Flemish government tightens rules on hiring non-EU workers
The Flemish government is reducing the number of bottleneck professions for which labour migration from outside the EU is allowed, cutting the list from 29 to 23. The move, announced in a draft ministerial decree seen by De Tijd, has garnered criticism from employers who are already grappling with persistent labour shortages.
Last year, Flanders issued a record number of nearly 19,000 combined work and residence permits for non-EU employees, almost 70 per cent more than the average over the previous five years. Employment minister Zuhal Demir aims to reduce that figure by tightening migration policy.
If a profession appears on the "migration list", employers can hire workers from outside the EU without first searching the local labour market. For all other positions, they are required to look for suitable candidates within Belgium or the EU for at least nine weeks before hiring externally.
New roles
Demir, of N-VA, is removing 11 professions from the list, including truck drivers, coach and bus drivers, sanitary fitters, butchers, bakers, drill operators, lift installers and floor tilers. At the same time, five new roles will be added, including asbestos removers, data communication network installers and installation operators in the chemical industry.
Demir justifies the changes by pointing to evolving labour market conditions and concerns over migration patterns.
"The labour market has changed. For tilers, there were six job seekers per vacancy two years ago; now, there are almost 12," she said. "So you can eliminate that profession. Conversely, we are adding asbestos remover, for example, because the demand for it is high.”
Significant shortages
However, De Tijd’s analysis of figures from the Flemish employment agency VDAB shows that most of the removed professions still face significant shortages, with no more than five job seekers in mediation per vacancy.
Despite a slight easing, labour market tightness remains high. As of the end of March, the VDAB reported around 58,000 job openings, double the number in 2015.
Trade unions and employers from Flanders' Social and Economic Council are calling for an expansion of the migration list to include all 251 bottleneck professions recognised by VDAB.
#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN / AFP
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