Syndicat

interprofessionnel
de travailleuses
et travailleurs
16, Chaudronniers - case 3287 - 1211 GeniNe 3 Resolution project
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W'WYI'.siI-syndical.ch - e-mcII : sit@siI-syooicatch

General Assembly
of the undocumented workers
registered with the SIT
Geneva , Tuesday June 1" 2010
We, the undocumented workers , united and convened in a general assembly, reaffirm our demand for
a collective regularisation:
because thousands of us have been working and living in Geneva for many years;
because we serve this canton's economy just like all the other workers ;
because without a legal residency authorisation we are exposed to exploitation and denied
social protection;
because without rights and without a legal status, we are unable to secure a future for our
children who have reached the end of compulsory schooling.
Since the start of our campaign -a job =a permW in 2003, we have earned a few victories and
maintained several important benefits:
the domestic economy sector (in which most of us are employed) has been regulated with the
implementation of a compulsory model contract;
our right to compulsory health insurance has been recognised ;
our right to certain social insurances has been recognised ;
our access to the labour court has been guaranteed;
forced expulsions for breaches to residency laws have practically ceased;
our children have access to compulsory schooling and, recently , have gained access to full-
time professional training courses.
These steps forward have been possible thanks to the support of the SIT, of the member
organisations of the Collectif de soutien aux sans-papiers, of elected members from right and left-
wing parties, and thanks to the government of Geneva, whose co mmitment in favour of the
regularisation of thousands of workers in the domestic economy sector we commend.
However to this day, the collective regularisation has not succeeded. The current implementation of
the law on foreigners on the one hand, and of the law on undeclared labour on the other hand, is a
threat to the efforts undertaken up to now in order to better our living and working conditions.
Moreover, we strongly reaffirm that the so-called case-by-case solution advocated by the ODM
(Federal Migration Office) is inadequate, as the huge majority of those of us who have had to use it
since 2001 have been faced with a refusal from the federal authorities, be it after 5, 10, 15, or 20
years living and working in this cou ntry. Thus in order to maintain our benefits and stabilise our
situation, we demand:
To the Geneva Conseil d'Etat:
to commit to a collective regularisation of the undocumented workers active in Geneva, with a
particular focus on the domestic economy sector;
to stop implementing the expulsion decisions by the federal authorities;
to implement the law on undeclared labour so as to encourage our affiliation to social
insurances;
to commit to granting access to professional training to undocumented young persons;
To all the citizens of this country to fight with us in favour of the collective regularisation of all
the undocumented wol1<:ers active in Switzerland.