Immigrant in Romania: Perspectives and risks by Fundația SERENDINNO (arhiva)

IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA: PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS Ovidiu Voicu Georgiana Toth Simina Goga

SOROS FOUNDATION ROMANIA

IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA: PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS Ovidiu Voicu Georgiana Toth Simina Goga

OCTOBER 14TH 2008

CONTENT METHODOLOGICAL LAUNCHMARKS .................................................................. 8 IMMIGRATION IN ROMANIA ................................................................................... 11 TRADE UNIONS AND PATRONAGES OPINION .................................................... 11 WORKING FORCE MARKET AND MIGRATION.................................................. 12 IS THERE A DEFICIT OF THE WORKING FORCE?............................................ 14 THE CAUSES OF THE UNBALANCES ON THE WORKING FORCE MARKET .. 16 POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS ....................................................................................... 17 IMMIGRATION ...................................................................................................... 19 POLITICS REGARDING THE IMMIGRATION ...................................................... 23 A FEW CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................ 28 HOW DOES THE IMMIGRATION IN ROMANIA WORK? ........................................ 31 WHAT DETERMINES THE DECISION TO IMMIGRATE? .................................... 33 HOW DO THEY INTEGRATE ON THE WORKING MARKET?............................. 37 WHICH ARE THE IMMIGRANTS’ PROBLEMS? .................................................. 38 BANKRUPCY VERSUS WORKING FORCE IMPORT...................................... 43 THE RECRUITING FIRMS................................................................................ 43 ASIAN WORKERS IN ROMANIA...................................................................... 44 THE WORKING CONTRACT AND THE CONDITIONS OFFERED.................. 45 FORM OF ORGANISATION AND THE FIGHT FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS.... 46 BASARABEANS IN ROMANIA - THE FIGHT FOR THEIR RIGHTS AND THE NEGOTIATING OF A CONTROVERSIAL IDENTITY............................................... 49 ROMANIAN CITIZENSHIP .................................................................................... 55 BASARABEANS IN ROMANIA.............................................................................. 56 MOLDAVIAN STUDENTS IN ROMANIA ............................................................... 58 THE RIGHT TO WORK ......................................................................................... 60 SMALL TRAFFIC AT THE ROMANIAN - MOLDAVIAN BORDER ........................ 61 ALIEN IN ROMANIA .............................................................................................. 62 CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................... 64

ÂŠ 2008 Soros Foundation Romania (FSR) All rights reserved for the Foundation Soros Romania. The whole paper or parts of it are not to be published without the permission of Foundation Soros Romania. Soros Foundation Romania 33, Caderea Bastiliei Street, sector 1, Bucharest Phone: (021) 212.11.01 Fax: (o21)212.10.32 Web: www.soros.ro E-mail: info@soros.ro

The content of the present publication and/or the opinions presented in it does not reflect necessarily the views of the Soros Foundation Romania.

IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA: PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS

Immigrant in Romania: perspectives and risks continue the Foundation Soros series of studies regarding migration and present a phenomenon more and more important to Romania: immigrations. Lately, Romania had been mainly an emigration country, with low immigration rate. The EU member status, the economical growth in the last period and also the working force pressure will lead for sure to an enhanced number of foreign citizens which would wish to establish temporarily in Romania. For now we cannot speak of migration flux change, but the experience of other European countries show us that we will become in the following years both an emigration and an immigration country and afterwards a destination country for workers from outside the communitarian space (the number of immigrants will surpass the emigrants number). This happened in the past in other countries such as Spain or Italy and is happening now in the 2004 integration weave (Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, etc). The present study is a continuation of the Foundation research launched in 2007, The Workforce Market and Immigration, which presented the Romanian employers perspective in three realms confronted with workforce deficit (textiles, constructions, and HORECA) on the immigration phenomenon. The actual research wishes to withdraw the attention on certain aspects of the immigration from the immigrants’ perspective and also of the actors who can and will influence this phenomenon: patronages, trade unions and the representatives of the public authorities. The study comprises real stories from the immigrants’ lives, immigrants’ problems connected to their status legalization, their interaction with the employers and the public institutions and the Romanian people attitude towards the immigrants, described by the latest and the patronages and trade unions opinions referring to the working force deficit in Romania, the difficulties connected to the problem of bringing foreign workers and the identification of possible solutions.

METHODOLOGICAL LAUNCHMARKS This being an explorative qualitative research, many semi-structured 1 interviews has been made with immigrants, trade unions, patronages and public authorities and case studies with companies from Romania having foreign citizens as employees. 1

The semi-structured interview approaches themes and hypotheses established beforehand, but the questions and their succession is not pre-established. This type of interview imposes the centering of the discussion on an experience common to all subjects. The researches elaborates an interview guide in which on establish the problems to be approached in the conversation focuses on the subjective experience of the persons interviewed involvement in the analyzed situation. (Sociology Dictionary; coord: Cătălin Zamfir, Lazăr Vlăsceanu; Printing House Babel, Bucharest, 1998.

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Data collection was done by face to face interviews with: trade unions, patronages, immigrants of different nationalities (Senegal, Philippine, China, India, Tunisia, Papua New Guinea, Iraq, Turkey, Ukraine, Republic of Moldavia), interviews with the public authorities, ONG-s working in the immigration field, case studies with companies having foreign citizens as employees. Per total, 40 interviews and 3 case studies were done. The data collection instrument semi-structured interview guide The data collection period: August 1st – October 1st 2008 Project Team: Simina Guga (sociologist), Georgiana Toth (sociologist), Delia Bobîrsc (sociologist), Ovidiu Voicu (Program Manager, Soros Foundation) and Mihaela Ştefăneascu (Program Coordinator, Soros Foundation). All interviews were done under anonymity protection; in order to protect those persons, the interviewed names and the employer companies names will not appear in the text. The present study has the purpose to present the risk associated to immigration. The personal experiences of the interviewed, the problems presented here, the descriptions of the employing companies, etc, cannot be generalized for all the immigrants in Romania or all the Romanian employers. We wished that, by this study, to show possible situations/abuses associated to immigration, to enhance the problems associated to immigration, to assert problems which are possible to appear together with the growing of the number of immigrants in Romania and to assert the necessity for program development, politics dedicated to immigrants and approaching in due time of a management strategy for immigration in Romania. The problems of the immigrants/employers in Romania are found in a certain measure in all the countries confronted with the pressure of lack of personnel on the working force market. The immigration is a solution for this problem and, very likely, the employer will take it into account. If this immigration will be legal or illegal (black market), it will be pending the measures taken by the Romanian state. The example of Spain (which negotiated in time bilaterally accords to bring foreign workers), as opposed to Italy (which was caught unprepared by the immigrants fluxes) shows that a coherent and rational approach of the phenomenon diminishes the negative social and economical efforts. Similar examples can be find also in the eastern space. In 2007, Poland signed a bilateral accord to bring foreign workers in a greater equilibration strategy for the working deficit meat by the polish economy. The Soros Foundation will launch in the first half of 2009 a more complex analysis of the immigration phenomenon in Romania which will comprise the economical and social effect associated to immigration and also public political proposals in this field.

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CHAPTER 1

IMMIGRATION IN ROMANIA TRADE UNIONS AND PATRONAGES OPINION

IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS

IMMIGRATION IN ROMANIA TRADE UNIONS AND PATRONAGES OPINION Ovidiu Voicu

WORKING FORCE MARKET AND MIGRATION To talk about the problems of the working force market in Romania it has become a common place. More and more often the companies are complaining about the difficulties encountered when trying to find suitable people for the free places in the personnel schemes. According to the data provided by the previous researches (amongst which the Soros Foundation studies), the more affected industries are the constructions, the light industry (especially the textiles) and HORECA (hotel services, restaurants and catering). One of the causes leading to this situation is the emigration - more than 2 million Romanian (according to unofficial data, from independent studies, because there is no believable official statistics in this field) is abroad. These are part of the active population and represents about one third of the working force in Romania. Another common place of the public discourse is that the unbalances created on the working force market must be corrected to maintain the economical growth rhythm. But we still donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a strategy and politics able to produce actual results in this area. However, many ideas are debated intensively by the actors involved. It is talking about the return migration as a possible solution. In the governmental discourse, the return migration is often considered to be imminent and the Government went as far as to invest in promotional campaigns and bourses of the working places organized in the destination countries, but without results until now. Another phenomenon pertaining to the international migration which may be considered a short and medium term possible answer is the immigration, i.e. bringing workers from other countries. Finally, a third way is the conversion of active population involved in agriculture or with qualifications not looked for on the market (of course, risking that once professionally trained, they would find a work place outside). From these three great directions, the immigration is the subject of the paper herein. It may appear prematurely to discuss about this subject when the total number of foreign citizens in Romania is slightly above 50,000 (according to the official statistics and registered persons only). There are few cases publicly known such as the Turks on the Bechtel building site, the Chinese at BuzÄ&#x192;u Confections Factory or at Europa Complex in Bucharest, the Dockers from Constanta coming from Asian countries, more similar cases, but which failed to retain the attention of the mass media and also many individual cases. There are no estimates regarding the immigration on informal ways and black market working force of the foreigners from Romania. There are many elements leading to the conclusion that a public debate on immigration and establishment of the approaching principles of this phenomenon is necessary: the experience of the European countries, the fact that immigration is the only certain short term solution for the lack of working force, the independent character of the migration phenomenon itself. Soros Foundation Romania

