to foreign labour vary
according to the size of firms (Luge companies, illedinm-,ized enterprises and small firms,
but also the rclatively unstructured teams of artisans or pSL'udo ,ll'lis;ms doing piecework
that arc quite characteristic llf the Italian constl'l1ction sectllr) ,lIld to their position in the
subcontracting chain. It could be argued that as we follow the subcontracting chain the
prcsence and recruitment of foreigners is likely to increasc (up to teams of worker, con
only of foreigners) and change from occa,ional tl) ,tlnelura!.
This cvidence is linked tl) the fad that immigrant workers in Italy ,Ire now exclusively
recruited for insertil)n in low- allli semi-skilled oCl'lIpalions (general LlboUl'ers, briek
layers, carpenters, etc.) having a dircct involvemcnt with activities carried out on the
construction sites with greater potential for irregular work.
It is useful to CllIl,idcr the set of strategies that emerged from the fieldwork hcfore
entering into details. Constrnrtion firms a) might directly recruit foreigners already
prescnl in the eountry or b) might recruit them from abroad. They c) might also have
recourse to snbconlractors who would be in charge of the recruitment anu management
of the labllur force (SullCIH1tractllrs c,ln in tUI'l1 directly recruit or subcontract some parts
of the work) or d) they might (at alllcvcls llf the chain) have rewurse to interllledi;Iries
(lL'mporary work agencies).
In large companies the dircct recruitment of foreigners is rather exceptional since
foreigners are basically absent in tbe employment slructure and recruitment involves
national scmi- and highly skillcd profiles (engineers, architects, geologisl. yard sur
vcyors, etc.)IS, In this ease, the prevailing strategy is that or suhcontracting as much as
building activity as possible in order tll kccp internalisl'd only some 'high-level' activities
(project elaboration, the coordination and the teehnical supervision of the project,
the financial management llf the work). In terms of human ITSOUITes this means a
strategy aimed at having the minimulll nU111bcr llf (sl'mi- ami highly skillcu) permanent
employces as pllssible. Sectoral CCOl1ll111ic circumstances push firtns to pursue a strategy
llf reduetilln of the permanent wllrULlIel': the volatility of demand (and strong
scnsitivity to economic cyeles), the illlpossihility of accunlulating stocks, the 111llIJility of
the productive unit, etc.
I" Dilly ill 11'0 large wlllpanies that work at the internatioual level and arc involved in major
buildin,l'. "rojec" ahroad could forcign skilled workers be found.
/H'INSF/:R 3iO.1
""-'1 '''" ..61. 460
!rOJ/1i h'/lmi, IJ('(fro __ /Yllllt/lfl'.) . .__.. __
Immigrant wmkers have somc presence in medium-sized subcontractors and a very sig
nificant presencc in their smaller (and more spccialised) subcontraelors. The lalter is
the aclual level where a slructural presence of foreign workers can be fouud because
tllL'y arc directly recruited or bCC<luse in some cases they build up teams of foreign
\\'lHkers by the same process of spin-off that clwracterise Italian workers in the sector.
Thc main point to emerge clearly from intelviews is that these foreign workers were
alrcady on the national territory when they were employed and no active strategy of
rccruitment was carried out.
In the framework of such a general reactive mechanism - that is construction firms do
nol have to be active on the international labour market to recruit their labour force and
immigrant workers themselves hasically plTseHt themselves as c;Jmlidates spontane
ously on construction sites some points should he stressed in order to explain from
a demand-sidc perspective - why t he construction sector is a key sector for immigrants'
CCOIHllllic insertion,
Thc recruitment of immigranls at the level of small and micro subcontractors guaran
lecs the conditions that allow a widespread usc of irregular work, At the level of large
cfllllpanies that arc not directly involved with foreign Iahour, suhcontracting is a gene
ral llsed to reduce slaff costs; at the level of medium-sized and small firms, sub
contracting indirectly allows them 10 reduce lahour cnsls since it is in the subcontracling
chain that Ihe largL'sl space for irregular foreign workers npens up and there is;1 higher
chance of avoiding payments of social contributions and collective agreements on the
Icw I of wages,
The lahour cost argumenl has to he dealt with in the local and secloral context of lahour
shortages, In fact, the recruitment of immigrants for the lowest occupational positions
in the constructiol\ sector is a strategy that allows medium-si,.ed and small firms to cope
with lahour shortages (especially in northern regions) thereby limiting pressures on
wage levels. The ahundant presence of foreigners on the !ocallahour markets - ,lttrac
ted Iw the case of their insertion in thc informal economy - cases demand-sioe tensions.
It i.s notable that increasing mobility from the southern regions of Italy where the labour
nl<lrkL'l is characterised by very high unemployment rates docs not seem to be an option
hL'C;IIISL' of the pressures on the level of wages that would be implied (insecure work con
dition", low union pay, \llobility costs, differentials in cost of living bL'lweennorthcrn and
s(JlItherll Iialy reSidt in a low propensity to move).
'lhL' aforL'I11elltiolled potenti:" labour shortage of low- ,md semi-skilled conslruction
workers, that olTcl foreigners an important means of enlering the constructioll sector, is
dlle to changes in the structure of the nalional lahour supply (generally, an incrcased
cducation,I! level ,II1d consequent changes in individual preferences about acceptahle
1lL'U'Ilations). IlltcrvieIVees compl"illed that there is no availabilily on the (local) market
of semi- anLl low-skilled construction jobs and that schools or [raining institutions do not
prepare ;Idequalely new lahour markel entrants. The sCincity of domestic labour supply
'l'/1./iN.\FU/ .'i\l.l
) 4(12
J .. I .... I ..
in thc SLTl<>r is gCllerally explaincd hy thc ract Illat L'onslrllction workers h:lve to accept
uncertain working condili'lns (wmking 'l\ltdoors. hard lahour, living in harracks on the
constrllction site for some periods. etc.) which make these profcssiolls unappealing for
new enlr;1l1ts on the lahollr markel.
The predOluin.mt strateg.y of havillg rccourse to Itali'III subconlractm, employing
(authmised aud unauthorised) roreigncrs alrcady present iu the local lahour market
gocs hand in hand with attemph hy some foreign l'IlnstllIet iOIl firms to enter the Italian
market. This phellomenon concerns firm, fro\ll cast European countries (Slovakia,
Ilungary, Croatia, Bosnia, and, ;i1JOve aiL RO\llania) that have organised tea\llS of
workers and lahourers with specific skills, These firms work as suhcontractors of Italian
firms ,111(1 send their workers to Iialy (especially the north-eastern regions). These prac
tices are described as heing. closely connected to irregular praclices that range from cast
European firms thaI oller velY advantageous CIlnditions in the subcontracting agree
mcnts (savings on labour cosls or up to SW;, wcre rcported) to pheno\llena such as cri
minal organisations and local marias, TbL' irregularily may ;"so fUIKtion the other way
round: some interviewees descrihed allempts by their suhcontractors or partners tu scI
up a 'ghost firm' with legal headqll;nters in an cast I'.uropeanl'lllllllry with the single aim
of importing roreign workers to Italy, Thc position or rorl'ign workers on ftalian territo
ry was in thi, case not at all clear. The illegal nalure of this cmerging 'transnational suh
CIlntracting' is due to the raet thaI. according to Italian legislation. foreign workers ill the
clluntry should have the same wages and social contributions of nalional workers
whether they work for a national rirlll or a forcign one, As a matter of fact, the legis
lative constraint can orten be ;Ivoided, as far as foreigners arc concerned, through irreg
ular work and the payment of the mininllim wage with no wage integration as occurs for
domeslic workers (the wage drirt in the sector is inlporlant in northern regions).
As for recruitment practices, the main actors of inlllligr,ll1ts' recruitment arc medium
si'.ed ;IIHI small suhcontractors at thL' level or cOllstrudion sites where foreign
const rudion workers present theillseives spontaneo\lsly looking for ,ljoh or where they
arc illtlllo\lced by (immigrant) workns they know, showing ill this Ialter case the likely
functioning of a migratory chain. In this perspective it is evidL'nt that informal channels
of recrnitment arc the rule 1h
In the recruilment of illlmigrant lahuur what do nol seem to work arc temporary work
agencies. They arc scarcely used (aparl flllm administrative starr) even though thcy ini
tially seemed to he :l solntion to Iahour shortages. Fmployers complain that <lgellcies
L':lnnot solvL' the plllhlcm of 1;lbour sllilrlages since thcy can only find those profiles that
arc alre:ldy prcscnt on the market <lnd that thc agencies <lIT 100 cmtly so tlWI there is no
inccnlive til Ill:tke usc or theill.
Ih 'lbdilioILl! dlannels - SlIch ;IS ;Idvnlising, U>lI[;ICh with sdlool, ;1I1d training ccntres, Lte,
do not SCCIll to applv wilh IhL' nceptio\) "Ithe usc "r the I'llblie LlllploYlllCll1 Services (espe
ci;l!ly ill the norlh-L';lSlerrI regiollS),
(/(IN.IIU/ ,,(1,
463\
!l rtl/rt r"llilli, 1""1,." (;'J;S (/1/(1.10.1'1' C"rlOI' MlI1'Ilw's
Recruitment strategies of construction firms
addressed to foreign labour in Portugal
Thc dircct cmpillymcnt lll' I'llreigners by largc companics in Portugal is rarc and mainly
1'l:1;ltcd to skillcd or managcrial functions. This is the casc in p;lrticular I'or multi
national cllmpanies activc lln thc Portuguese construction markct which usually have a
group of forcign scnior stallmcmbers who mayor may nllt have the same natilln;i1ity of
the capital. This dlles nllt mcan, hllwcver, that I'oreign workers arc tlltally absent I'rom
thc ;Ietivities llf these cllmpanics. It means only that largc ellnstructilln companies do not
hire foreign workers I'or thcir activities ami that, therefore, the presence or immigrants
at thc Cllnstruction sites managcd by these companies is due to their recruitment either
by thc suhcontractor working for the company, or by agencies for temporary work
(labour rental agencies). Nevertheless, it should be stressed that the larger traditional
fillns do cmpluy a certain Illimber of foreigners, namely from the traditional countries
or origin for immigration to Portugal (for instance, Cape-Verdeans), a tendcncy which is
Inorc prcvalent in the metropolitan area uf Lishon.
TIlliS, with the ahove exccption, when these firms arc questioned as to whether they havc
jorcign workers among thcir sLilT, must I'irms interviewed respond, in Portugal as in
It;dy, that they have m;lny foreign workers at the construction sites, but that thesc arc
'lIbcontr;IClnl or rentcd I;l!,our allli that, thereforc, they arc not 'their' workcrs.
Thc fact that the overwhelming majority of thc foreigners working in the construction
alld puhlic works sector alT IHJn-skilled workers fur the sector - evell though sometimes
thcy alc highly skilled workers (1'01' instance, eastern European immigrants working in
construction frequcntly h<lve ;, university degree or a highcr profcssion;i1 education)
al)(1 <lrc thcreforc incoqJllratnl in the lowcrcnd ofthc occupational ladder for which the
filiWo rarcly rccruit, certainly helps to explain their small presenec in large companies.
III Llct, a dcsirc on the part of firms to develup a cheap rixed-cost structure leads them
to <lvoid hiring Imv-skillcd workers. On the other hand, the volatility of thcse workers
who willnJllvc to anothcr firm because of a small rise in their salary or the fact that thcy,
ill thc casc of ea,tern Europe;\n immigrants, move from firm tu firm in small groups, is
also a factor that discolII"ages their engagement hy large or medium-sizcd Cllmpanics.