20 - 25 years before, many Spanish workers searched for and often find work in richer countries in the up North on the continent. Today, most of the Spanish economy is based on immigrants, especially from North Africa and East Europe amongst which 1.2 million Romanians. The economical development of Spain lead to such a stream of immigrants came to cover exactly the unbalance created on the working force market. From a source - country, Spain became a target - country of the migration, and that is not the only European example. The new wave examples go to show that the period of transition between the two hypostases has shortened. If we look at the Poland case, we may observe that simultaneously, the Polish plumber is an opportunity for debate in Paris, and on the Gdansk yards, a symbolic place for the recent history of the country, workers from India are brought on an accord signed by the two countries. Migration is a phenomenon which can’t be controlled, according to the researchers, and the reality confirms this fact. The example of Romania is eloquent; an anecdote circulated on public space said that only the ones who didn’t wanted didn’t left. Indeed, the most working trips were made before the integration of Romania in the European Union, that is to say, when it was not allowed. Moreover, the persons having problems with the law left in masse whenever they wanted. It is precisely this independent character of the migration which shows that there can’t be any possible control, but a regulation of some kind it is to be expected. Coming back to the European examples, a short comparison between Spain and Italy come forth, supporting the need for some regulation over the immigration phenomenon. Spain developed and implemented a coherent politics of import of the working force and invested in the immigrants’ integration. It has concluded bilateral accords and periodically allowed the legalization of the status of those who came by informal ways, and also it has supported and stimulated the participation of the immigrants at social insurances systems. All these lead to supplementary costs. On the other hand, Italy preferred minimal costs and immediate advantages, allowing an active illegal or semi -legal immigration. On medium and long term, that leads to the accumulation of social pressures and to numerous problems connected to the criminal medium developed inside the immigrants’ communities. Summing it up, migration occurs as an answer to mundane aspects, economical and social, and ignoring it may lead to more serious problems. Returning to the start - the working force deficit - one must say again that immigration is the only viable short term answer, i.e. for one or two years. The return migration is to be desired, but for now it seems more a nice politician dream than solid facts. The professional conversion of the social groups non-involved in working is a somewhat longer process, especially since we are at the beginning and we don’t even have a solid analysis of the target - group, that is to say the ones to be (re)qualified. Because all these, the immigration is an important subject which should find itself on the political agenda. We spoke firstly of the working force migration because this is the main component of the migration fluxes. People travel abroad to find a better life, to earn more, achieving both these goals by obtaining a better job and they would go where the economy is growing and where there is a working force deficit, hence a job offer. Speaking of the working force market, the involvement of the main actors is mandatory - both the employers and the employees each represented by associative structures, be they trade unions or patronage associations. In the Soros Foundation project many semi-structural interviews were taken to the representatives of these organizations - four patronages associations and five trade unions. The themes approached were the situation on the working force market, the evolutions, the causes, the perspectives; solutions to the existent 13

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IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS problems on this market; immigration; and the way to implement the politics in this domain. The present chapter presents the analysis for the gathered data.

IS THERE A DEFICIT OF THE WORKING FORCE?

All the people interviewed agree that the market of the working force in Romania, al least on certain segments, has blockages generated by lack of specially trained people. We have met perceptions differences both between the trade unions representatives and these of the patronages, and also from people coming from different industries. A first element differentiating the opinions of those involved in the research is the perception on the problem dimension. Part of them spoke of a generalized deficit affecting the Romanian industry in general. Such opinions came mostly from the trade unions direction. This is how a trade union leader describes the situation: “There is a deficit of the working force which appeared after the emigration flux generated in Romania in the last eight - ten years. We have now in Europe more than two millions employees, after the facts we can estimate from the declarations appearing at EU member countries.” Another trade union representative says the same thing in other words: “Yes, we are speaking about a deficit. The main cause is this, for we are talking about a number, let us say, six millions employees in Romania, two millions employees represent above 30 % from this working force! It is huge! That is to say, one of three qualified Romanian doesn’t work on the working force market of Romania. It is too much!”

Part of the people I have talked to, avoided the discussion about a generalized deficit of the working force. That was mainly the position of the patron organization representatives, who preferred to point each time that things are different from an industry to another. But they are also those forgetting to mention that in the affected industries, the problem is pressing and needs urgent measures to for correction, because, although things differs from an industry to another, not a single part of the economy is immune to these problems (patron: “Almost all, almost all, but…almost all industries and also other economical branches and the services area, and the transports, but of course, not in the same proportion. It is obvious that the most affected sector is the constructions”). The problems are perceived especially in the qualified workers area and there are jobs for which it is impossible to find employees. From this point of view, things are not going to well, think the representatives of the patronages:

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“I believe that Romania stars having another problem connected to the qualification of the working force: once, because of this migration pressure, because it is obvious that the faster one to migrate were those having European recognized qualifications, because they find better paid jobs than in Romania and this phenomenon is going on; on the other side, all this…European integration and globalization effect and the necessity for growing the competitiveness of the enterprises has for sure as main component the superior qualification of the working force.” Both the representatives of the patronages and the trade unions mentioned the unused potential of inactive or employed in subsistence agriculture population. A trade union member describes that situation thusly:

“We have an important volume of working force, many people, above one million, still working in the less performing agriculture area, which can’t be absorbed by the working force market on the deficit area registered by some branches at this moment, because they lack the necessary qualification. They are not qualified.” And another resembling phrase of a patron:

“…I don’t want to hind from you the fact that we took the present diagram of the operational structure of the working force in our country. Here it is: in agriculture, now, we have about 35 - 36 % of the active population, with a growth after the Revolution from 26.8 than to about 36 %. It is a negative situation the fact that the qualified working force, more or less, I don’t comment this, is moving to highly productive areas, such as the constructions and so on - because of the desindustrialization of the country, because of massive closing up of some economical agents - moves to agriculture; agriculture is a necessary branch but with low productivity and thusly the task of creating the IGP is passed this time to services, to the industries left: constructions, commerce, hotels, middling transactions and so on. Agriculture remains the main reservoir, I think, the main working force reservoir.”

The unbalances on the working force market affect the whole economy; say the trade unions and the patronages. We will use the example given by a patron to support this affirmation:

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IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS “….there is a potential, but it is an investment potential impossible to use because of the lack of qualified working force. This fact manifests itself strongly in constructions because we have those funds but we are unable to use them because of those reasons. It manifests itself also in other sectors. It manifests itself also in other sectors because many qualified employees in the communist industry find - being relatively well qualified - relatively easy working places in other European countries. We discuss with our colleagues from the patron confederations and they say that now in the industry, for example, it is increasingly difficult to find qualified welders. Of course, in a certain measure, the welders are employed in constructions. But a great part of them worked in the industry. Well now, it is said that it is extremely difficult to find qualified welders in Romania because most of them just left the country.”

THE CAUSES OF THE UNBALANCES ON THE WORKING FORCE MARKET

All the people interviewed agreed that the emigration is the immediate and most important cause of the present situation. The quotation above is relevant for that. We underline the idea with a concise presentation of a representative of the patronages:

“This is happening because most of the working force is abroad. The unemployment wasn’t lowered by active or governmental measures but because most of the people left. The pain is that there is no qualified working force. This happens also because abroad the most desired are the ones with high qualification, even if there they are working wherever. The qualified workers went abroad also because there were other options to.” But this was not the only cause identified by the participants in the study. Mainly the patrons but also a great part of the representatives of the trade unions underlined the heavy deficiencies of the whole training and qualification system. Speaking about the constructions, the patron mentioned above continues: “The constructions area lacks qualified personnel, beginning with the technician and ending with the engineer. It is a deficit; one does those quick training programs…and those who finish the training with a diploma do the same. And they keep using those palliatives; they go to the working places bourse to take them from Italy, from Spain, from France and to convince them to come back.”

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A patronage representative explained the situation clearly: “And the crisis is caused not by the working force migration but to the fact that there are no more specialized professional schools. There are no longer those postgraduate schools which gave the technicians, these are gone.” Another reason, identified this time by the trade unions is salary politics in Romania. The trade union representatives are accusing, more or less clearly, the patrons who, though they have a working force deficit, do not raise the wages: “This deficit is somehow controversial. That is to say most construction entrepreneurs are complaining that they don’t have qualified workers and they lack the courage to accept as many works as they want because they don’t have the necessary people an d because of that they loose more. On the other hand they are not willing to raise the salaries accordingly.”