Thc policy to rcduce rccruitment is, however, not limited to the aforementioned low
skilll'lillrolc,sions. It is a gcncral strategy of cntreprencuri:i1 dcvclopment, which implil's
thl' restriction olthc cnterprise's ;Iclivity tu ils corc husiness and the engagement 01 work
ers that are only strictly necessary for that activity. This reality is visihle, fur example, in
the elnploymcnt 'If architects, a functiun that has almost disappeared from the Portuguese
cOllStructiun and puhlic works firms, which prefer tu externalise the planning phase and
its supnvision on the constructiun site. In additiun, qualified professiuns, such as, for
e'(alllplc, those 01' hriekl<lyers or carpenters, have witnessed a pmcess of gradual external
i,:i1ion thrtlugh suhcontr;\ctors OJ lahour rental enterprises. In this case, the tendency is
to buy the snviee instead of renting the wurkt"orce. Since this is a measurable type of
productive work, the enterprises will pay, for instance, according to square metre of
IlIAN.\FUI1ill.1
I 464
'III<' liI"I)('C.IS or I'('("ntill" 1'111 of iIlIl11;pwll.1 il/ 111(' cOl/slnt,'I;o" .\('('(01: 711(' C<lS('\' or Ilal)' 111/(/ l'OI'IIII{II/
e'(ecuted work. Currcntly, lhe reeruitl1lent of these types of workers for the large compa
nies only takes plaee whcu till' eomp;ulies have to resptlllli to exceptitln;J! situations
relatl'd to the legal guarantee that the Ctlntractors l1lust provide.
In short, fmm the interviews carricd out we can conclude that, ;IS eXJlected, most of the
foreign workers in Portugal in this sector du not helong to the staff of large or medium
sized construction companies. but work fur small subeuntractors. or temporary labour
or labour rental enterprises. Ilowever, the latter arc hired by the former, and that is the
reason why, when they arc asked whether they have foreigners among their stall, the
enterprises usually answer that they do not or that they have very few.
As mcntiuned above, thcre is a gre"ter pmpensity to use foreign labour at the construc
tion sites than in the enterprises' headquarters (and this mainly indirectly, through sub
contractors). It is therefore necessary to describe nol only tbe recruitment process of these
foreigners, but also the elTeets of this strategy un the overall workforce in the sectur.
First of all it is impor[;\Ilt tu note that generally the recruitment of fureign labour by sub
contractors is made in an informal way, that is, without using the more formal means of
advertising vacancies (through the press, for instance), or the usc tlf recruitment agen
cies. It eUl be claimed that since the national labour market h;lS been abundantly sup
plied with foreign labour this is a reactive r;lther than active recruitment methud
because the employer docs not Itlok for the workers he wallts to recruit, but accepts
those th"t apply at the headquarters or at the const ruction site. This type uf recruitment
is, however, respunsible for only a small part of the total elllpluyment uf fureigners in
the sector. The Illain agellt in the recruitment uf foreigners to work at the construction
site is the subcuntr;lctor who either works directly for the general contractor or for
another subcontractor. The hiring process followed by these subcontractors clearly
indicates, as in the Italian casc, the importance of inlollllal channels thaI rely on social
cuntacts, illlmigrallt networks and chaill migratitlll.
The usc of recruitment :Igencies in thc Portuguese cunstruct ion sector is nut very cummon
and virtually restricted tu the recruitment of technicians or senior stafr. Other types uf
agencics "ssullle a morc important role in supplying wor"ers to the construction cumpa
nics. Olll' uf these arc the typical tcmpor"ry work cnterprise., which mainly supply undif
ferentiated labour, unskilled workcrs or possibly some specific professionals who are
needed by the enll'qll"ises ftll' short peritlds of tinll' (for inst;\Ilce. crane operalors, ground
I'lel',lIation 11Ial'hi,le <ll'n"t<llS, etc). /\lllllhcl tYI1e C<lllSiSiS <II' lah<lllr rl'llt:J! ellterpriscs.
These enterprises supply all killds tlr wOIlers, who arc paid by the hour or by the task. As
these enterprises have their own charal"leristics and. in sonic cases, work exclusively for
this sector, they arc kept in the dark. that is, it was imptlssihle to idenlily the nallle of thcse
cnterprises. A final type of agency consists of thc ghost enterprises, th"t is, enterprises
supplying labour that, in Llc\, do nut have a franchise, thai is, thaI arc not authorised to
exercise this "ctivity but continue to do so. Inlhis type of (raise) agency we wuuld include
the notorious van contractor who collects the workers in the morning aIIII depusits them
at the cunstructiun sites uf mcdiulll-sizl'd or largc enterprises.
, . ~ ~ ~
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(j:j;1 Mlirlflll'_1 .
It is importalltlo Illeillioll that the recruitmcllt of foreigll workcrs hy Ilational constrtle
ti'lIl firillS OCUII'S Wilh Ihe ongoing outllow of Portuguese workels
towards till' sec[or of otller European coulltries. In fact it is possible to
ohsnvc ,I transler of Portuguese Ilationals to tile lahour markels of Switzerland or
(iermallV, ,Ind the Netllerlands, directed 10 the sallie segmellts of the labour llIarkcl for
which collstruetion firms recruit foreigners in Portugal. This mobility is stimulated by
Ilct wage differelltials for the same segments of the labour markcl in dilTerent countries,
likc (;ermany ;md the Netllerlands ill comparison to Portugal, allllt;lkes pl;lce ullder dif
k rc nl Iega I sta tuses: posted workcrs, season al workers, or perm;ment workers.
TIllS l'ollvergence between tile outllow of Portuguese workers and the inflow of foreign
workers to work in the s;nlle seclors as Portugucse workers abroad is liard to explain. It
secnls 10 reflect a lack of adaptation of the national labour force to thc Portuguese
I;i1Jour 1l1arkel. wllich at Ihc same time allr;\ets a foreign labour force (traditionally
immigrants fnlill the PI\LOI', the I\friean countries wllose ollicial language is
Porlllgilese ;Ind. Illore reeelitly. from eastern Ellrope) ami rejects or repudiates tile
natioll;d lahour forcc. Ilulillis is actually a morc complicated phenomeJlon wherc micro,
meso ;llld nlacrll Ievcl factors arc intertwined. suggestini'- th;lt we ;Ire in a presence of a
process of nalioll;d workers by immigrant workcrs (Ilaganha and Pcixolo
/,),)(,: 2.\.'\J due to several reasolls: at individual level the higher wages ill till' foreign
eoulltry: at meso level (Clllpor;ilions' level) thc reduction in the cost of labour and at
Illacro level tile exploitation or dillerent national frameworks Oil payment or social con
lrihutiom.
The consequences of till' dyn;ullies taking place at these three levels <lrc that in a first
phase a r;dse compleml'lll;lrity is laking place in the Portuguese labour markcl followed.
ill ;1 sel'lliid pll;lse, by ;1 suhstitlltion process. For instance, if we focus on the se;lsonal
I'orluguesl' workers who sLIY in Swiuerland for between Iliree and nine nllllJlhs a ye;lr
Wl' can sec thaI this creates a conjunct ural gap in the labour force th;lt then has to be
made lip Ill(' by foreign workcrs. When the slatus of tllese scasonalPortuguese migrants
in Swit/crland changes into a more permancnt olle we could interpret the simultaneous
in and out flows as a suhstitution process.
C:onclucling remarks
Tile dcscription of the process of recruitment of immigrants in the Italian and
l'oltUgUl'SC sector shows how the sector is a key sector for immigr'lnts
l'L'onomie insertion.
Thc IWIl cOlllllries show a very similar structure of the sector - though undergoing two
dillnL'111 l'lllljllnctural phases - char<lelcrised hy an extremcly fragmcntcd productivc
;Isset where micro and small firms predominate hoth in terms of the number Df enter
and or scctoral weight. 'Iilgethcr with significant destructuring, llIueh Df which
"'llk placc in tile 11)'){)s ,IS a result of downsizing and subcontracting policies, self
clllp!oyment ,ultl irregular work playa central role in the uynamics of the sectm and
I 466
'/kIN,IF/.1i .1;11.1
/.. I WCl II ..? ll!-:{II
seelll to hi' facilitated holh hv the struetllr;d IlaglJIL'/ll:llillil III' the \l'L'tor and by somc
1I1111sllai condiliolls ot pnldul'lion.
It is with reference to irreglll;lr work Ihat the sector heCtHnes a crucial one for immi
grants' eeononlic insertion. The hypI'thesis that the widespre;ld irreglll;lr economy
works as a 1'1111 factor bllih in It;dy alltl Purtllg;d seems to apply: Iln the Dne hand the
increasing Ilumber 01 regular inunigrant workns ill the sector docs not imply a decreas
ing involvement of Imeigners al the irrcgular level, on the other the frcquent rcgular-is
;Ition schemes that haw taken place ill both eOllntries (along with frequcnt revision of
national imlJligr,ltion laws) show that in thc construclion sector irregular employment
1I;ls previously been widespread.
The econolnie insertion of inllnigrants by w;IY or irrcgul,lr insertion in the construction
sectm (that can later turn into a rcgular working position lor those who arc authoriseu
or regularised hut that can ;dso remain irregilial hecause or collusive inlcrests, espe.
cially in the richest and Inorl' dynamic areas) 11I1(1s in the fieldwork rnJm the
PI':M JNT project.
Both in Italy and Portug;i1 imlnigr;1I11s arc prescnt only in sll1;dl and medium-sized suh
contractors where they wOlk sl'mi- OJ low-skilled workl'l's (hlil'klayns, carpenters,
gennal lahourers, etc.), in the gener,i1 franlework of the subcontracting by large and
Icading conlpanics 01 as nilich building activity as they can, other than highly strategic
'Ictivities. If then the (cumnHlII) Slralcgy of construction fimls is to subcontract activities
(;11111 thus the recruitment of the 1;l!lour force), the present means of recruiting (sub
contractors) represents a predominantly reactive str"tcgy. Thus the ahundant availabil
ity III a lorcign lahour force on the n;ltional lahour market - also as the of the
irrcgul;1I economy working as ;1 plill f;lL'tor - docs not Icad firms to recruit actively from
the intelilation;d pool of 1;l!lour. In addition, lllL' reactive strategy allow firms nol to
recruit actively on the Ilatilln"lmarkel as wcll, since inlllligr;lnt workns Splliitaneollsly
present themselves as candidates Oil cOllstructiol1 siles tllat tllen ael as tile maill agenls
in the recrllitment or foreignl'l's. I\s a mailer of ract, at this level the ricldwork sllows the
alnlost exclusive role Ill' inlurlJlal reLTuitment practices.
NCVl'rtheless, ifin Italy suhcoutracting lllilation;d rirms :lIld tcams or workers dlling piece
work Sl'l'niS to he the oilly distillctive stlalL'gy, in I'mtug;d a more widespread recourse to
illiermediaries was foulld. '''lgether with typicallcmporarv wmk eillel prises, 1;i1lollr rental
enterprises supply all kinds of workers. who arc p;tid bv the hour 01 hy the task.
1'\Tn tllough the predomill:ltlel' orSllhl'flntt;lL'ting to nation;d nlino, sm,11I and Illedium
siied firms employing (regularly and itll'gtdarly) foreign workers who arc ;dready pre
sc111 In the country c;ln hc interprctl'l! ;IS a stralcgy to reduce I;l!lour costs, ill the short
tl'l'm perspective the potenti;dl;I!l<Hlr shmtagc 101 semi- and low-skilled jobs should not
he neglected. In this respect Italy and Portug;d show qllite dillnent dynamics.
In fact. in h(Jth c(Juntries the I'oreign labour pool cases the potential excess of lahotll'
demand in Ihe sector. hut the lahour shortage results frolll quite different phenoIlJena.
In Italy this sect(Jr;J! lJ1ismatch cannot he nl:lllaged tlllllugh recourse to internal
/1i.1N,1/'I-./i 1,111
4671
11/11111 ''''lilli, I', rI, _
Illllhil;IV hl'l';IIISe Il('llplc rlOm tlil' 1ll1llT depresscd arcas llf tile elluntry il:ll'e no inn:n
III'<' It I lI)lll'l' ;11 lil,' prcsl'lIt Icvl'! orwagcs ;ntilc seelor; ;n('orlllgal tile (l\ll!-oinl!-0utllllW
"I ('01 t Uglll'SC \VOl kns tow;mls tile COLIS! rllction sCl'lllr of lltile I I eountril'.' Ilia t
l'l/ll ex pill it lahllur cost dillerenti;t1s using a strategy or transnation;t1 suhcontraclin1"
SlTlll, to sci lip a Illoce,s of suhstltution lie tween national and rorcign construclion
workcrs,
neferences
lla1':lnlla, Malia, Josc M:lrques :I III I Pedro (i('lis (2002) () SI'('I(II" <III COIISIIII\'110 Cil'il I'
Ohm,l 1'lih!iU/I 1'111 l'ol'/lIg"/: I l)')O-20()O, Oficilla uo CLS nO I T\, Coi IlIlna: CellI I0 liL'
FSludos Slleiais,
I\aganila, Maria allli JO;-)(l Peixoto (jl)l)h) '0 eSlUdO da migrat;l-,es naeionais, Ponto de
IllterscCI'/lo Diseiplinar' in J, M. Carvalho Fcrrcira 1'1 "I, (cds,) 1:"11'1''' l:"C()/IOllli" I'
iI So(";"I"gi", (leiras, Celta blitura, 233-23
l
),
I\;II-,anlla, Maria, h.:rr;lo, J, ;lIld Malhciros, ./., 1'1 "I. (!')l)X) Os /\!OVilll1'lIlo,l' Migmlllrios
/'.\11'1"110,1 (' " ,I'lf" IlIci<lhlCio I/O ,1>/1'1'1'0<10 <II' ]j-alwllro CIJ/ I'ortllg(/I, Lisbon, fllstituto
do ".mp' cgo e Format;;)(l Prori"ion;11.
I\ag;tllha, Maria, Ferr;io, .I, :lIld Malheims,.I, (ll)l)lJ) 'Os imi1'ran(es c 0 mereado dc Ira
halhll: 0 easo portugucs', AI/(i/isl' Soci"I, vol. XXXIV (I.'iO), 147-173,
I\aganha, Maria alld JOSl' CarillS Marques (2001) Imigm\'(/o C IJolflico, 0 ClSO por
IUgUl'S, Lishoa: FUlldat;;'lo Luso,,\mcriealla.
I\llilirat:i. ('orradll ;lIld S;t1vatlHe Chiri (2001) 'II lavoro deg,li immig,rali in Italia', L"
'11I('wi(!/II' (/gmli", 23 ( 1),7-4(1,
M;t1l1eiros, .I, (:'000) 'Urban Hl'structuring, Illlmigralion and thc Gcneration of
Margin;t1it:l'l1 Sp;lces ill tile I,ishon Rcgiol1', ill Russell King, (iahriclla I,;l/.aridis :ll1d
('haral:ullhos 'Isardanidis (cds,) F!do/'{/<lo or 1'(JI'!n:,I',I( Migl'"lio!l ill Soll/ltl'm
1'.lI/(lll(', l.tlllllon: Mad'vlill;1I1 ('ress, 207-232,
MorelHl, (cd.) (!l)')l)) 1:,\111<10 sol)/'(' (,()/ISII'II((/O (,iI,t! I' o/J/'{/s luihliCi/s
IIIIW\1I0 (' n'/'III,lllO 1'111 Il'rl/los <1(' 1'/Ilprl',!;O, Lishoa: CESO I&D - Investigat.;;io c
Iil'sl'n\,ol"inlt'nto,
ReYlll'l"i, I'milio (2001) 'Migr<lnts' involvemcnt in irrcgular cmploymel11 in the
I'vlcdilerrane:\I1 countries or thc Europcan Ul1iol1', IlIlcI'I/(/liollol Migmlioll I'''pl'n,
No, ../1, (Jelleva: IU).
S(llllIa. S;J!I';I(Oll' and i\lc.'>Sandl:l Ventnrini (2[)()2) 'Italy No l.onger" Counlry of
Fmigl;llion: hlll'ignl'ls in Iialy, llow MallY, Where They ('OIlIC From and What
TIll'v lio'. ill i{;J!ph i{lltll' anti Pder Stein (cds,) Migmlio/l I'o!ic)' "lid t!1(' r:mll()I".\':
11I1('l'/l11lioll(l1 hpni"II('('I, 1Y1Llllich: Ilanlls-Seidcl-Stiflul1g c,Y., i\kadClllil' fiir
Politi\-.. ul1d 7.citgeschehen,
Waldil1gl'l. R, (I')').'i) 'Thc 'othel side' of el1lheddcdl1css. i\ case-study of thc inll'lplay
of eCllllllfl1Y ;ll1d dhnieily'. Ltltl/ic ,,"<1 !?"ci,,1 SIII<lil's, IS (3), .'i.'i.'i-5X(),
1:II]()ltelli, E "nd l.. Bigliaui (!')()l)) 'II decel1tramell(o in edili;,i;1 11''' l1lohilil:'1 lerr;lo
li"le, 1:\IOIlJ ;lulonol1lo l' dere1'olamcnt:lt:ione', ()flrl' ilIJo///C, X(3). 31-Clh.
linl'oill', (jillv"lIna (cd.) (2(llll) SC('()II<1o !?(/IJI}(Jrlo <lcg!i il/lll1igroli ill
11(llio, II i\llllil1o: !lolugna,
Tnulc unionism and immignltion:
rl'in'crprl'ting old and IH'W dilemmas
1,(Ir,'IIt:o (';It'illin' alltl Migucl S, Villes ,..,
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S111/11/1(1/)'
1ft" .I()ciol (llId "((lI/IJIIII( Iltlll Itll\'(' 1111,<'11 1,111("(' 111/("(' Iltl' lIIid- !'JS(), III S{'OIiI olld
lillit'/' ,IOIiIItI'l'll 1:'//["(1/"'1111 (olllllrin 1,,11'1' 1"lInl tI/(' 1('111' /01 Iltl'ir 1'II/I'Igl'I/CC (1,1 111'11' ((l/ll/lril'S
0/ illi/Ilig/(/lioll, hlldl' IIl1iollislII IIIIIII'\( ("(i/llllrin Iw,l Iwd 10 /ilcc Illi,l 111'11' ,1;IIWlilill (/1 0 lilllt
Ii! gl'('(/I dWlIgl',1 ill II/(' II'Or/d o! mll,I(lI'IIII'I// owilitil Itlll 1)(!\{'(IIIt'J(' dlllllmgt'.1 lol' IIl1ioll
,11/"111'/111'1'.1. "lhis ol'lic!1' 1"I'f)(Jr/s Oil I"I'Ct'1I1 ('IIII,il';mll"l'II'(l1'1'1t 11110 S/,IIIII,I/, 11"11111' /llIIOlli.II,I' o{{i
111I1"s 101l'1I1'''s illllllig[,(/111 11'(//1.1'1:1 I('it/Ilil Illil 11('\1' ((11111'11. ,I r1',11'01'1'1t III('/lto<l,linl IIs('(1 III
ol/J,.,. 1:'111'111}('t//1 ('()IIII/I'in i.1 mll,I()\'l'd ht/I' /() gil'l' II /in-fJ l'I'ISIWI/;t'l' 10 dilmllllos
ill I'!t'l';()(/S .1111<1;1',1 Ollt! 10 .I011lliolll,
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SOl/llllll;re
In 1Ill1ltlli()IIS /cOlIO!lli(IW'I' 1'1 ,1ocill/n (Illi II' ,IOIII/IIOt!II;II',1 dl'l'II;1 II' IIlIlim dl's 111111"",1' liJSO
,'II 1:",l/mgll(' 1'1 dllll,l tI'IIl1ll'n li,lI',1 ,/'1'.1110/'" 1Il"IUliollllll' 011/ Imd III mil' (I Iml' ('111"1,1;1'11('(' ('/I
/({III (11/(' 1I001t'can! lilll',1 d 'illl/niPHlioll, 1,1' 1"I'IIdiwhl/lll' do/l.l ('('s 1"'.1'.1 II ,hi jilin' J([(,(, (I "('{{I'
110111'('11(, sill/alioll ,/ 1111 1I/(J/lII'1I1 OI'I d'i/lI/J(lI"/OIlI,' dWIIgmll'lIf,l .11' IlIo'/II;,loil'lll dall.l 1I'IIIode
,It r"llIliloi, n' 'Illi 1l110.l(' <II' 1I0llt '('(Ill! (h;/;I {'IIIII' 1<'.1 sIII/CIIII'(',1 Sl"lId;l'oll',I, ('1'1 ol'lil'll' ./ilil mp
1101"/ Sill' 1111" 1'{'(1I('/'c!II' 1'/III'il'i'llIl' I'''''mll' 1'I'IIIIil"I' IlIlX l)millOIlS <II'S IYlldil'OI,l 1',I/"lgllols .ra('('
Illn Iml"lli/II'III:\ i/lllllig/(/111.1 <lIl/l.l CI' l/(Jllt'l'llli COIIII'I"II', {i//c 1II1't!/(Jdl' de I'l'ch",cl/(' (hj(ll/lili
,1('1' <lIlIIS <I'allll'l's l,a\'1 mWI}('l'lI.1 I'sl I'ni/,/,JI'{'1' ;ci 110111' ie/lll1rl' ,1011.11111 IIlIgll' 11111/1'CIIII dcs
di/CIlII/II',1 t!"l(1 IIlis m ,'l'i<lCIICI' t!Il/l.l dl'.l ,'IIU/{',I 1'!t'dtll'lI/n cIIII1;g('ln d,'s ,1011lIioll.lli(),1,1i/>/l's,
.:..:..:.
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Z/I,lilli/IIICII}iI.lSllllg
IJil' \Ozioll'lIl1l1<1 l\'il'fSclw/ilil'l/(,1I I {nillt!t'l"IllIgm, dil' ,11';1 f\lil/!' dnSOl'l.lahl'e il1,\j}(llIil'l/ 1111<1
({I U11'1'<'11 ,1iitlI'WOlil"ii.1t/1l'1I IJilldnl/ll'l/lgl'/!II{(lm Iwl'<'II, IIwchll'll lic lIoclt IIl1d /I"c!l Zll
11,'1/('11 1,'illl\'allt!l'lI/lIgl/iilldl'll/. nil' (;('I\'('/'I"ll'lw/Il/WII,,,gllllg Will ZII I'illt/ll /I'il/lllllkl III'F
gl"n/mdl'l Vl'lIiIl<ll'l'lIl1gl'll !IIil dinn II('J{('I/ Sillilil/Oll k()lI/wllliel"/, l\'IlS die (;l'lI'l'l'k,ll'lwjis
.lllIlkllll'CII 1'01' 1{('IIi' Ill'mlls/imll'll/lIgclI Ilcllle. I )inn :II"/ike! hnicltl"l iili('/' okllll'lll'
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.11'11('1/1/,1,1/lt'll III t!ll'SCIII 11"11,'11 f-(lIII<'I1. IIin 1'01/11111 I'inl' F"/:lCIIIJIIglJ)ll'lltod" ZIIIII I";I/I"IZ,
,If(' ,:III1IIChsl ill III1t!nt'll "llw/I,llIcl{('// 1.'/IIt!1'I11 l/!/g"II'mt!d 1\'111<1,': dil' ill li,i!f('1'1'II .l'I/I(!im
1',.,,/J/l'll1t' lI'nt!<'II 111111'1' cil/l'!II 1It'1It'11 /i!i,), lIilll,,,1 IWI(hl;I'Ilt'II, 1I11t! Olll'!i
/I II Iglic!l I' l.ii,llllIg('l/ 1I"'I"t!m tI){gl'l(1i!ogl'lI.
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111,1."'\'1/-11 \/11.1 m.I.\I'\/I."lll.\
4 hi'
4691
f /]
IMMIGRATION AND LABOUR
Carlota Sole: European policy on immigration
Kitty Calavita: The dialectics,of'immigrant 'integration'
and marginality in industrialising America and post
industrial Europe
Ludger Pries: Labour migration, social incorporation and
transmigration in the Old and New Europe. The case of
Germany in a comparative perspective
Ivana Fellini, Pedro G6is and Jose Carlos Marques: The
process of recruitment of immigrants in the construction
sector. The cases of Italy and Portugal
Lorenzo Cach6n and Miguel S. Valles: Trade unionism
and immigration: reinterpreting old and new dilemmas
Simon Tonnelli: Migration and democracy in central and
eastern Europe
Sonia Parella Rubio: Immigrant women in paid domestic
service. The case of Spain and Italy
rJJ
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VOLUME 9 NUMBER 3
Afgiftekantoor: 3000 Leuven 1 AUTUMN 2003
Thc process of recruihncnt of
inllnigrants in the construction scctor.