On their part, the patronages representatives explain that the productivity didn’t raise in the rhythm of the wages paid and the taxing level is too high, thus being impossible to raise the salaries as much as to convince the Romanians not to go abroad (“at least 70 % of what they are receiving there, or else they didn’t return” says a patron).

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS We have a problem, how do we solve it? That was a very important theme during all the interviews. The respondents gave it enough time and formulated pertinent opinions, obviously based on former analysis. It is proved that we are facing a real problem concerning the actors on the working force market. Generally, all the interviewed mentioned in their answers all the three possible solutions mentioned in the public space: the return migration, the professional conversion, the immigration. But the importance given to each one and the chances to bring into action every hypothesis are different. All the respondents are generally skeptical regarding the return migration. They think that the Romanian economy is not yet at a level allowing it to become attractive to the Romanians abroad. As we mentioned above, a patron thought that the salary in Romania should be at least 70 % from the one received abroad in order to convince an emigrant to return. Another respondent, also from the patrons, specified that many Romanians left as a couple and it would be very difficult for both partners to find in the country jobs at least near the ones they received abroad. A trade union member observed that the passing of the time leads to forming of strong connections to the adoptive country thusly to smaller chances for us to see the emigrants return. 17

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IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS Another representative of the trade unions spoke of the mentality of those who left, showing that someone risking willingly for a better job will do the same again: “So he comes, get a job at your place, you promise that you wile give him two thousand lei a month, gross revenue. If another one offers him two thousand a month he goes to that one. Afterwards he finds out that one of his colleagues works in Spain or Italy for 1,300 EURO per mo nth which does not mean 2,000 lei a month but 4,000 lei a month, that is to say, double. And he goes there. He works there a few months. Now see, the things got mixed up in Spain and that 24,000 don’t… they can no longer work in the constructions, they return home. Who throws those “bombs” are people lacking horizon, information. Who went to gain 1,300 EURO per month would not return to 400 EURO per month in Romania long as he succeeds…he would move from construction to agriculture, from there to metallurgy, from there to services, always into another sector, he would remain in the area of 1,300 or more, why not?”

The qualification and professional conversion as elements of an activation strategy of the population non-involved on the working force market represents until now the preferred solution both by the trade unions and by the patronages. Their representatives showed that the multiple benefits brought to the economy by this approach, speaking in terms of economy growth, investments consolidation, rising of the living standards and of the productivity. All the interviewed people mentioned the opportunity offered by the European funds to develop the human resources of Romania after the integration in the Union. The actual situation is well synthesized by a patronages representative:

“Here we have for certain much to do. It is recognized also by the adhering treaty of Romania and by the sums provided by the European Social Fund and by other funds for continuous professional training, Romania was considered to be a country having a lot to do in this area. If you would add the sums from all the European funds you would see that we are receiving…. We could be receiving about half a billion European fund fro continuous professional training and qualification, first qualification of the working force, which, for a country with only about four millions and a half employees at this moment in Romania are very important sums.”

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But there are two important limitations connected to this solution: the reduced capacity of the Administration and the period of implementation. The respondents showed that until now there are few signals that the authorities will be able to transform the opportunities in concrete results and that, thinking about the precedents, we should be pessimists. Moreover, even if it would be proven that we would be able to implement success programs in the human resources area, it would be a process demanding at least a few years and the deficit of the working force is happening now. Finally, some of the interviewed asked rhetorically what would stop the newly qualified people to go also abroad. An important element appearing in all the discussions is the maintaining of the economical growth which would be meant to lead to the salary growth. This is, according to all the interviewed, an absolute condition necessary for both methods the return migration and the professional conversion - to lead to the desired effects. But the vision on the period of the whole process is different. The trade unions consider that if the firms are to give up to part of their profit, the salaries would be able to grow soon enough (â&#x20AC;&#x153;We hope to a return of a part of the Romanian qualified working force working presently abroad. Of course, that would happen only after a more accelerated growth the salaries and correlated to the productivity we register in Romania now. Romania registers a work productivity of about 60 % of the European media. But the salaries are much, much more under this levelâ&#x20AC;?), mentioning at the same time that there are industries in Romania (including the constructions) in which the profit rates were very large in the last years, much higher than in other European economies. From the patronages perspective, the productivity growth is too low to justify a salary rise and some of the interviewed say that in some sectors, including the public one, the salaries raised too fast. The patrons speak about the reduction of the taxation and well - thought authorities investments as vehicles for the economic growth.

IMMIGRATION

The third answer to the problems of the working force market - the immigration - is the most controversial because the opinions of the respondents are divergent. One can see a difference in perspective between the trade unions and the patronages but also different nuances between different sectors of the economy. The patronages representatives think that the immigration is an immediate solution to the personnel crisis of certain industries and that the effects of a relaxation of the immigration politics would be seen right away. The trade unions admit that on short term the foreign workers are indeed a solution, but think also that the disadvantages or risks on medium and long term are too big.

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IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS There are two common elements of the participants to the research discourse. They think that immigration is a phenomenon happening no matter what the authorities actions are (trade union representative: “Well, you don’t have other means to compensate it [the working force deficit] but by income [the immigrants arrival] but where from? From even poorer countries. That is to say here is a new XXI century migration. From the poorest countries the population migrates to poorer countries and from the poorer countries to the richer countries”) and that Romania becomes naturally an attractive country to the immigrants when the salaries are growing and more jobs are available. Part of the respondents underline that in the last years, the active companies from Romania, especially the foreign ones and especially in the constructions area, called foreign workers in order to compensate the deficit on the local market. A representative of the trade unions describes the situation thusly: “They will bring people from abroad as they did until now. So, all these companies bring workers from abroad. Bechtel brings Turks, and especially Croatians, the Spanish bring… the Portuguese bring Spanish and Portuguese because of productivities and the discipline of work. The workers from Bulgaria also came onto the market because the wages are sensibly higher than in Romania and then if he comes to work from the Calafat area or Porţile de Fier, somewhere round there and work for double wages than at home and weekly he returns home with a dilapidated car, well, it’s very good, a problem is solved.” Other respondent underlined that this is only the beginning of a phase, and on a medium and long period, our country would become a target for workers from other countries: “Romania would become a more and more attractive target, it is clear. It would become a target more and more attractive for the working force, especially for the neighboring countries, because it is obvious that the salaries in Romania are on an ascending curve which would bring us very far comparatively to the wages paid now in Ukraine, Belarus, Moldavia…” The differences in opinion appear only about the desirability of the immigration and the authorities’ reaction. The trade unions believe that the negative effects of the immigration, economically and socially, are too big and that the authorities have to limit as much as possible the coming of foreign workers and to concentrate on the stimulation of the use of the internal human resources (“My opinion is that if the Government continues to encourage the immigration then it does a huge mistake. It does a huge mistake because: once, it reduces the development speed of Romania, introducing an working force which accept lower wages […] if we bring Chinese who work for 150 Euro per month we are very wrong. This is an aspect. A second aspect belongs not to the economics but to the social area, yes? From five hundred years we are trying hard to integrate the gipsy community in Romania and I have the impression that they are integrating us. Do we really delude ourselves that we are able to integrate communities of Chinese and Pakistani? Hard to believe. We don’t have such abilities as a European people. It is a fact.”). Soros Foundation Romania

From the patronages point of view, the immigrations offers an immediate solution to the existing problems, if it is only a momentarily solution and the authorities should let the market self-regulate in time (“there is a great lack of working force and the immigration should be encouraged, let itself be in order to produce a balance at a certain time and the country, per total, should be satisfied”). “The immigration is not a solution” and the investment in “stabilizing the internal working force” are the common denominator of the representatives of the trade unions. The reasons they bring are economical and social, enhancing the working relations and the salaries. Part of the trade unions representatives interviewed is completely against the growth of the number of immigrant workers in Romania. But others nuance their position by conditioning the liberalization of the area from imposing severe control measures: “No, we are not against migration. God forbid! We are against using them at an inferior level. Because that is what I say: they came from here and they give them salaries unacceptable by our people, but they are motivating vis-à-vis the poverty they come from. At the same time it appears the phenomenon of market dumping, they accept conditions absolutely outside the Romanian Law.” Therefore, there is that fear of the trade unions, clear in all the interviews, that the growth of the immigrants’ number may lead to the stagnation or even the decrease of the salaries and to the loose of jobs of the Romanians. It is a theme also met in the public debate from other countries facing high immigration rates. The position of all trade unions leaders resembled, even if it was said in different wording. The explanation based on the “Bacău Chinese women” case given by one of the respondents explains very clear this position: “We saw that invention in the Bacău area done by an Italian investor in which more than eight hundred women workers were brought from China; they promised them something on paper and when they arrived here, the things were different… We don’t consider that it is normal that a grown person, a mature person to work eight, even ten hours in a factory and to live in the conditions the Italian employer offered them; that is to say a room of my office dimensions, about 15 square meters, in which stayed, during their free time, six - eight adult women. It is a jail program, practically. It is a jail program. OK? We don’t want such investments in Romania. We don’t want them in Romania and, of course, there are reasons for which we say that we don’t want them. That is to say, finally we accept the idea that someone come with a business here and that they show us that working with a hundred Romanian employees, paid one leu a month, their investment is very profitable, yes? Can we accept that? No, because it is clear that salary is not correlated with the living standard in Romania now.”

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IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS

The interviews were individual and took place at different hours and on different days, without the respondent knowing what others answer. However the answers of the patronages representatives were often similar to those of the trade unions ones. Of course, it is about and experience and a preoccupation for a common subject to the two social actors from which their positions can be deduced. The fact that they use the same reference systems is a new mark of the fact that the subject is interesting and it is debated by the relevant actors. For the immigration, a short answer of a member of a patronage association may put forth the weak point of the above mentioned argument of the trade union representative: “Myself, as an employer…I, at least, if I make a factory and go to the trade union: <<I need 1,000 people. Do you ensure me 1,000 people, do you offer me workers? >> They wouldn’t!” We may find here the very essence of the patronages position: there are money, there are business plans, there are investment projects, but qualified workers are missing. All the employers interviewed say that they would rather employ Romanian workers to avoid the additional costs (bureaucracy, papers, local accommodation, quartering problems, other social problems). But if that is not possible, it seems only natural to them to import working force, underlining the effect on medium and long time: “Why don’t we let somebody do a new investment, even if they do it with foreign workers? Because it will be done on Romanian ground. Today there is foreign workers, tomorrow may be there would be Romanian workers, they pay taxes to the Romanian Government, and they may do a lot of social program with the money collected and so on.” Neither one of the two parts don’t hesitate to assume openly their position when negotiating with the other and to remember the interest of the ones they represent. The trade unions speak about salaries and of the fact that the lack of working force is and advantage for the employees in their relationship with the employer: “We negotiate for which and every case. This is a twofold problem. The fact that we have those immigrants can disadvantage in the negotiations because the employer says that he has working force and keep continuing bringing it. Or else, the lack of working force represents no more a pressure from the trade union part. The argument in the negotiation isn’t that one, but the productivity, the time, the minimum wages in the economy, the inflation, the costs growth, etc.”

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For their part, the patronages admit that they have no reasons to fear the immigration growth as long as it is about the working force and not about criminal elements: “To be honest, because you are speaking with the employers and not with the trade unions, I think that immigration is not a problem or a danger. […] We don’t see the immigration of the working force as a problem on one condition: that it is about real immigration of the working force, workers if possible qualified, coming from clear areas and not about braking the enter into a country over night…” Beside their differences in their relative positions of the two actors, a common point is reached however, a point vital for the short term interest of Romania: in the next years, the capacity for absorption of the European funds must rise, or else we risk to loose this money and together with them an important chance for development, chance we may not get a second time. Not having other short term solutions, the return migration is for now low and the professional conversion requires more time than we have, so the immigration remains a solution to be taken into account. A trade union leader spoke very succinctly about this: “At the development rhythm we imposed ourselves and also with those money, because those European Union money are valid until 2013 - 2014 and then no more. If we don’t have the means to consume them until that years not only we will pass as fools and lacking absorption capacity, but we will also loose some money which could be used for doing good things for this country and its inhabitants, so, for this reason it must be brought, on my opinion and we shall see other projects, how much and where from fat working force from outside the European Union, so from outside Romania.”

POLITICS REGARDING THE IMMIGRATION

Which may be the source countries of immigration? A trade union representative described plastically the situation, trying a compromise which would lead to as few social problems as possible:

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IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS

“The first source would be to take all the Romanians from the Republic of Moldavia willing to come and all the Romanians from Ukraine fro reasons of language and citizenship. All who have Romanian citizenship would not need visas and files because they receive them on the spot. This would be the cheapest solution for the country. Afterwards begin the more expensive solutions, I see a very good pool in Turkey, especially Anatolia, whatever we may say about Turkey, it had evaluated a lot, even if they are more expensive than others, the Turk workers are very disciplined, then we can look at the Magreb area because anyhow there is an adoption accord between this area and the European Union and anyhow the workers from there would come. Of course, their main objectives are France, Italy and Spain because these are the great receptors, they were colonizing that area, but why not us too? We must pay attention to this area mainly because its admission report, the political rumors, such as <<we bring from Sri Lanka, we bring from China>>, these are a kind of people… you will see in the statistics that 1,500 Greeks are entering by dislocation per year in Romania and that 1,000 Chinese and we get hysterics about how much Chinese entered, but we don’t see the Greeks, probably because we need glasses. There are no solutions because we must see… Firstly there other customs, the New Year is after our Easter holyday so there are problems regarding the Chinese working force, one must see the social problems appearing in the local communities especially after this working force has been bought and abandoned, because that is what usually happens, you bring them and then abandon them. What happens with these people and their families after they loose their jobs in Romania?”

The patronages also find that finding workers needing a shorter time to adapt in the Romanian cultural context is of utmost importance and if they could choose, they would choose the neighboring countries. However, in their opinion, this is a secondary problem. The important thing is the qualification of the workers, i.e. exactly their ability to replace the employees lacking now. Also, the patronages representatives underlined that they are interested also in the solving of the unbalances on the work market and the voidance of the social and economical problems generated by the illegal immigration. Both actors conclusion was that the important thing is the flexible regulation in the area, such as the positive effects to be maximized and the negative ones to be diminished. Now, the number of immigrants established annually by the tripartite negotiation between the Government, the trade unions and the patronages. As a principle, the patronages and the trade unions agree that this negotiation is a good model (a patronage representative: “I believe that we should look at what happened in other European countries in similar stages of development, to see the errors committed and to learn from them and to copy the positive examples. Here it si obvious that the European model is pretty clear. There is a negotiation between patronages and trade unions and the Ministry for Labor regarding the number of immigrants and the area in which they participate and I think this is a correct model:; trade union representative: “The politics of the working force should be done by Soros Foundation Romania

the trade unions, the patronages and the Government. That is the reason of this tripartite formation. The most interested in the working force should be the patronages. The Government is interested in having as much as possible employees for a greater tax payer base. The patronages are interested to have a great stability of the working force in order to ensure their profit. For a great profit, they need the working force stability. We, as trade unions, can’t influence the law, but we try to show the Government and the patronages the way of thinking of the employees.”) However, from this point forward the companies are on its own. The Romanian state has no bilateral accords with other states and there is no preoccupation of the Romanian authorities to facilitate the efforts of the recruiting firms. On the contrary, one can say that there are obstacles caused by the bushy laws and the ineffective bureaucracy as observe, somehow contented a trade union representative: “[The foreign workers contingent is established…] by negotiations with the trade union and patronages confederations. Obviously the trade union confederations always request a diminishing of the contingent. Last year, from the five thousand jobs approved, only about four thousand jobs were occupied, because the truth is that the procedure to obtain the working visa in Romania is a bureaucratic procedure, and it is very complicated. We enjoy this time that the Romanian bureaucracy is a brake for bringing those workers.” For the patronages, that situation is a problem. At the question: “do you believe that this immigration solution is viable for Romania, that it covers the working force deficit”, the answer of a representative of the patronage came promptly: “Not now, but it should cover if there were not as many obstacles […]obstacles coming from the trade unions, from the bureaucracy in force today.” The accepting of both sides of the tripartite dialogue for establishing the problems connected to the working force market is accompanied by the common discontentment as how this dialogue works in the everyday life. The main reason for this discontent is activity of the Economical and Social Council of which a representative of the patronage says: “We are part of the Economical and Social Council which is an institution blocked since two years before”. Asked to detail his affirmation he explained:

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IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS “[CES isn’t working…] twofold. One way, let us say, very easy to quantify - the law says that no legislative initiative of a Parliamentary, of the Government can’t reach the Romanian Parliament if it was not presented before to the Economical and Social Council which, of course, has a term to present a decision; it is a consultative advise. I can say that no even o third part… Since not long ago - the Romanian CES is ten years old - I did a study which… I wished to complete it with the institution efficiency. Today, after the CES statistics, only a third of the regulation acts are presented to CES as for the negative advises or… I think that not even 5 % of the whole legislation takes into account the opinion of the social partners, which is absolutely unthinkable. The second reason, for which I said it is a proof of incompetence, is connected to the fact that the CES hasn’t yet a president and a board of directors elected. The substitute leadership has about a year and a half. On the other side, we were asked, at European level, that the Government withdrew from the CES letting little by little the place free for the civic society. That didn’t happen. So we are discussing lately about reforming the Law. In other way, Romania had already took its place in CES at European level but look, the same representatives of the civic society can’t get their rightful places in the Romanian CES and again, another retarded reform…Everybody agrees that the institution must become what it is at European level, but this isn’t happening. In fact, in the last months, if you would look that at least once or twice a month, the CES isn’t hold because the Government members are absent.” The trade union perspective is identical: CES doesn’t function, is blocked, is an institution lacking substance. To make an example we are quoting a trade union leader: “We collaborate in CES a la Caragiale because the institution works that way: great, superb, flourishing, but … no-one can see it. And even so it does work unfortunately because there is no cooperation, no political will of the social partners present there to make it work properly. On the other side, I have the Government work - I want them to be excluded and replaced by representatives of the civic society; but that can’t happen because since a year and a half, may be even more, officially, CES has no longer a President and by underground maneuvers, all the three parts, the Government, the patronages, the trade unions hinder the election of a new President.” The good news is that each of the interviewed mentioned that there are other forms of institutional dialogue which works, but mostly is a bilateral dialogue. Each respondent, both representatives of the patronages and also of the trade unions, gave punctual examples of good collaboration with public authorities (amongst the examples: the Ministry of Labor or some of its directions, Inspection of Work, Regional Occupational Agency, The Ministry of Finance) and with the social dialogue partners. These good examples in working with partners are not a rule, say the respondents, and they depend more on the people involved than on an institutional practice. Soros Foundation Romania

Other point of view intervening in the discussions was that the social dialogue is mostly purely formal, i.e. the authorities only marked the consultation with the trade unions and the patronage and they ignore their recommendations (trade union representative: “Everything is consultative, and what does it mean? In Romania, you say your opinion, yes, it is nice, but we do it our way, we have the political responsibility. I, at least, heard that answer so many times that I have enough. Yes, yes, very interesting, but I have the political responsibility and then I do it my way and I assume the responsibility. Who paid for that? I didn’t hear until now that someone paid for that.”). The authorities should listen more to the people, say the patronages themselves, and one of their representatives concluded ironically: “Maybe that these conclusions should be brought to the knowledge of the responsible political factor, the one who can make the decisions or else the non-governmental organizations may speak anytime; they may write, they may do anything... At last the decision is a political one; clearly, the decision is political and all the others are connected activities derived from it, because the political decision means the funds allocation, resources allocation. But when you have resources allocated to the learning, research, science, health, the things already are…. As long as they carry…compensation payments for forced unemployment and we offer money without work…What is people supposed to understand? That <<I am paid to do nothing>>”.

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IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS A FEW CONCLUSIONS From the dialogue with the trade unions and patronage representatives we may see a few ideas important for the continuation of the working force and immigration theme debate: • The working force market in Romania is affected by major unbalances. In many industries is a serious deficit of working force, especially of qualified workers and, at the same time, part of the population of active age is immobilized in the sustenance agriculture or doesn’t work. • The main cause of the blockages is the emigration. More than two millions Romanians are temporarily or definitively abroad. • A second cause is systemic one, the ineffective mechanisms of developing the human capital. Both the trade unions and the patronages say that the formal educational system and the adults training programs are not correlated with the market demands and doesn’t offer support to the citizen of active age. • The solutions suggested by the interviewed are of three types: return migration (returning of the Romanian in the country), professional conversion and immigration, all based on maintaining the economical growth and of the wages. • The two social actors consider that the professional conversion is the most adequate solution with the most beneficiary effects. However they draw the attention that this is a slow process whilst the problems of the working force market are urgent. At the same time they don’t trust the authorities to invest in the programs of human resources development but trust the European investments that will be done until 2013 (POS_DRU). • As to the return migration, the respondents say that is an empty promise now but may become a fact after a few years if the economy continues the growing rhythm. • Immigration is the only short term solution, but is the most controversial of the three. The trade unions are rather reluctant to accept a big number of foreign workers because this fact may lead to social problems and to a general diminishing of the salaries. The patronages are disposed to accept the social risks and underline the benefits obtained from the legal work of the foreigners for the entire society. • Both social actors agrees with the principles found behind the present regulations - establishing the immigration quota by tripartite negotiation between the Government, the patronages and the trade unions - but underlines that there is no governmental support for finding and integrating the foreign workers. On the contrary, by the ineffective way in which the procedures are applied, the public institutions are obstructing them.

CHAPTER 2

HOW DOES THE IMMIGRATION IN ROMANIA WORK?

IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS

HOW DOES THE IMMIGRATION IN ROMANIA WORK? Georgiana Toth and Simina Guga

The working force deficit created by the aging of the population and the migration of Romanians abroad is one of the problems facing now Romania. The studies in this domain 2 showed that now there are areas of activity which present an excess of this deficit - the constructions, textile industry, hotels. When it is expected to cover the free jobs in different sector of the economy, it is to be expected that the working force market in Romania to become attractive to foreign workers looking for a job or that certain Romanian companies use the imported workers to cover their necessary working force. The immigration becomes thusly a theme of interest on whose solving would depend in the future the manifestation of potential negative social consequences (for example: the apparition of ethnic enclaves). Of course at this moment we cannot appreciate the future evolution of the immigration in Romania from the point of view of the future dimensions and characteristics of this phenomenon, but it has to be made as easy as possible to control by means of effective politics. Beyond the economical and political reasons, the immigration politics 3 should be done based on relevant information connected with: the way in which the immigration works effectively beginning with the immigrants profile, the factors determining the decision to immigrate, the strategies for entering the working force market 4 and the identification of the problems which they meet or encounter. “What determines the decision to immigrate?”, “How they enter the working force market?”, “Which are the immigrants’ problems?” are questions at which we tried to obtain answers in the interviews 5 of our study.

For instance “Working force market in Romania and the immigration, Soros Foundation, 2007 Entering, living and outing the Romanian territory by the aliens are regulated by the OUG 194/2002 regarding the juridical status of the aliens in Romania, modified and completed (the Law 482/2004 and OUG 113/2005). The aliens status in Romania is regulated by OUG no. 194/2002, reissued in 2008. 4 The working status and the detachment of aliens on Romanian territory are regulated by OUG no. 56/2007. 5 The interviews were done with immigrants from China, Turkey, Philippines, India, Senegal, Tunisia, The Republic of Moldavia, Iraq and Papua New Guinea. 3

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WHAT DETERMINES THE DECISION TO IMMIGRATE?

The decision of an individual to immigrate does not depend on one single factor, but one may speak more of a context represented by an assembly of factors in which one of them may dominate at a certain moment. In the series of factors, we can identify: economical and political causes, the migration nets existence, previous migration experience, neighboring of the states and the need for professional accomplishment by continuing the studies in a state offering superior possibility of education or the reunion of the family. The economical motivation is the basis of the decision to migrate for those who, in their native country, have no means of finding a job 6 or those who do not find enough opportunities to develop entrepreneurship activities. These people are forces thusly to live in other countries, becoming economical immigrants (worker, entrepreneurs/investors). Also, many young people choose Romania in order to continue with their high schools, because of the costs of scholarship and living relatively low during the studies. “I had…. Yes… a friend, not from my country, he was from Syria. He was a student here, in Romania, Medicine, and I asked him how it is, what it his life… he said it is good, it is doable, if I have no intention to go on with the studies or I can do that in Romania, the market was more receptive at the beginning for small commerce… and then… I took my bag and I…”

So you came here to open a business or…? “Yes, but a small business because we didn’t….we didn’t/t have… what we did during a year, we….gathered money and we came to, I couldn’t open it alone, I associated with somebody else here and it was good. I associated… no, no, also with a foreigner and we did import machines from… from Hungary; before, Dacia was cheaper in Hungary than in Romania”. (Immigrant, Tunisia). Economical immigration has, at the beginning an individual character, when the immigrants arrive in a foreign country on its own or solicit the help of recruitment firms to find employment abroad. Once arrived and established in the target country, the immigrants come in time to build migration nets in order to maintain the connection with their native country and to facilitate the access on the working force market from Romania for other people (family members, friends, acquaintances).

For instance, many workers from different country from Asia.

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IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS The migration networks offer support to the immigrant providing him information regarding the economical opportunities in Romania, the working force market, the formalities necessaries for the visa and the status legalization and by involving in finding him a place to live and/or a job. A migration force network function in Romania through foreign investors/small entrepreneurs which either bring friends, family members or workers to employ in their business, or look for business partners in their native country if they wish to expand their business or to associate with a Romanian partner. Generally, through this type of network, the immigrants are aided to find a working place or to complete their file in order to apply for a permit to remain for working purposes. The migrations networks build by foreign workers are still small developed and we don’t have information regarding their way of doing businesses, but once they are structured and expanded it is to be expected a growing of the immigration phenomenon in Romania. “I came at first thinking of starting a business. We had many partners which already had small businesses here… commerce. They had some commercial stands. They encouraged me to come, they said that here the business is good. They rented me an apartment… at first I had been associated with one of them, but afterwards we had problems and I did my own business, furniture” (immigrant, Turkey). The previous business experience helps the immigrants to assume and to evaluate easier the migration risks: the language and cultural barriers, the loosing of economical resources invested by a possible failure, non-adapting to the working conditions in Romania. It is highly likely that the individuals which have such experience and know what the immigrant status means to decide to migrate in Romania than an individual lacking such an experience. Anyway, most of the interviewed had a previous migration experience as workers, students or tourists.