Thc cascs of Italy and Portugal
By Ivana Fellini', I'edro (j{lis'* and Jos<.' Carlos Marques"*
E
SIIIIlIIIU/:Y
Illis I/rlicle dmls 1I';lh II/(' r('ullilill I'll I 1111<1 I'lIIlJloylIll'II1 of jiJrcigll workl'rs ill Ihl' 111I1i1l1l IIl1d
l'orlll/iIlI',11' cPlISlmrtioll ,ll'clon, 'Ihl' IWO (mllllrics sholl' II 1'1'1)' silllilllr slmclure I/lld mgllllisillioll of
IIII' sec/or. Nel'nlhell'l,l, 111/1\' 'ilJlflorl.\" illl/lli/iralllS jiJr Ihe seclor whams Porlugal hOlh illlfl0rls
I/iid l'.Il'or!s CIII/llmrtioll I\'orkl'rs milhe 1:'III'OIII'I/I1II1(1/kcl, Olllhl' hI/sis ofll COIIIIIII
mlh'l' IllIalr"i" 0/ Ihl' oCCllpal;mwl sllJ/dlire IVorkers I/lld of ill ICIl 'il'l\'s IV;lh eOllslmdioll
1'//1/1/11."1'1'.1 ill Ihe Iwo (,(}II/ilrics Ih;s I/rlicle eXl///Iilles sudl dijferellces 1111<1 discusses lulll' (11/.1'0 Il'ilh
reji'l"l'lII'l' hi inl'gllil/r Irod IIlId IIII' IIl1dC/gl'OlI/lIll'{()1I0IllY) I/lld II'hl' Ihe ClllISlmdioll sec/or rl'prI'Selll.l
1/ kn' l('clI/r lilr Ih(' I'COIIOlllil illsnlioll IIlId adllplatioll of illlllligmllls ;11 Ihe Ml'dilerralll'lIlI arl'O,
Skills sill/rlllg<'s /11llllllhollr cml ;.1'.1'111'.1 lire highlighled as jilClors IIjfl'ctill/i rl'cmilllll'lIl ofjilll'iglll'l:l' ill
II Iec/llr c!lIImclnisl'd hy 1/ I'I'I.\' high 11'1'1'i of dl'l'I'!iIlIIlI;OIl olld illfol'llllllil.\', olld ill which IJI'OI'I'SSI'S of
dllll'l/lizili/i OIllhl' liIll' hI/lid IIl1d cxlcnllllisillioll olllhe olhl'r hol'l' 11IId 1/.1 all i//lporlolll olllCOllI1' Ihc
IImr/1' l'xcll/lil'I' roh' o{sIIIICIIlllrac/ill/i illlhe rl'cruillllclIl o{sl'/IIi- IIl1d IOIV-skilll'd workl'l:\,
.:..:..:.
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('('/ I/rlic!1' 1IOI"Ic sur II' rcuull'/IIl'lil 1'1 {'c/IIfllo; ric Iral'l1illclI/:1 (;Imll!il'rs dlll/,l II' Sl'cll'lIr rll' III (lJ1I.\
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Il'l'lnrer ill Stlciology "I thc Univnsity of I'orto "1ll1 Associated Rcsc"rchcr "t
tlie ('elllie lUI Stlei,,1 I{esc"rrh ;11 the University ofCoilllhra
I.celulcr ill Stleitllug\' ;It the C"thulie Univcrsity uf l'orlug,,1 and Asstlci'ltcd
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/RIN.I'/,'Ui .1/lU
I 452
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-:..:..:.
Introduction
The presence of immigrants in the construction sel'tor in various countries throughout
the world is so broadly recognised hy studies on the eCllIlIHnie incorporation of immi
grants that some authors consider that the eonstl'lletion sector 'rcpresents the quint
essential ethnic niehe' (Waldinger I'N5: 577), The exp!;lIlalilllls I'm the attractiveness of
the construction sector normally makc rekrence to the eh;nactcrislics of the immi
grants, to their networks, to the chctractl'l'isties or the sector, or to a combination of these
factors, Less allention has been devoted to the direct or indirect pmcess of recru itment
of immigrants into this sector, Migration is no longer driven by the needs or the labour
market as a whole but by the needs Ill' specific sectors and occllpatiollS iu the framework
of il segmeulcd !;,holll' markct.
This artic!c COlllpilres the process of recruitment or immigranls in the Italian ;,nd
I'llrtllgucsc cOllstrurlion sl'clors in ordl'l' to show how the scctor is ,I kcy onc 1'01' immi
grilllts' CClHl(lmi,' insertioll alld ctdap\;ltion, In thcse two cOllntries the constructi')IJ "ec
lor i, wry difkrcllt frolll othl'l' sectors, not olliv ill lellll, of prodllctivity, but ,J1so in
InnIS or the slructurc of thc Lihollr market. It reprc,cllls ;1 proccss addillg signifieanl
valuc, it !c;1l1s to the appcarance or positive externalitics in other activities and gener
;IIeS "igniricant nlllitiplyillg cconomic and soci;J1 cl'kcls upstrcam alld downstrcam, In
both CllIlntril's, this sector is Lilllllll-intensiw with ,I significant proportioll of undiffer
cntiated, IIndeciared and lowly Ijualiried workers, allLl is a sector where immigrants have
had a critical impact on recclltlahour market hislory, hlrthcrmlJl'c, this is a sector where
1'101N,IFI./i ,W,1

1'<'1110 (;,)is !lilt! Jw<' C"r/"s M"r'!I/('s
lll!llce'larcd Libour represents an undefined but surely significant proportion of the
\\llIking popnlation in the sectllr. Inlhis article, we demllnstr;lle the similarities between
Poriligal and Italy in terms of immigrants' insertion in tbe lahour market and we pre
selll evidcl1l'L' related to the str;\tegies of recruitmcnt of tbe labour force in the two
L'Ilunlrics. Nolcwmlhy is the r;let th;lt Italy is now exclusively an importcr of eonstrue
tilln workers whercas Portugal is hoth an importer and exporter of eonslruction labour.
The matnial ;Ind prelimin;lry results presented in this article arc drawn from the
research project 'The Political EconolllY of Migration in an Integrating Europe'
(PLMINT), supported hy the Firth Framcwork Rcseareh PrograllllllL' of the EU allLI
illVolving eight research teams in six different countries. 'I he main aim of the project,
\\'hich luns fronl 2(0) til 20()4, is to unL!erstanu how the ways natillnal and multination
;J! firms rccruit labour lead til different outcomes in terms of labour mobility and inter
n,i1ional migration lInder the imp;let of dilTcrcnt forms of welfare provision, fiscal sys
tems and regulatory framewmks. This research is based on a literature review, data
allalysis ;lI1d inlcrviews with construction firms conducted in the last months.
Till' ;,rtick is mgani,SL'd as fllilows: the first section sets out the fr;lmcwork constraining
thL' renuitlllL'nt ,strategics Ill' the constillction firms. hlllilwing a dcscription of the slrllC
tur,l! char;lcteristics aill I recent trcnds in the sector, wc analyse the prcsence Ill' inllni
gr,II11s in the SCelili alld thc recent deveillflment of nation;ll pillicies on inll11igr;llilln. \Ve
then dcscribe the reLTUitlllent strategies concerning immigrants that arc followeu,
rcspeeliwly. by It;dian and Portuguese cllnstruction firms. Finally, thc results arc SUIll
marised.
Construction as a crucial sector for immigrants'
economic insertion in Italy and Portugal
('Il11structilln firms' behavillur shoulu be eOllsidereu ill the framework of eXler/lII/ Clill
,\/millls Iln the recruitment anL! employment of foreign workers:
the CCOllLlIllic structure of the sector, such the size of the firms, the role of self
cmployment and the incidence of work;
labour markct conditions sucli as the flrescnce/absellCL' of labour shortages, the avail
ability 01' a mOlT or less large pool of foreign workers alleauy present in the coun
li'y, thL' 'ethnic' characterisatioll of the labour force, elc.;
Ihe Iegisi<rtive and rcgulatory fr,lI11ework also in terms of seclm-speeific regulation
(SUdl as !he presence/ahsL'nce of different rules for enrolling foreigners, the differ
l' nees between the contribllt ion schemes applying to loreign anL! domestic workers,
hilt also. in general terms, the role of trade unions in the sector, the prL'selice/
d!>sencc IIr a skills certification system, il1lmigrationlegislatilln, etc.).
III this artiL'1e wc will consider the facturs that seem to he thc most relevant in affccting
IlTruitmcnt strategies concerning foreign construction workers in Italy and Porlllg;IL
.1/1JJ
I 454
r('(nI illllCII I of oLll"lyo "lid l'OIY..II!J"1
Structlllal ch<lractcristiv; imd recellt
The structure of tlie eonstructiol) seetur in Portugal and Italy is quite similar, although
the Italian construction sector has recovercd following the serious crisis in the middle of
the 1')l)(Js- causcd by the prohlems of corruption that emergcd with '/llllgClllopo!i' that
bloekcd investments in construction - while I'ortugdl is experiencing a conjunctural
slowdown after the intensivL' growth sustained by EU struetnral funus anu statc finane
illg associated with a consistent growth of private investmcnt in public works,
In general terms, the construction industry in both coulltries presents a <iuite /i'lIgmcll!cd
pmdllclil'' IIS.I'I based on a very limiteu lIumhcr of large companies ,lI1d a myriau of
medium-sizcd ;11lL1 sm;dl firms, on a significant presenec of self-cmployed, on all inten
sive usc of subcontracting relatillg micro, sll1all alld medium-sizcd firms to larger Dncs,
alld on intcnsive recourse to irregular work.
AeL'lIrding to national data I, in 1
'
)')(, Italy registcred about 440 OO(J construction rirms
2
,
(IH.()';;, of whieli had fewer thall 2(J employees and elllployed about of construction
workers. Conslruc! ion firms employing morc than I()O L'mployecs account for only (l.1 %
of the firms and 7';; of the wurkforce.
Portuguese data show a vcry similar structure: in 1')L)7 there were ncarly ()4 (JO(J con
struction firms in Portugal, with larger cOll1panics (Illorc than lOt) cmployecs) repre
senting abont 0.]');, of the tlltal and cmploying around 2[)'X, of the workforce in the sec
tor. At the opposite sidc of the spcctrull1, firms with fewer than 20 employees represcnt
1)70;, of Portuguese collstructiun firms and empluy arounu 60% of construction workers.
More recent data for Portugal for lO(JO (lNE) show that within a gencral positive trend
for thc scctor), medium-sized ;Ind small firms arc growing both in number and rL'lative
occupational weight while largn companies have lost 4% of firms and ncarly 11 % of
workers sillce 1)<)7. These trcnds C;1I1 be aLTounted for hy a reorganisation stra!L'gy car
'
ried out in the sector through downsiz.ing and extemalising lI1any llon-essential prouuc
tive functions in oruer to achieve a greater entreprcneurial competitivencss. The
strategy is likely to have led to the subcontracting of the different stages of the
cxecution of the building works 10 smalln firms, leaving to the m;Jin contractor or to the
owner a function of general coordination (Baganha, Gois anu Marques 20(2).
A very similar pattern can bc seen for Italy (Zanottelli and l{iglia7.Zi I')<)I), even though
data !'or reCl'llt years arc nol availahle'l. In Italy as IYclL the fragmentation of the
IST;\I: Interim Census on lodustry 'lild Snvices. 1')'J7 ror It,dy, and INE, Anu;'rio Lstatistico
de PmtugaL t for Portugal.
For hoth I'mlugal and lialy, data ['Iovidcd for firms also lake illto an:ount individual cntreprencurs.
.1 IL is ""'Ih nUling thatlhe late t')')l!> were very ullusual veal' ror thL' growth or the POltuguesc
eOllstrllcli'"1 sector: io I'J'):; thc Illlmhn of L'lItel ['rises w"s less lh:1Il the halt of the Ilumber
registered ill 201111 allli the volume or L'lllptoylllcllt has growll hy nearly "illee then.
<\ I)ala from ISIAJ: Census Oil industry and services, 2111l!, I'("()vide only general detail> on eco
nomic aL'livily thaI do llo1 allow rill' analysis of the (o1lSll'ul'lioll SL'llm.
Tll/tN.IFU? 3/0,\
",4551
Ih/", (i6is a/:"c,--I.::.-"_",_"_' _
I'mdurtivc asset can be consider.:u a traditional fcaturc of the construction sector, and
dowllsizing and subcontr,lcting policics .:xplain many of the chang.:s that took place ill
t hc I')<)Us: fmm I')<) I to 1<)<)7 largc companies lost 27% of thcir workforc.: allu micro
firms of up to S cmployees increased th.:ir wurkforcc by 2()'I/J.
As a whole, lliilian construction firms have a low.:r averagc sizc (3 workers according to
l')l)() data) compareu with Portuguesc firms (5 workers accoruing to 1<)<)7 uata and 4.4
in 200()) suggesting that the impetus towards uownsizing and subcontracting might be
slmllger in Italy than in PortugaiS.
ThL' luwer average siz.: of Italian cunstruction firms coulu partly account for thc diffn
CIKC ill the relative w.:ight of self-employmcnt in the sector, which, though a signifieant
and distinctive feature in both countrics, is cxecptionally high in Italy, Accuruing to
Ilalional d,lta" for 2()02, in llilly s.:lf-cmpluycu workcrs in construction rcprcsent 38% of
total employment in the sectur. Thcir incidencc has significantly increaseu in thc last tcn
years (33% in 1<)93) and is much higher than thc averagc rate of self-employment (slJme
27"'/. of all peoplL- in empillyment).
In Portugal in 1')!)7, sclf-employed constructiun workers malk up 17% of employment
in th.: sector (Moreno ('Ilil. I<)()l): 52), a figurc substantially unchangeu from the carly
II)<)OS. alld lowe) than the ave rag.: ratc of self-cmploymcnt (21 % of all people in
cmployment).
A third elcmellt that Italy allu Portugal seem to shar.: is til<: significant prcsence of
undcrlarcd J,lbour in the construction sector. It is well known that Medikrrallean COllll
tries ,';flOW a higher propensity to irregular anu informal work and different interrelateu
(easons concur to explain this phenomenon: thc structure of employment (eoneen
tratnl ill very small firms. bigh pruportion of sclf-employment, subcontracting), th.: tax
alld contribution weuge, the level of efficiency of state controls anu thc uegree of social
accqltance of economic informality (ReYlleri 200 I: 22).
As far as the construction sector is concerneu, it coulu b.: argued that the uistinctive
envirtJl!f11ent of building activities, togcther with the structural charactcristics of thc scc
tor. fac'ilitaks abuse. A set of factors has thcn to be cunsidcr.:d: thc labour intcnsity of
cOllstruction works. thc mobile naturc of construction sites, the high turnover of work
ers in construct inn building yarus, the tcmporallink among uiffercnt phascs of the build
ing project which oftcn requires oue phasc to bc carried out bdnre the following one
can start (anu the cnnscquent need fur respcct of deadlines that might requirc an
'unforcscen' labour force). the entreprencurial fragmentation of the sectnr and the
chain of subCllntl acting relations. Also, thc incentivc for bnth workcrs anu employcrs to
have recourse to irrcgular agrccments to cut unwn labour costs for the latter and to
INI': - Statistical Yearbook (several years).
(, (STAr ... La!Jour force survey, for Italy, and INE - En4uiry in!o Employment, for Portugal.
nV1NSFElI3/1I.\
I 456
_,!1t1' I,ml'l'ss o!'recrllil/l/('1I1 oI i/lllllil!,l'I/lI/l' i/l II,!' sec1m. nil' m,I"'S of III/ly I/llt/ IJorlllga!
obtain a highcr net wagc for the former should he takcn into account in a sector char
acterised by insecure working conditions and relatively low unionisatiun rates. Of
cuursc, irregular employment is not always the outcome nf collusive interests and often
rcflects imbalances of power betwcen cmployer and cmployee, and this is especially true
in the case of unauthorised foreign workers7.
There arc no uata on irregular work but cstimates arc available. For Italy, for \<)99
ISTi\T cstimates an irregularity ralc1\ of about 15'1/,. Particularly rclevant is the
inciucucc of irrcgular workers among employees in the ClJnstruction sector (22%).
For Pmtugal, rcsearch in the ficld strungly suggests that this sector is among those that
present a higher than average ratc of informal working hoth hccause of thc growing usc
of suhcontracting (Murenn tl)l)l)) and because of the sector's traditional function of
imertion for workers in situations of precariousncss, neWCllmers to the labour market or
as a conlplcmcnt to other activities (Baganha. Gois and Marques 2()02).
The (regular and irregular) presence of immigrants in the sector
It is vcry difficult to determinc hnw many fmeigners arc employed in the cnnstruction
sectm and it is even more difficult to evaluate the hreakuown by regular and irrcgular
workers because nf the sector's hcterogcneity, the diversity of products and the conui
tions of production in the differcnt segmcllts nf activity. Although both Italy and
Portugal generally lack data on the numbcrs of immigrants wurking in the sector, vari
ous sourccs suggest that coustruction is a key sector for immigrants' cconomic insertion.
For Italy, social security data for 2()O() show about 26 000 nnn-EU workers in
about 13% of registered non-I:LJ wage carners'), thcir nUlllber having doubled
since ll)lil
ili
. As employment in tlte sector shows a certain degree of ll'rritorial conccntra
tiou (46.WI,) of tntal employment is in northern rcginns) immigrant construction workers
also tcnd to bc conccntrated in thosc areas where the scctor is morc dynamic ,1I1d whcre
there arc labour shortages for ClInstruction workers: in 20t)O almost twn thirds of non-EU
ClJnstruction wnrkers in Italy werc employed by firms wmking in the northern regions.
7 /" suggested by Reyneri (2nll I). we will ,i1ways rekr 10 ""sit/"IICl' ,,11/(11.\ as authorised versus
unaullwrised allli to 1'/llp101'll/1'1I1 ,III/IllS as regular Verslls il'legutar. The crossover of thc two
dimensions establishes" Iypology Ihalc;m accoullt for dirrercnl situ'ltions: loreigllers holding
a valid residellce pnillil ,11111 working reglliarly, loreigllers who hold no residellce permit and
work irreglliarly, loreigners holding" valid reside lice pennil and workillg irregularly. This lut
In case is 01 particular illlclT.sl in till' rvkditcrrallean c<Hlnlries like Italy ,1I1l1 Portllgat since
many authorised immigralll.s continue to work ill the irrcgular l'Collomy evc!llhollgh thcy arc
entilled to hold" registned joh,
1\ Ratio helween the irregular pc"pk ill clllpl"yment and the toLd lIumher "I people in empirlymelll.
') Dala do !lot include housekeepns.
10 Some authors argue (Bonila/,i and Chiri 20t)l) that INI'S data seriouslv underestimate the
voluillc "f inlllligrants with special rdncllce to construction (and to the scrvicc sector).
m:INSFFIi .Iill.l

!I1/11l1 Ii'lii/li. _
It is di Ilindt to llI,q 1nat ionalit ies or roreign workers as they ;lppe;1 r dilkrent iated ,lIld linked
to Ilational sulJ-areas: in the north-cast there is an illlpOri;lIlt presence "I' cast European
workers while ill Lombardy there is a greater presence of North Arrican workers.
Provisional data from the Italian Ministry or Labour (2002) suggest an increasing poten
ti;d for immigrants' insertion in construction in northern areas as some 27(;!n of vaean
cics in thc scctor arc forecast to be rilled by recourse to foreign labour empklyed main
ly ill micro and small firms (7il'!r, or job openings addressed to non-LU workers in firms
or up to 10 employees) in the north or the country (45% of job openings for non-EU
workers). In the Ilorth-cast. in particular, one third of vacancies in the sector will be
rilkd by non-ELJ workers.
Although the regular employment of immigrants has grown significantly in recent years
(partly as a result or rcgularisatiun schemes that took place in I'J% and 1'J'Jl) immi
grants' involvement in undeclared work is still very high (Zincone 2orll). Data from
inspcctions carried out by the Ministry of Labour - though partial and biased - show
Ihal the proportion or irregular nun-ELJ earners (about 3W!r,) is more than twice that of
d\lI11estic workers. It is worth noting that the pattern of immigrants' irregular work is less
and less linked to an unauthuriseL! stay (no residence permit) but is more and more simi
Llr tn th,lt of Italian workers, thnugh the existence of unauthorised immigrants is still
very relevant. In partiClilar in the richest allLl dynamic labour markets, the spherc or
lllU t ually accepted irregular em p!oyment is increasing (Reyneri 200 I).
Such t remls arc likely to involve the construction sector as well. Moreover, this sector
seems to play an importanl role ror the irregular economic insertion of immigrants.
I{egularisation data, showing which irregular jobs unauthoriseu migrants were holding,
point to an inCle,lsing trend or insertion in the construction industry (Reyneri 20(JI).
/\s in Italy, the construction anL! public works sector in Portugal has a very important
r'clative weight in the structure of employment on the mainland (bctween W;', and 12'/()
in the pcriod under study), and has, I'm the last few years, sustained the level of the total
c'mployment in Pmtugal.
,\ considerahle part of this employment is guaranteed by foreign workers. Analysis of
the working integration or immigrants in Portugal, carried out at the end of the I 'Jl)Os by
:I group or researchers coordinated hy 13aganha, Ferrao and Malheiros (1 ')l)X, I'N'!)
sh()\wd alrcauy that the construction and public works sector was the main force ror
inkgratlon PI' the immigrant labour force, that immigrants alreauy maLic up a significant
pmportion PI' this seelm, allli that the relevance of this fact inCieased 'if we take into
:lc'COlint thc speciric prublem of inrormal work, not only because of the great numher of
foreigners involved in certain eC(lllOmic activities, but also because of the high level of
vulnl'l',I!,ility or this kind or work' (ll)l)'i: 147).
/\C('mding to dat;1 fnlm the Portuguese Foreigners and I30rders Bureau (SLF), in I'J'JS,
47.7';;, of the economically active rorcigners living legally in Portugal were working in
nt4NSF/,R :\/11.1
I 451>
.!!!!:.. (//1,1 I"!i'luga/
Ihe conslrllctilln or manllr,lcturillg SCl'!llrs
ll
. Mmt 01 these immigrants came. \Intil
reccnlly. from the Arrie:lll countlles whele PortUgUL'Sl' is tlie olTieial language (espe
cially ('ape Verde).
Nowadays, there is also a notable presence of immigrants rrom Ukraine, Romania anu
Moldavia. The data from the last regularisation process, initiated with Law 4/2001, show
that (until.'\1 December lOOI) approximately 41 ';n of Ihe 141 (,3(, immigrants who until
then h,IU been living in Portugal without authoris;ilion were employed in the construc
tion sector.
1\n important point that applies both to Italy and Portugal is that the (widespread)
unauthorised presence of non-EU foreigners is a very important feature llr the lalmur
market dynamics of the ellnstruction seelor. In fact, in both countries, non-EU foreign
ers represent a huge recruitment pool for construction companies, especially 1'01' sub
contractors, who have no need to recruil direelly from ahroad. The ahundant presence
or (unauthorised) immigrants on the local markets can he explaincd by the notionl1r the
domestic underground economy having pull crfeels on immigration (Reyneri 20U I), an
nnderground economy in which the construction sector i,s deeply involved.
Nevertheless an important dirference in the migratory dynamics or these two connlries
involves the eOllstruetion sector. Italy is no longer exporting construction workers, with
the exception of some national construction workers moving to border countries like
Switzerland. Rather the country cannot rely on internalmohility to cope with territorial
lalxlllf market mismatches (labour shortages in the northern regions and high levels of
unemployment in the southern ones). The presence in the country of a pool or foreign
labour therdore cases pressures on wage levels in Ihe sector.
By l'lliitrasl, Portug,i1 is a country where migratory outl'lows arc still relevant and whose
construction workers arc involved in a network of transnation,d suhcontracting.
Portuguese l'Onstruction workers arc (llten posted to Germany and the Netherlands hy
Portuguese construction fillns sillce in these countries workers employed in a foreign
rirm can continue contributing to their national insurance system. In the case of
(iermany the high C\lst of labour can be cut down by exploiting the contribution weugc
uilkrential with countries where the wedge is lower, as Portugal. On the other hand,
German wages arc higher than Portuguese wages, so that wage differentials provide an
incentive for workers' mobili ty l2. Porluguese construction workers also move to non
EU countries. (e.g. Switzerlallll U) hoth as seasonal and permanent workers.