“I was a student when I… finished my studies in Tunisia, then I left to Syria to go on with my studies and in the ‘90th the Golf War begun and I haven’t finished the first year yet and… the foreigners were asked to leave the country, even those who… even if it wasn’t an emergency situation… Syria wasn’t involved…but it was in the middle of it and it was a kind of an emergency and… many citizens were asked to leave. I left and afterwards I entered on… the jobs market, what it’s called… I worked in Tunisia and in Syria when I was there, I did some small commerce between Syria and turkey with clothes, as much as I needed to support myself, so, and then… I came to Romania… (Immigrant, Tunisia) “Most of the Philippines workers which are here now had a previous experience of working in other countries such as Korea, Taiwan, Japan, South Africa, etc. Most of us worked mostly in foreign countries.” (Immigrant, Philippine)

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The cultural neighboring is a factor helping the migration especially for the immigrants coming from the republic of Moldavia, knowing the language being an advantage for studying or working in Romania. Well, but why did you wanted to come to Romania to study, why didn’t you remained in… “I think the studies are better here.” This was the main reason… “Yes.” I see… Why did you choose Romania and not other country? “It is closer to home.” So this was the main reason or… “It is closer, it is the same language, somehow it would be more complicated to go elsewhere, and more expensive and more complicated; I knew there are more students… In another town… (Immigrant, Republic of Moldavia)

The reunion of the family leads to choosing the migration to Romania for the people married to Romanian citizens or for those having relatives established on the Romanian territory ob business purposes. “I am from Delhi, I went to school and faculty, I have done all my studies there. I was working in the marketing area at a multinational company, I had a career and till I met my husband, who is Romanian and who came to India. We met in Bombay and it wads about <<let me come here>>, to remain here, in Romania.” (Immigrant, India) How did you decided to come to Romania and not to another country? “My father, as I told you, was here since 1991. I have spent a summer here already… and I was close to my family and it was another atmosphere, it was easier for me having a basis here for so many years…’ (Immigrant, India) Studies. Many foreigners choose to study in Romania (especially Medicine) because the diplomas are recognized in their native country and the educational costs and living are lower. Also, there are some scholarships provided by the Romanian state to the foreign students to allow them to continue their studies at high school or postgraduate level.

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IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS And what did you make to leave your country, to leave Senegal? “I have told you, I wanted to do postgraduate studies, I had no choice but to come to Romania. There was only one available scholarship. There were no scholarships for France, for other countries, because our people study a lot, enormous….” (Immigrant, Senegal) For other foreign categories (like those from the Arabic countries) there a history of migration fro study which begun in the second half of the ’70 by signing bilateral agreements between Romania and those countries. Beginning with the first half of the ’90, Romania signed a mutual agreement with the republic of Moldavia which, though annulled in 2002, didn’t/t stop the Romanian state initiative that, by a bilateral agreement, to grant un important number of scholarships for the young people of Basarabia who wished to study in Romania. The political motivation determines the migration of the individuals from countries exposed to military and political restraints to other states where they can receive the refugee status. Both the refugees and also many foreign student from Romania wish to integrate as quick as possible on the working force market of Romania, their status receiving different valences correlated to the economical migration.

:I came to Romania because in my country I couldn’t stay fro political reasons. I knew that in the communist epoch our president and the one here were friends. I didn’t/t knew much more about Romania when I came here. I have not yet been accepted as a refugee, but hopefully this would happen and afterwards I would find something to work in the city. […} I will return to Guinea only when a change of situation will manifest.” (Refugee, Papua, New Guinea).

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HOW DO THEY INTEGRATE ON THE WORKING MARKET? Those coming on their own in Romania and who don/t beneficiate from the networks support manage to find a job using some recruiting firms from their native country, firms which mediate the relationship migrant-employer. Those who use these firms have generally a previous migration experience, searching a job abroad without a preferred destination. When the employer’s requirements are met (for instance: qualification, experience, English knowledge, etc.) and the job offer is suitable to the employee to-be, an agreement is established. The employee is to go to the country established by the firm, many times without any knowledge about it whatsoever. “Until we arrived in Romania we didn’t/t know a thing about this country. We were in a recruitment program for working abroad and we were solicited to come to Romania.” (Interview with an immigrant, Philippine)

The immigrants may integrate on the working market also via informational nets. Those function especially for those whose relatives have a business in Romania and they come to be employed to one of its firms. Which was your first job in Romania? What did you work as? “Firstly as a seller; then for the internal accountancy at my father’s firm.” And where did you sell? “At their shop, because they have working points in Bucharest; they have 5-6 shops. I was the manager of a certain working point.” (Interview, Indian whose father is established in Romania since 1991)

Other ways of working of the informational networks for the access on the work market are the foreign specialists with high qualifications which are employed at Romanian companies. Such a situation is met frequently in the areas where these specialists coordinate teams, such as the constructions domain.

“….because they have a pretty big history in Turkey and the project managers, on their turn, having worked in other places and then they bring … they come with a team. They call to Turkey and say: <<I need in a month or two a faïence work team>> and to me, as HR department, they say: <<make me a request for residence for X, Y, Z>> …because I am recruiting.” (HR representative, employing firm for Turkish workers) 37

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IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS

WHICH ARE THE IMMIGRANTS’ PROBLEMS?

A first problem encountered by the immigrants in Romania is connected to the legalization of their status. Those who wish to obtain a residence here for different purposes (work, studies, and asylum) have to interact with the public institution, whose practices and procedures are often true barriers for the immigrants. The information necessary to the path to follow by the immigrant in order to obtain a legal status are framed on the respective institutions’ boards. This information is presented only in Romanian so the immigrants are forced to acquire the services of a translator paid per hour of work, which implies additional costs to the immigrant, alongside the ones for the mandatory taxes they have to pay. “All the papers are in Romanian… there were a few days a few papers in other languages, but they torn them… I think that if you would go now, you would find only the Romanian ones”. (Immigrant, Senegal)

The difficult procedures connected to the great number of papers requested and to the extremely restrictive conditions they have to fulfill is another problematic aspect confronted by those who passed trough this experience. Plus there is the long waiting time in queues in order to submit their papers in inadequate places, usually too small for the great number of solicitants. However, most of the interviews appreciate an amelioration of these procedures in the last few years by the decreasing of the number of papers and the restriction imposed by the Romanian state, at least for certain categories of immigrants like the ones who require to immigrate to reunite with their families.

This process of… seems complicated to you? “Lately, it became simpler. At the beginning it was very… It was complete chaos; you couldn’t do anything if you didn’t know somebody, if you had contacts….”

That is precisely what I wanted to ask: did you interact with the State authorities or somebody else took care of them? “There was somebody to take care of the formalities…”

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Who? “It was somebody ho had contacts with someone who knew. He didn’t help free, but at least what procedure to employ to make it easier. And it was a person who took care of every paper, went from a place to another, sat in queue… From six in the morning to stay in queue together with hundreds of peoples in some small rooms… He stayed there and when it was out turn, we came to the desk because we had to present the documents.”

How did you interact with the State authorities? “Sometime very… They were not very polite. They tried to make you feel that …. Something as <<what are you doing here? >> But in the last 2-3 years or even since we obtained our permit it was good. They were friendlier, more understanding. So, five years ago, the things changed.”

What kind of difficulties did you meet when you obtained your visa, your working license? “There were some very difficult procedure then; they made you bring 2,000 papers, 2,000 in an account as a warranty. You had to keep this money for 6 months; you weren’t allowed to touch them. They tried not to let you enter. You had to fight too hard to enter the country. Even when you wanted to invite somebody to come… That was the procedure now is simpler, but you had to have 2,000 dollars…” (Immigrant, India)

“….there is a working license more easy to obtain because now they are desperate because they don’t have workers, they have no longer people to work in Romania.”