II I'he aV:lilabk 'lalistie, do nol allow liS to i'o!;lie wmKcrs in the Cllllsirilltion ,el'llll from Ihe
wmkl'ls in thl' industrial ,edor.
12 I'hUT are no reliahle ,Iatislie, on ""sled Portuguese workers in Germany or in the
Netherlands all hough in the PFMINT research wc round e;lses or Pmtuguese firrm working
as suheonlracted rirms in Iioliallli and ,dr-employed or posted workers in German),.
1:1 In 201ll, 7 000 Portuguese workl'ls were working in the Swiss l'llnstruction industry as sea
sonal workers and 12 'JOO as permanenl worker.,.
IRINSJ-1,1i .1;m
4591
"lid .fo.I<' C"I'Ir_,_.I_,\_1_,,_I'{-'-/'_/{_:s _
Flecenl developments in national policies on immigration
Natillnal policies on immigration influcnce the position of immigrants in the lahour
m'lrJ..et and the characteristics of their uccupational position in the construction sector
Their degree uf closeness has an impact on the level of unauthorised entries, especially
in Ihose countries like Italy and Portugal that have a pull errect on inlmignltion thanks
to their widespread irregnlar economy.
It,i1y ami Portugal have a long history of emigration and a very short experience of immi
gration. A considerablc part of the political framework relating to immigratiun has
therefore had a passive and a rather instable nature
l4
Recently, however, both C(lun
tries have developcd a more active approach to immigration pUlling in force a legisla
tive framework Ihat, at least in theory, should permit the state beller to plan and eun
tlllithe work, entry and residence of foreigners.
In It,dy this was accomplished, for ex.unple, by Act No 40 of 6 March IlJ<Jil and by the
f'lllrlh regularisatiun process which resulted from it. This Act clearly defined lhe Illnn
bn of permits to be issued as part uf a national plan to control the total number of peo
ple entering the country (Strozza and Venturini 2002: 26lJ). According to the Act, the
'quota of foreigners allowed to enter the country (... ) will be established annually, by 30
Novemher of the year prior to the year to which the Decree rclates, on the basis of the
gcneral criteria set out in the planning document' issued by the Prime Minister'.
In this framcwork special quotas were established for construction workers signalling
also from a political point of view how erucial the immigrant labour force is pcrceived
to be for the sector, even though, according to thc firms' organisations, the lJuota far
frlllll sal isfied occupational needs, It should be borne in mind that the Italian Law
changed very recently in a more restrictive direction allll some time will be needed to
evaluate the effects uf this.
Portugal adopt cd a similar strategy to deal with the changes in immigration flows
recorded in recent years. Law 4/2001 of 10 January 2Q(J1 regularised the situation
of immigranl.'i living without authorisation in the country and, simultaneously, set an
annual quot<l fllr future immigration established according to the needs of the lahour
m:lrkel. The interpretation of this new legal framework by the differcnt actors involved
in the migration process profoundly transformed the Portuguese migratory environment
(Ilaganha and Marques 200]: R7). It contributed not only to a quantitative rise in the
foreign population. hut also to a change in their soeio-demographie characteristics the
most visible .sign of which was, as stated above, a sudden inflow of thousands of eastern
14 hH n,"nrle, since 19HO Italy aillended its legislation on immigration 1'0111' times (Act
311. 12.H!l. No 94.1: Act 2H.2.90, Nil 39; Act 6.3.91i, No 40; and Aet 30.07.02, No IH'i), allli
I'mtugal alllclHkd its legislation five times (Law 37/HI, Law S'i/93 01'3 March, Law 244I'JH of
KAugl!s!. Law 4
1
200101' 10 January alld Law 34/2003 of2S February).
'IRA NSFFR ]/0]
460
'III" /11'''1'1'1.1 or """Iuillll"1I1 "I' illlllligmll/I' 'III" ClI.I"S "rllll!I' IIlId P"rlllgll!
1Il:linly directed towards thL' sO-l'alkd 3D jobs - dirty, dangemus, and
denl<lIHling U\lalheiJ()s 2(11111: 2Itl)- of thl' l'lllistruclion sector.
Recruitment strategies of construction firms
addressed to foreign labour in Italy
h'om interviews carried out with Itali<ln construction employers as part of the l'EM INT
project, it would appear that recruitment strategies <lddressed to fmeigll lahour vary
according to the size of firms (large comp:ulies, Illedium-si/ed enterprises and small firms,
but also the relatively unstructured teams of artisans or pseudo artisans doing pieeewmk
that arc lJuite characteristic of the Italian collstrudion sectm) and to their position in the
suhcontraeting chain. It could he argued th;lt as WI.' follmv the subcontracting chain the
presence and reeruitment of foreigners is liJ..ely to increase (up to teams of workers con
sisting only of foreigners) <lIHI L'hange from occasional to structural.
This evidence is linked to the fact that immigrant in Italy arc now exclusively
recruited for insertion in low- and semi-skilled occupations (general labourers, brick
layers, carpenters, etc.) having a direct involvement with activities carried out on the
construction sites with greater potential fur irregular work.
It is useful to consider the set of strategies that emerged from the fieldwork before
entering into details. Construction firms a) might directly recruit foreigners already
present in the l'lluntry or h) might recruit them l'rom ahmad. They c) might also have
recourse to subcontractors who would bc in charge of the recruitment and management
of the labour force (subcontractors can in turn directly recruit or sOllle parts
of the work) ur d) they might (at all levels of the chain) have rCl'llurse to intermediaries
(temporary \\lork agcncies).
In large companies the direct recruitment of foreigners is rather exceptional since
foreigners arc basically ahsent in the employment structure and recruitment involves
national semi- and highly skilled profiks (engineers, architects, geologist. yard sur
veyms, elc.)15. In this case, the prevailing strategy is that of SUhCllntracting as Illuch as
building activity as possible in order to keep internalised only some 'high-lever activities
(project elahoration, the coordin'llion and the technical supelvision of the projcet,
the financial management of the work). In terms of human resources this means a
strategy aimed at having the minimum number of (sellli- and highly skilled) permanent
employees as possible. Sec[lnal economic circulll.'itances push firms to pursue a strategy
of reduction of the pelillanent workforce: the volatility of demand (and strong
sensitivity to economic cycles), the impossihility of ;Icculllulating stocks, the mobility of
the productive unit, etc.
I" Oilly in two large coillpanies that work at tlIe inlcrnationallcvel and arc invllived in majllr
projects abroad cOllld foreign skilled workcrs be fOlllld.
TlIANSF/.R .1/11.1 .-;46'1:1
1t'1/1lI ., _
Inlluigrant workers have some presence in mcdium-sized subcontractors and a very sig
nificant prcsence in their smaller (ilnd more specialised) subcontractors. The lattel is
t he actual Icvel where a structural presencc of foreign workcrs can be found because
tlley ;II'C directly rccruited III bec<llise in some cases they build up teams of foreign
workers by the same process of spin-off that characterise Italian workns in the sector.
Tile main point to emerge clearly from intervicws is that these foreign workers were
already on the national territory when they were employcd and no active strategy of
recruitment was carried oul.
In the framework of sucll a general reactive mechanism - that is construction firms do
not h;ll'e It) be ;Ictil'e on tile international labour market to recruit their labour force and
immigrant wlllkers themselves basically present themselves as candidates spontane
ously on construetiDn sites - some points should be stressed in order to explain - from
iI demand-side per'pect ive - why t he construction sector is a key sector for immigrants'
economic inscrtion.
Tile ITCluitment of immigrants at t he level of small and micro subcontractors guaran
tees the Cllnditions tllat allow a widespread use of irregular work. At tile level of large
Cllmpanies that arc not directly involved with foreign labour, subcontracting is a genc
ral strategy used to rcduce staff costs; at the level of medium-sized and small firms, sub
Cllntracting indirectly allows them to reduce labour costs since it is in thc subCDntraeting
cllain that thc largcst space for irregular fmeign workers opens up and thcre is a higher
chance of avoiding payments of social cDntributiol1s and eollcctive agrecments on the
level 0 I' wages.
Thc lalHlur cost argument has to bc dealt with in the local and sectoral context of labour
shortages. In fact, the reCluitment of immigrants for the lowest occupational positions
in Ihc construction scctor is a strategy that allows medium-sized and small firms to copc
with labour shortages (espccially in northern regions) thereby limiting prcssures on
wa!"e levels, The ahundant presence of foreigners on the local lahour markets - attrac
ted hy the case ofthcir inscrtion in the informal eeonorny- C,!SCS demand-side tensions.
It i,s notable that increasing mobility from the southcrn regions of Italy where the labour
11Iarkct is characteriscd by very high unemployment rates docs not seem to bc an option
hCC;1I1se of the pressures on the level of wages that would bc implied (insecurc work con
dit iOlls, low un ion pay, mobility costs, dilkrentials in cost of living hetween northern and
s()uthclll Italy resllit in a low propensity to move).
The ;i1oremcntioned potential lahour shortage of low- ;lJld semi-skilled construction
wOlkers, that olTcl foreigners an important mcans of entering the construction sector, is
duc to changcs in thc structure of thc natiDnal labour supply (generally, an increased
educational Icvel and consequent changes in individual preferences ahout acceptable
l)lTlljJ<ltions), Intcrviewees compl:lined that there is no availability on the (local) market
oj semi- and low-skilled construction jobs and that schools or training institutions do not
prcparc adcquately new "Ihom market entrants, The scarcity of domcstie labour supply
TlI/1NSV/,1I .1,11.1
I 462
J? 'tf )! f __ __ (I 1'( Jl2ug(/ I
in thl' sedor is generally l'\p"lilled by thl' f;lCt thall'onstlucli()n wOlkers have to accept
uncertain working conditions (WInking outdoors, hard labour, living in barracks on the
constl'lletion sitc for some periods. etc.) which make thcsc professions unappealing for
new entr<lnts on the labour m;lrket.
Thc prcdoillinant strateg.y of h;\ving recourse (0 11;lIi;111 suhcontraclors cmploying
(authorised and unauthorised) foreigners already prescnt in the !oc;1I bhour market
goes hand in hand with allempls hy soml' /ill-cign construction firms to enter the Itali;1l1
market. This phcnomenon conccllls firms from cast Europcan countries (Slovakia,
Il1Ingary, Croati;l, Bosnia, and, ahove ;111. Romania) that have org;ll1ised tcams of
workers and 1;i1)(lLlrer, with specific skills. These firms work as subcontractors of Italian
firms ;ll1d scnd their workers to It;lIy (especially the north-eastern regions). These prac
tices arc descrihed as being closely connected to irregular pr;lctices that range from cast
EUrllpean firms th<lt olTer very advantageous conditions in the suhcontraeting agree
ments (savings on labolll costs of up to SO':;, were rejJorted) to phenomena such as eri
min;1I or!"anisations and IOGIl maf;;ls. The irregularity may also function the other way
round: some interviewces descrihed alll'nlpis hy their subcontractors or partners to sc.t
up a 'ghost firm' with legal headquarters in ;In cast Fllrope;lll country with thc single aim
of importing foreign workers to Italy. The position of foreign workers on Italian terrilo
ry W;lS In this case not at all clear. The illeg;i1 natllre 01 this emerging 'transnational sub
contracting' is due to the fact that, according to It;lIl;lnlegislatioll, foreign workers in the
country should havc the S;Ulle w;lges :lIld social eontribut iOllS of national workers
whether they work lor ;\ national linn or a foreign onc. As a matter 01 fact, the legis
lative constr;l;nt can often be avoidcd. as far as foreigners arc concerned, through irrcg
ular work and the payment uf the minimum wage with no wage integration as occurs 1'01'
domestic WInkers (the wage drift in the sector is important in northern regiuns).