And in what sense did the working license is easier to obtain? Are there fewer documents necessary? Is the waiting time shorter? “Yes, it is shorter; there were 13 documents, if I am not wrong. Firstly, it is a folder you have to present; the employer presents a folder to the Human Resources. So it is a folder with 13 acts to obtain the authorization to employ somebody and then to obtain a visa for the foreigners, for they may be able to come. And afterwards, there was another to folder to present. Then they said <<Look, now the aliens from outside UE will have the same conditions for obtaining the working rights… the folder I meant, as the one form inside UE… It was easy, but not for all of them, only for the married ones.” (Immigrant, Senegal)

Migration and Development

IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS Other betterment mentioned by the interviewed refers to the attitude of the employers in the institutions involved in the granting of the residence or working license to the immigrants. If only a few years ago, the personnel in this institutions attitude could be considered rather hostile, now it is more focused on the solution of the immigrants demands. When you arrived in Romania did you have to obtain something else? “Yes. They gave [the visa] only for three months and when I came here I have to go to make a prolongation. I done all the papers myself and now it is really like in heaven the way they arranged the desks and the offices; when I came there was only one desk manned by ladies -, who treated us like ….the last man. <<What are you dong here? >>. Something like that. After they noticed we had a house, we had anything we needed, that there was no problem with our residences or something; however they had an attitude… Yu felt a little humiliated… But now it is much, much better.” What did really change? What have you noticed lately? “Firstly, I feel that people up there are different. Now when I go there, they talk with… They are more opened, they didn’t treat you like that… <<what do you want? >> Even the place is much more… We feel that they respect us; not in a dark office… It is a nicely decorated office, you go there, you ask for information, it is different.” (Immigrant, India) “They are kinder, because 5 or 6 years ago we sit on a queue during nighttime. The people came and stood there until morning. I, for instance, came once at 5 in the morning, at 13:30 it was closing time and I had only two persons before me and they said that they are closing <<See you tomorrow?? And when a paper was missing, the gentleman or the lady was throwing the papers at you…” And you had to take the queue from the very beginning, probably… “Now, what is happening… a document is missing. <<Please let a phone number and come again tomorrow or when you can>> I experience this also, I didn’t/t go that day and they called <<Sir, may you come to bring the documents? >> … No, it has changed.” (Immigrant, Senegal) A second category of immigrants’ problems si associated to the working force market. The status as a foreign worker in a country makes you more vulnerable to the employers’ abuses through the non-abiding the work legislation. As an immigrant, not to know the Romanian language it means often not to know your own rights or that you can have access to them on all the situations. So, those who came to work here often are forced to make supplementary hours because the employers establish a norm above the possibilities of the legal working program (eight hour per day). Soros Foundation Romania

Besides breaking the legal working schedule, the supplementary hours are not always paid by the employer. There is also the situation when the contract clauses established by the employer are not well-known by the immigrants, the signed contract being written another language than the maternal immigrant language. Practically, the signing of such a contract is based by the verbal accord between the parts but many times the facts established by the contract differ greatly from this understanding. An example for this is the way of establishing the living and dining conditions. The employers offer to ensure them for sum of money paid monthly but without establishing the precise value or sum or the obligation of the foreign worker to accept those services. The tax paid n the end by the immigrant for these services is often a third of their monthly wages 7 . Another problem is the hiring of the workers most likely to beneficiate from a discriminatory treatment of their employers. Each State wishes that, by different legal measures, to protect the native working force and one of these measures is the priority of the Romanian workers for the jobs. There are some exceptions at that rule such as the case of the foreigners established here for family reunion who, once they obtain a permanent residence status, have in principle the same rights as the Romanians. However, though there is no legal impediment, there are foreigners excepted from the employment, not because of the qualification or the professional experience, but because of ethnical or racial criteria.

“It was more complicated and not only for me, here in Romania, but to many foreigners, even with diplomas, to be hired, the discrimination…. But it happened to me, I was not dpoing that at that moment, I went for an ad, we were about 9, 10, 12 persons in the hall and the employer came, that is to say he send someone and he said: <<Not you>>, I replied <<Why?>> and he said <<The boss didn/’t want you and that’s it>>.” (Immigrant, married to a Romanian citizen)

Although Romania is confronted with a deficit of workers, at least in some area (constructions, textile industry, tourism), the work legislation didn’t/t compensate this by bringing foreign workers.. At the employment both the immigrant and the employer must pay additional taxes to the State, fact representing an impediment for the obtaining of a well-paid job, as fitted to the work done by the foreign employee.

The Asian workers in the textile industry in Romania.

Migration and Development

IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS

ASIAN WORKERS IN THE ROMANIAN TEXTILE INDUSTRY One of the principal phenomenons accompanying the transition process in Romania after December ’89 is represented by the mass migration of the employees abroad. From a country which, at the beginning of the ’90 failed to find a strategy for its citizens’ integration on the local working market, Romania transformed in less than 20 years in one of the greater working force exporters in Europe (together with the republic of Moldavia, Ukraine, Poland and Bulgaria). The loss of important contingents of personnel who choose the migration way has an effect the bringing of many companies on the brink of bankruptcy. Beginning with 2000, Romania has begun to register an economical rise, the productivity curve being way up the salary levels in different economy sectors. This shows that, per medium, the employees in Romania are paid much less then the salaries they would be due for their work, the companies gaining “profit rates seldom spectacular (about 100%) compared to those from Western Europe (about 20%)”8 In the time of the preparation for Romania to adhere at the UE, in Romania appeared a new discourse centered on the working force crisis in light industry (textiles), constructions, etc. The Romanian workers reintegration on the local working force market had no chances of success because of the low level of salaries and its un-correlation with the work productivity. In this context, the import of workers became one of the few valid options which proved to be a source of profit for the Romanian economy. Until 2008, the Law imposed the employer to grant to the foreign workers the medium salary on economy but, beginning with this year the foreign citizens are completely subjected to the salary laws of Romania 9 . Presently, thousands of foreign workers have been brought to work in Romania, becoming often a target of the exploiting policies of the employers companies who force them to work supplementary hours and blackmailing them with breaking of their working contracts and deportation. The next fragment is the illustration of such a situation, intending to offer a vision on the context in which certain companies decided to report to the working force deficit; in it the treatment of the foreign workers from Asia brought by some Romanian companies from the textile sectors is enhanced10 ______________ 8 Trade union leader 9 OUG no. 56/2007, emergency ordinance regarding the employment and displacement of foreigners on Romanian territory. 10 All information presented are based on discussions done during 2000 with different immigrants, companies, trade unions, patronages, State institutions and also on an analysis of papers in Romanian newspapers. The material wishes to describe the existing situation without nominating the persons implied.

Soros Foundation Romania

BANKRUPCY VERSUS WORKING FORCE IMPORT Thanks to the low salary level, many of the ex-employees of certain Romanian companies had to give up their former jobs, choosing either migration or changing or retirement. So many companies were brought near bankruptcy, the only immediate solution being the bringing of foreign workers, mainly from Asian countries (for instance: Philippine, Bangladesh, China, India, etc.) The import of foreigners in great number became a public problem during the years previous to the Romania adhering to EU, when certain companies from the light industry and constructions employed hundreds of Asian workers to cover for their working force deficit and thusly to remain active on the Romanian market.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is an acute lack of working force. After 2007, many people migrated abroad and also form other sectors. For instance, many of our workers are now in the great malls in town. [â&#x20AC;Ś.] In 2006 we had 1000 employees. Afterwards we had only 700 and now we have only 400. We go below 250 that mean bankruptcy.â&#x20AC;? (HR, textile factory which employed in 2008 100 foreign workers from Asia)

THE RECRUITING FIRMS In order to bring tens or hundreds foreign workers in Romania, most of the companies use local intermediating firms which, on their part, collaborate withy the recruiting and intermediation firm in the native countries of the immigrants. So, between the employer company and the worker there are often 2- 3 intermediaries which take care of part of the formalities and which are paid, most often, from the taxes fixed for that the foreign worker may enter the respective program. The employing company send to the intermediate firm a document establishing the number of workers, the conditions that the immigrant must fulfill (for instance: qualification, knowledge of a foreign language, etc.) and also an individual contract of work presenting the working conditions and the salary. The recruitment and intermediation firms sent tot the employer a number of CVs corresponding to its requests after which the selected workers have to sign a contract, usually written in English, translated on demand by the intermediary in the respective countries, but mostly the contract is a verbal one. The commission received by the intermediary for signing such a contract, for certain papers, and for the transportation (one way only) values many times the salaries received by those workers for working one year in Romania. 11

For instance: for many Asian workers employed by two textile companies from Romania, the sums paid to the intermediaries were between 2000 and 3000 Euro. The salary received by those is about 150-250 Euro after deducing the expenses for living and dining.

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IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS The employing company has to o the necessary papers for the workers’ employment, that is to say a working authorization and a visa or a license for working purposes. Contrary to the conditions presented in the Romanian mass media regarding the financial efforts supported by the employer when they bring foreign workers, the reality shows that often those costs are paid either directly by the foreign worker before coming to Romania, or they are deduced from its salary during the period they work for that company. In these conditions, the employers are those who invest the least as time and money to ensure their continuity and growth on the local market.