As 1'01 recruitment practices. the main actors of immigrants' recruitment arc mediul11
sized and small subcontractors :It the level 01 eonstluction sites where foreign
construction workers present themsl'lves spontaneously looking for a job or where they
arc intmduced by (immigrant) w(lrkers tlley know, showing in this lallcr case the likely
functioning or a migr;ltory ch:lin. In this perspective it is evident lhat inrormal channels
(If recruitment arc (he rule
1h
In the recruitment 01 imllligr;lllt lah(lur what do II(lt seem to work arc temporary work
agencic.s, They arc sGlrcely used (apart rrom administr;ltive st;i1l) even though they ini
tially sl'Cml'l1 to he a sl)luti(ln to labour sli(lrt;lges. Employers CllIllpl:lin Ihat <lgellcies
cannot s(llve Ihe pl'llblem or I;d)our slwrta!"es since they can <lnly rind those pmriles (h:lt
arc ;i1ready present on the markl,t :11111 thai (he ;Igencies arc to<l costly so that there is no
incentive 10 m;lke usc of lhem,
II, 'li';\lliti<lIl;i1l'halllll'l, sucil '" ;Idvl'lti,illg. l'<l/l(;\Cls wilh ,cil(l<lls al1ltlr;li/lilli' CClltrcs. ell',-
donot seell1 to apply wilillill' l'xceptio/l <lllile usc <lliitc !'uillic LIll(lloY/llcnt Serviccs (espc
ci;i1ly ill tilc nmlil-casll'rIl rq:i<lll,sj.
/KtNSH./I.1'(IJ
4631
h'"l11 I'ellilli, Ihlm (;,ii.\ IIlltl.lO.W' Carlo,l' Mlln/l/l'S
Recruitment strategies of construction firms
addressed to foreign labour in Portugal
The dircct cmpillymelit llf foreigners by large comp,lnies in Portugal is rare and mainly
related to skilled or manageri;i1 functions. This is the case in particular for multi
nation,li companies active on the Portugucse construction market which usually have a
gillup of foreign senior stallmelllhers who mayor may not have the same nationality of
the capital. This docs not me;lI1. however, that flllcign workers arc totally absenl from
the ,Ietivities of these companies. It means only that large construction companies do not
hire fmeign Wlllkers for their activities ami that, therdorl', the plTsenCl' of immigrants
al the l'llnstruclion sites manageu by these companies is due to their recruitment either
by the subcontractor working for the company, or by agencies for temporary work
(1aIl(IlII" rental agencies). Nevertheless, it shoulu be stressed that the larger trauitional
finns do employ a certain number of foreigners, namely from the trauitional countries
of migin fill' immigration to Portugal (for instance, Cape-Verue,lI1s), a tenueney whieh is
IIHlIT prevalent in the mclropolitan area of Lisbon.
Thus, with the ,Ibove exception, when these firms arc questioned as to whelher thl'y have
loreign wurkers among their staff, most firms interviewed responu, in Portugal as in
Italy, that they have m,llly foreign workers at the construction sites, but Ihal Ihese arc
subeonlr,lcted ur rented labour and that, therefore, they are not their' workers.
The fact th,lt the overwhelming majority of the foreigners working in the construction
and public wurks sector ,Ire non-skilled workers for the scctor - even though sometimes
the)' arc highly skilled workers (for instance, eastern European immigranls working in
(llilstrlirlion frequenlly have a university degree or a higher professional eLlul'ation)
,II HI a IT Ihe rdure incorpuralcd ill t he lower end of the occupationallauder for which the
firms rarely rcclllit, certainly helps to explain their small presenee in large companies.
In fact, a desire on the part of firms to develop a cheap fixed-cost structure leads them
to avoid hiring low-skilled workers. On the other hand, the volatility of these workers
who willnlllVe tp another firm because of a small rise in their salary or the fact that they.
in the case PI' e,l'tern European immigrants, move from firm 10 firm in small groups, is
,llsll a Llelur that diseollrages their engagemcnt by largc or medium-sized eonlpallies.
Thc pplicy tll r('(luce rcnuilnll'nt is, however, nlll limited III the aforementioned low
skilled I'rlltc'ssiolls. It is a of entrepreneurial devclllpment, which implics
Ihl' It:stri(,tion ot Ibe clltcrprisc"s aelivity to its core bllsiness aIIII the engagement III wurk
l'lS that arc only stril'tly neCl'ssary for that activity. This reality is visible, for example, in
the ellll'lllymclit llf architects, a funcll(Hl that has almost disappeareu from the Portuguese
('t Insl ruction ,I!HI puhlic wmks firms, which prefer to externalise the planning phase and
lis supervision on Ihe construct ion site. In aduition, qualified professions, such as, fur
e.,ample, thllse of hrickl,lycrs or carpenters, have witnesseu a process of grauual external
is;llion through suhcontractors or 1,Ihour rental enterprises. In this case, the tcndency is
til IHly thl' snvicl' inslcad of renting the workforce. Since this is a measurahle type of
pJ<)dllctive wmk, the cnterprises will pay, for instance, according to square metre of
I 464
rIIAN,\FUI JilJ.1
'111<' l'mcl'S,I' Orrl'C1"lIil))lCII[ Ori))llllllir"II[1 ill III<' cOlls[rtI<'Iioll ,,,'<'1m: 'I1IC CIIS('\' or 11"ly alltl Por/Lllial
executed work. Currently. thc recruitmcnt of these types of workers for the largc compa
nies only lakes place whell the comp,luies have to rcspond to exccplional situations
rclatcd to the legal guarantee that thc contral'tors must pl'llvi(k.
In shorl, fl'llm the interviews carried out we eanl'olll'luLie that, as cxpected, most of the
foreign workers in Portugal in this sector do not belong tll the stall of large or medium
sized construction companies, hut work for small suhcontractors, or temporary labour
or lahour rental enlerpriscs. flowever, the latlcr arc hill'll hy the former, and that is the
reason why, when they arc asked whether Ihcy have foreigners among their stall the
enterprises usually answer that they do nol or that they have very kw.
I\s mentioned ahove, there is a greater propensity to usc foreign lahour at the construc
tion sites than in thc enterprises' headquarters (and Ihis mainly indirectly, through sub
cuntraeturs). It is thereforc necessary to dcscrihe nol only Ihe recruitment process of these
foreigners, hut also the erkets of this slralcgy on Ihe over,lIl workforce in the sector.
First of all it is impor(;lIlt to note Ih,tt gener;lIly the recruitment of foreign lahour by suh
COlltractors is made in an informal way, Ihal is, without using the more formal means of
advertising vacancies (through the press, fur instance), ur the usc of recruitment agen
cies. It can he claimed that since the national lahour market has heen abundantly sup
plil'd with foreign lalHlur Ihis is a rl'actil'l' ralher than <Jdive rel'ruitmcnt methllu
hccausl' the employer docs not look for the workers hc wants to rel'ruit, hut accepts
those that <Jpply at thc headquarters or at the construction sitc. This type of recruitment
is, hllwever. responsihle for only a small part of the total employmcnt of foreigncrs in
the scctor. The main agent in the recruitment of fureigners to wurk at the construction
site is the suhcontractur who either wurks directly for the general contractor or for
another suhcontraetor. Thc hiring process followed by these subcontractors clearly
illdicates, as in the 1t;lIian case, the importance of inlo) mal channels thaI rely on social
con(;lcls, inlllligrant nclworks and chain migration.
The usc of recruitment agl'ncies in the l'mtugllese l'llllstrudion sector is not very comlllon
and virtually restricted to the recruitment of technicians or senior stafr. Other types of
agencies ,1';Sume a Illure imporlant role in supplying workers to the construction compa
nies. Onc of these arc the typical ll'mporary WI Irk entelJlIiscs which mainly supply unuif
krcnt iatcd lahour, unskilled workers or possihly somc specific prokssionals who are
ncedcd hy the enterprises for short pniods of limc (for instance, crane opnaturs, ground
I'rcpajatillil 11Iachilll' Ilpn,lllIls, ctc). Anolhel Iypc ('(Irlsisls of 1,11'(1111 Il'll(;1i ('Illcrprises.
These l'nterprises supply all kinds Ill' workers, who arc paid hy the hour or hy the task. I\s
Ihesc enterprises have their own char,ll'leristics and, in some cases, work exclusively for
this sedor, they arc kept in the dark, that is, it was impossible to idenlify the name of these
enterplises./\ fin,lI type of agency consists of Ihe ghost cnterprises, Ihat is, enlerprises
supplying 1,Ibour thaI, in fael, do not Iwvc a franchise, that is, lhat arc not authmised to
exercise this ,Ictivity bllt cuntinue to do so. In this type of (false) agency we would include
the nolorious van cOI)lr,ll'tor who mllccts thc wurkers in the murning and dcposits them
at the l'\)nstruclion sites of Illl'Liium-si/l'll or 1,Irge enterprises.
FRIN,\FI-.R .1/11.1

1" III II .
It i, illlportant 10 lIlention that the recruitment of foreign workers bv nation;ilconstruc
ti"ll finus UCUlrS silllull;llIl'IHJ.sly witi! the ongoing outflow uf PortuguesL' workers
tuwards the L'llnstnll,tion SL'ctor of other European countriL's. In fad it is possible tu
uh.selve ;1 transler of PortuguL'"e nationals tu thL' labour lIlarkets of Switzerland ur
('l'llllany, and the Nethnlands, directed to the samL' segments uf the lahour lIlarket I'm
which l'Onstruetiun firms recruit foreigners in Portugal. This mobility is stimulated by
net W;')',l' diiTercntials I'm the same segmcnts of the 1;lbour market in dil'ferent countries,
like (ierlll;lny and the Netherlands in comparison to Pmtugal, and takes place uniln dif
fnent kgal staluses: pUSlL'd workers, seasonalwurkL'rs, or permanL'nt workers.
This ulnvergcncl' hetwcen the outflow uf Portugucse wurkers and the inflow 01' fureigu
workers to WInk in the same scetms as Pmtugucse workers abroad is hard to explain, It
Sel'nl'; tu rdkct a lack of ad;lptation of the national labour force to the Portuguesc
l;tlHHlr market, which at thc same time attracts a foreign labour fmce (tradition;illy
immigrants fmlll the PALOI', the African countries whose official language is
Portuguese and, lIlurc recently, from eastern Europe) and rejects or repudi;ltes the
niition;t1L,bour !orlT, But this is actu;dly a more coillplieated phenomelHHl wherc micro,
'lleso and nlacrll kvel Llctors arc inlL'rtwined, suggesting th;lt we arc in a presence ul' a
sllhslilnlion IHllL'ess of national workers hy immigrant workers (Baganha and Peixuto
It)')(l: 2.1:-1) due 10 several reasons: at individual level the higher w;lges in the foreign
country: at mes" level (corporations' level) the reduction in the cost uf labour and at
Illael'O level the exploil;ltion of different national frameworks on paymL'nt of sucialCtln
tribul ions,
The clHlseCjuenccs of the dynamics taking place at these three levels arc that in a first
phasc a Lilsc complementarity i.s taking place in the Portuguese labour market fullowed,
ill ;1 secund phase, hy a suhSlitution process, For instance, if we focus on thL' seasonal
I'<lrtuguese wmkers WillI S[;IY in Switzerland for between three and nine months a ycar
we l';lll sec thaI this neates a cOlljunctural gap in the labour foree that then has to bL'
Illadc up for hy loreigll workns. Whcn the status of the.se seasonalPortugucse migrants
in Swil/.erland changL's into a 11101'1.' permanent one wc could interpret thL' sillluitaneuus
in and oul flows as a S11hstitutiull process,
Concluding remarks
TIll' dcscriplioll uf thc process of recruitment of immigrallts in the Italian and
1'<lItuguesc con-;(ruction ,ector shows how the seclor is a key sector for immigrants'
ceolllllllic insertion.
Thl' Iwo cOlllltriL's show a very similar structure of thL' sector - though undergoing two
dilk-rent conjunl'lural phases - characterised by an cxtremcly fragmenlL'd productivc
asset where Illicro and small firm., predominate both in terms of the number of enter
prises aIIII of scctor;Ji weight. 'Il)gether with significant tkstructuring, much of which
took place in the 1l)1)()S a.s a result of uownsizing and suhcontracting policies, self
cillploymenl and irregular work playa central role in the uynamics of the sector and
I 466 /li/INSI'loti :\fII,1
_.__ .. .IL!!!.I_'.' ( I It It ':'!-i}!!'i!'orr lI!ja!
SlTIll to be Llcililatcd hoth hv till' structural hagmcntillion of thc 'sec/or and hy sonic
IUlllSuall'ondiliollS of pruduclioll.
It is willi rderenl'l' to irregular work that thc scctor hecoilles a cruci;Ji one fur il11mi
gr;nlts' lTlllHllllie insel,tion, The hypothcsis that the Widespread irrL'gular economy
works as a pull factor !Hlth in Italy and Portugal seClllS to apply: un the unc hand thc
illnL'asing Illullber of regular illlllligr;lIlt workl'ls in the sectm doL'S not imply a uecreas
ing involvemcnt of loreigners at the irregular level, Oil the other the frequL'llt regularis
ation schcnles that havc takcn pl;lcc in holll l'lJlnllrics (;Jiollg with Irequent revision of
national inlinigr;ltioll laws) show th;lt ill the l'llnslruction seclor irregular employment
has prcviously been widespread,
The ecolHlmie insertion of ililinigranls by way of irregular insertioll in the construction
sector (thai can later turn into a regular working position for those whu arc authorised
or rcgularised hut Ihat can ;Jiso remain irrcgular bL'cause of collusive illterests, espe
ci;tlly in the richcst alld Inorc dYII<llllic areas) fillds support in the fieldwork from the
I'LI'v1I NT project.
Both ill Italy ;nld Portugal illllnigl;ults ;Irc prcsl'nt only ill small and nlcdium-sized sub
contractors whcre they wurk a, semi- or low-skilled Ilurkers (bril'klayers, carpenters,
genLT;J! I;tI)ourcrs, etc,), ill the gelH'ral fraillewlllk olthe subl'lliltracting hy large allLl
kading l'oillpanics of as 1l11leh buildiug aetivity as they l'an, other than highly strategic
activities, If thenlhe (comnH>n) strategy of Cllnstruetion firms is to suhcontract activities
(:lIld thus thc recruitmcnt of the lahour force), the present nleans of recruiting (sub
cOlltractms) reprL'sents a predolllin;llllly reactive .strategy, Thus the ahund:mt availabil
ity of" foreign labour force on the nation;J! lahour Illarket - also ;IS the result of thc
irregular cCOlHHny workillg ;\S" pull fal'lor - docs not Ie"d firtHS to rccruit actively from
the iutelllalillnal poololl;J!lllur, In addition, thl' reactive str;ltegy allow firtHS not to
relTuit actively on till' Ilatioll:lllIlilrket as wl'Il, sil1l'e illlll1igr;llllworkcrs spolltalleously
presellt themsl'lves as calldidates Olll'Ollslrllctiol1 sites lililt thell ;1l'1 ;IS the main ilgellts
ill the recrllitmellt uf foreigllers, As a Illilltcr of IiiI.'I. at Ihis il'vel the fieldwork shows the
almost exclusivc role of illllllmal reLTllilmellt pr;ll,ticl's,
Nevertheless, ifill ItalysuhculllrilclllIg tUIl;lliullal firms illld tl';lIl1S ufworkers duillg piece
work ,eCIlIS tll he the ullly dislilKtive Stl;ltl'gy, ill I'urtugill a more Widespread recourse tll
illtertl1l'di,lries was fOUlld, '/('gl'thcrwitil typicallL'lllpor;lIv work entl'1'prises, Iilhour relltal
I'lItcrprisL's sllpply ;i11 killds of wlll'kers, whu ;11'1.' pilid hv thl' huur or hy thc task.
1:II'nlhulIgh the predonlill;lIllT ufsuheolltrilcting to 1l;ltionalllliLTu, sll1;111 alld lllediulll
siled firtllS elllpluyillg (rl'gularly alld irtl'gul;llly) Illieigil wurkers whu arc already pre
sellt ill tile cUlllltry C;lIl he interpreted ilS a slriltegy tu Il'duce lalJllur eusts, ill the short
tum perspective till' puteilliallaholll' slu1rtage luI' sellli- alld luw-skilled juils should nut
he neglected, III tilis respel'l Italy and PllItug;1I silulY lJuite diflerelll dyllamics.
In Ltct. ill bothcuulltries thc foreigll labour puuleasl's the puteillial cxcess uf labuur
demalld in the sectlll, hut the labuur shortagc results I'rom lJuite different phenumella,
III 1t;i1y this seetlllil' misl1latch callilut he m;lllaged through reCllurse to internal
IlIIN.\FU! :I/In
4671
11111/11 lillllIl, MII_I"I-,-II_"_'S_'
IIHliJililv hl'C'"'''' pl'opk rrol11 till' l11orl' depressed are;ls or tile cOllntry have no illl'('ll
111'1' I" InOl'I' ;'1 lill' prcsl'lll Ie'vcl or lVages ill Ihe SLTtor; ill ('orlugal tile ollgoillg oultlOlv
"I Pili lugIll'''' workers I oIVa n Is I Ill' consl ruet ion seel or of 01 ill' I' Lu ropea n count ric,s I ila I
C'"1 e,plilil laiJolll' cosl difrcrentials using a strategy or transnaliollal subcontr;lcling,
'<TillS I" sL'l "I' ;1 I'rocl'ss of suhslitlilion hctwecil l1alillll'" ;llld foreigll cOllstructillil
I\'orkers.
neferences
lIaf',;lnha, Mari;l, Jose Marques and Pedro (il'lis (20()2) () Sl'clol' da CIlI/.\{I'If\,111I Ol'il I'
nlll'll,1 l'I/MicII,1 ""1 l'ol'llIgII/: 1
1
)1)0-2000, Oficina do CFS 11" 173, Coimhra: (\;nllo dc
['sludos Slll'ials,
lIag;lnila, l\1ari;1 ;Ind .Ioilo I'ciwto (I<JLJ(I) '0 estudo da migral/1es naeionais. I'onto de
[lllnsen,Jul Diseiplinar' in.l, M. Carvaillil Ferreira 1'1 ai, (cds.) 1:011'1' a 1:'CIJ/lIlII/;1I I'
II S()(;lIll1g;lI, ()eiras, Celta I.'d itma, 2J3-2JLJ,
1\;lganll;l, 1\1ari", Fen;'lo. .I. ,I IIII Malheiros, L 1'1 III, (IIN.s) Os I\1m'iI/ICIlIII,l' Migralliriu,1
1"I/I'I'IfilS I' a .11111 Il/cidl;llcill I/O Mawdo di' 'lhtlJilllto CIII l'ol'lI/ga!. Lisbon, Instituto
dll 1;'111" ego c Ftllnlac;:'o I'rofiss;llIlal.
l\ag'lnha, Maria, Ferrao,.I. ;11](\ M;"heiros,.I, (l'JI)I)) 'Os imigra\ltes eo l11erC<ldo de tra
halilll: IlC;IS" pmlllglll's', /1 I/(i li,ll' SOCii/I, vol. XXXIV (150),147-173.
I\aganha, Maria and Jose C,rlils Marques (20()]) IllIigm\"11I I' Iw!ilica, 0 C<i.SO por
t lIgUl'S, I jsboa: Fund;H.;ilo I,llso-!\mericana.
llonif;lI:i, Corrado ,tnd S;"v<llorc Chiri (2001) 'II lavow ucgli inllnigratl in II,ili,I', fAI
'/lIcsl;IIIIC IIgmrill, 23 (1),7-4(1.
Malhl'iws, .I. 'lJrhan I{estrueturing, 1lIlIlIigr<ltion ami the Gcncration or
Margin;ili/ed Sp<lees in till' Lishon RL'gion', in Russell King. (iahriclJa Llzaridis alld
('ltalaLullhlls 'lsardal1idis (,,'ds,) L'ldll/'{/do or h!l'/l'c.I'.I'? Migrlliioll ill SOlllh"rt/
I-.llI'OIN', l.ol1don: rvLidv]ill<l11 Press, 207-232,
!\111rCI10, C'llllL'ei<;ilo (cd.) (JI)I)9) LI/lldo .IIII)J'(' CIIIISII'l/\,'/1I 1';1';1 I' ollm.\' 11l//JIiCII.l'
1111'(/('\'110 I' /'('1,"1.1110 ('III lertllO.I rIc CII11'l'l'gO, l.isboa: (TSO [&D - Invcstif',a<;:lo e
I >L'SI.'n\'olviml'lllo.
I{cyncri, Emilio (20() I ) 'Migr<lllts' involvemcnt in irrcgular employment ill tltc
ML'llill'rrane;ln l'ounlries PI' Ihe European Union', IJ1Il'rJllllilll/lIl Migl'lllill/l 1'11111'1:1',
No. 41, (,('nev,l: 11.0.
.')Iron,!. S;ilv,llllle ,"Id /\k,s,s<IIH!ra VCllturini (2002) 'Italy i:, No LIHlf',er <I COUlltry of
"migratioll: hlll'iglll'rs ill Italy, Ilow Many, Whl'Jl' They COlIll' Frolll ami \-Vhat
TIll'\' Do'. in Ralph RllI!L' ;uld Pder Stein (cds.) 1IIIIIIhl' 1',('(I/IOlln'.'
!llicrt/Illio/llli VI/lclimcc.\', Munich: Ilalllls-Seidl'I-StirtulIg e,y', !\kadeillie fiir
I'olili" lind leitgesl'heilcil.
W;tidillger, R. III)L).") Tile 'olher side' PI' clllhcddedness. /\ elSc-sludy of the interplay
III l'l'Oliomy and etllllieity', I:'IIII/IC al/r/ Rllcilll SIIIr/il's, IH(.1), 555-."H(),
lanollelli, F and l.. Bigliazzi (1')1)'1) 'II decenlr<lnlcnlo ill cdiliz.ia tra nlohilil:1 territo
ri;til', !;I\OI0 ,lu!onOIllO c dcrcgolamcnlaziollc', Oil/'(' ilIIOIIII',.s 0). 31-(,6.
lilKllllC, (ilovallna (L'lI.) (2()()j) S,'{'(lIIdo NIII)INIl'lo r/I'gli i/lll/ligmii i/l
11"Ii'I. 111'vlitiino: Bologna,
'IIUN,II/'l! .\;1\.1
I "hI)
Tradt' lJllionisnl alld illllnigration:
rdntl'rprding old and Ill'\\' dilellHnas
I orCllI,O (';Il'iI'"1" and S. \-,''11 Ie" ,,'
E
.'Ill IIII11WJ
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01/1r'1' .1'011 Iii 1'1'11 1-.111'111
1
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'Imr/I' IIl1io/lillll illl/ll'lr' (01111/1';1'.\ I/III'/i"dioliwl' l/i;s ""11' ,lillll/llOlI 11111 Ihlll'
o(gl'ml ('llIIlIgl's ;11 1111' ,,',"Id o( "1111,1'1\'1111'111 I//III/Ilis 1""I'INI,mlll(,'" ('llIIlll'IIg"s jorlllliOIl
\ 11'11 1'/11I'I'.\'. nl;s 1I1'1;ell' 1'1'/'011.1' Oil 1'('('1'111 1'/1I1';';('I/II'i',I'(,(/I'I'11 ;1110 S/,lIlIi,11I Imr/I' 111I;UllixIS' IIl/i
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'
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(!l';lclh 1l1(Ul'p:.... lJClll.L".;)
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dc M.,i1 rid (1ll1';J1 k,Wl ql".IIUll.l")
1Ii,1;\',I'" Ii 1,111
469'1
r
:J
IMMIGRATION AND LABOUR
Car/ota Sole: European policy on immigration
Kitty Calavita: The dialectics,of'immigrant 'integration'
and marginality in industrialising America and post
industrial Europe
Ludger Pries: Labour migration, social incorporation and
transmigration in the Old and New Europe. The case of
Germany in a comparative perspective
Ivana Fellini, Pedro G6is and Jose Car/os Marques: The
process of recruitment of immigrants in the construction
sector. The cases of Italy and Portugal
Lorenzo Cach6n and Miguel S. Valles: Trade unionism
and immigration: reinterpreting old and new dilemmas
Simon Tonnelli: Migration and democracy in central and
eastern Europe
Sonia Parella Rubio: Immigrant women in paid domestic
service. The case of Spain and Italy
CIJ
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VOLUME 9 NUMBER 3
Afgiftekantoor: 3000 Leuven 1 AUTUMN 2003