ASIAN WORKERS IN ROMANIA

Workers from certain Asian countries have often a great migration experience, the situation in their native country forcing them to ensure their sustenance by working outside their country or continent. Also, most of them have a proper qualification for their working domain, fact which is a favorable condition for employing. For many Asian workers, the salaries in Romania are similar to those in their native country, the only problem being the fact that there it is very difficult to obtain a job, especially after they are past a certain age. “For me, who am about 40, it is impossible to find a good job in my country. There the age is more important than the experience. And the employers prefer youngsters about 20, because they don’t have families, they are more motivated, more flexible and faster. This is the reason for which I try to find working contracts in different counties in the world.” (R.A.) The previous working experience helps a lot the immigrants to make decisions of accepting or rejecting the working offerings comparing the aspects connected to the conditions offered, the working schedule or the payment. For the payment done for their employment in Romania they are forced to borrow money through mortgages on certain proprieties and paying monthly rates to the bank in their native country. The reason for their salary accepting is the hope that this can be doubled if they would make additional hours. 12

Working code, CLAUSE 111: (1) The maximum period of working time cannot surpass 48 hours per week including the supplementary hours. (2) As an exception, the working schedule which comprises supplementary hours may be prolonged over 48 hours per week on the condition that the working hours media, calculated over a reference period of three calendar months do not exceed 48 hours per week.

Soros Foundation Romania

“Before I came to Romania, I have worked a lot in South Africa. I had there a contract also with a salary of 400$ but if I as doing supplementary hours I could double it. So I thought that this would happen in Romania, too.” (M.V)

THE WORKING CONTRACT AND THE CONDITIONS OFFERED Mostly, the working contracts the immigrants are forced to sign are written in a foreign language, many of the foreign workers becoming often vulnerable to sign documents containing information they discover too late. Once in Romania, they realize that the salary received for their work is far from being equal to the one expected according to the calculi done by them according to the information from the contract. Many times the inconsistent phrasing in the documents or the unjust tactics 13 used by the intermediating forms make a false impression on the immigrants about the actual conditions of work and the salary,

“My contract was written in Romanian and English but when we wanted to read it, they said to hasten because we don’t have so much time and they have to go to apply for the visa in order to come faster to Romania. They offered to make us a summary of the contract but they omitted to tell us about the production norm mentioned in the contract. Also they didn’t tell about us having to pay for the house and the dining. They told us only that the base salary is 400$ plus the payment for over working hours of 100%.” (R.A.) For instance, establishing a production quota above the real possibilities of the workers implies often making a significant number of supplementary hours, unpaid, until reaching the respective norm, even if the same contract stipulates that the payment for overtime is 100%. Also, many times the contract doesn’t specify or the workers are not informed about the fact that they have to pay about 1/3 of the salary for the lodging and food they are forced to accept by the employers, “But when I arrived in Romania and I met the employers, I understood that from the 400$ we had to pay for the lodging and the food. […] On the first month I worked many supplementary hours but when I received my payment I saw that 165$ had been withdrawn for lodging and eating and the supplementary hours were not included at all. When I asked why, they show me the contract and I saw that there was to do 500 pieces per day and a team like ours couldn’t make more than half of it. [….]. In textiles we know about the quotas and until now nobody, nowhere ask us to do that.” (R.A. and V.I) The lodging and the dinner offered to the immigrant workers by the employing company are many times too expensive par rapport to the market prices 14

For instance: omitting important clauses, invoking the speeding of the procedures, etc. For instance: About 5 -6 workers are forced to share the same modest room. Also, the food quality is poor and many of the workers prefer not to benefit of this service. The supper is usually not included in the price of about 150-180$ per month taken by the employer for these services, 14

Migration and Development

IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS Also, the workers are forced to accept these services for money and they are not allowed to choose to ensure them on their own account. The fact that the workers are forced to spend most of their time on the territory of their employer company created often conflicts about the restriction of their freedom to move and their free right to speech.

“Nobody is allowed to visit us here and nobody tell us when somebody is looking for us. Because the newspapers published certain information now we are not even allowed to talk to strangers because they said that otherwise they throw us out.” (M.P.) Despite the great number of reclamations in the media of such situations, when certain workers were literally closed for months on their employer company territory, the Romanian authorities didn’t take real measures to investigate these abuses and trespassing of human rights. When such actions were commenced, these were stopped at a certain moment, the company involved finding ways of infirming the exploitations situations or physical abuses or invoking clauses stipulated in the contract signed by the workers 15 . In those conditions any form of protest of the workers was considered a breeching of the contractual obligations.

FORM OF ORGANISATION AND THE FIGHT FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS The Romanian reality (the working schedule, the conditions offered, the salaries, etc.) is very different from the immigrants’ expectations based on the information provided before signing the contract. Because of the language barriers, inattention, the haste induced by the intermediaries or other tactics used to hide certain relevant information, many of the foreign workers are in such a situation that after a year of working they are not been able to pay event the debts contracted to come to Romania. Now, although Romania becomes more and more an immigration country, the foreign workers do not benefit from many political and social rights as those of the Romanian citizens. Also, those are not represented by the trade unions, being often obliged to create their own form of organizing with which to try to defend their rights in the face of the employers. These speakers are chose amongst the ones who talk at least satisfactory English and who consider that they can stand to the employers to solve some of the problems. Not knowing Romanian, the lack of relationships and the restrictive measures imposed by the employers create real platform fro exploitation based on the fear induction for loosing the jobs or the residence in Romania. “I was not one of the leaders but I was friends with one of them. They fired me also because they knew that if they go I would take their position.” (R.A.) 15

For instance: The very high production quotas could have been reached only if the workers would have worked about 15 hours per day instead of 8 or 10 hours per day according to the working contract.

Soros Foundation Romania

Many of the foreign workers in such a situation choose wither to submit to the conditions imposed by the employer or to risk to be fired organizing some forms of resistance 16 which, although presented in the media had not an impact strong enough to change the existing situation for the ones involved. The middle way is to gather at least the money necessary to the transportation to their native country whre to begin anew the process of finding a job. “Now we don’t have at least enough money to pay our return ticket home. The embassy is doing it. […] They have stopped recruiting Philippines workers to come to …. (a city in Romania). Before us nobody came ever to Romania and I hope they will not come in the future.” (R.A.) Thanks to the “gates” in the bureaucratic system, of the social, cultural and language barriers and also because of the lack of solid institutional structures to protect the immigrants workers, they often fall victim to the exploitation of some employers interested only in obtaining as bigger profits as possible on the account of these ensuring them that development. Even when certain abuses and trespassing of the workers rights were made public, the companies were protected by some contract clauses or by the inability of the workers to be hard by those who have the power to intervene in such situations. It must be understood that, despite the language barriers, cultural differences, the lack of relationships in Romania, of an inexistent set of information of the rights to which they are entitled as employees in Romania, of lacking of trade union representation, etc, the foreign workers may represent an easy target to the employers which practice some forms of masked exploitation in today Romania. In the near future it is considered that a greater number of workers will come to Romania to counteract the void left on the working force market. In order to respect their fundamental rights (human and working rights) some structures would have to be implemented whose main objectives would be the eradication of any tentative and forms of abuses or exploitation and, at the same time, better information provided to the immigrants respective to the potential risks and also the rights and obligations they would have during their staying in Romania.

The lack of accessible information in languages of international circulation and the unknowledgeable style of the procedures and rights make very difficult the immigrants’ access to the services provided by the public institutions and rises their vulnerability to the abuses of the employees of those institutions (for instance: taking of “legal” taxes, the refuse to solve some problems). “…A good example is at the hospital, because I give birth in Romania. And it was my first time, a little girl, I born there, near Victoria; it is a big hospital there. When I was taken there for a control in my second month of pregnancy, or even the first, I don’t remember, they said that if I want to give birth there I have to pay six hundred dollars. We were quite surprised and I knew it was an international right, to give birth anywhere 16

For instance: the designation of new speakers, street protests, inside-factory protests, appeal to the embassy of their native country.

Migration and development

IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS in the world for free. And I said: <<But even so, six hundred dollars for what? >> And they said: <<Because you are a foreigner>>. I said that I am married to a Romanian if it the problem and they said that doesn’t matter, I have to pay six hundred dollars to give birth there in their hospital. And I said OK, if they can show me a law, something, where it is written and they were very… that there is no law but this is the situation, if I want to give birth than I have to pay this money. I was at the Ministry for health and I obtained a document from them which said I was entitled to give birth like any other woman here unless I go to a private hospital, of course. When I gave them that paper they made a big humdrum and I really suffered then because when you are pregnant… The people couldn’t ask for money after all this. We said we give them the money but not six hundred dollars. Good, then one hundred at least… But even the doctor who had to assist me, even when I was in labors, said that his program is finished, he no longer has a guard schedule or something and he went home. And I was in the last…. Even my husband was walking to and fro to find a solution and a nurse begun to give me all kind of injections to stop the labors. Because of that the waters became poisonous and had a green color, which is not normal. OK, that was the story; afterwards we made a claim to the hospital because my baby could’ve died.” (Immigrant, married to a Romanian citizen) “I have a personal experience about that. […] I thought how a foreigner could intern in a hospital. I went to the hospital and I entered there to see how it is… for six days. But to go there, there was something different. The lady at the administration told me: <<Yes, you have to bring a proof… that I don’t have other firms or something from the IRS>> I said: Madam, I have a family doctor, I brought you that and all I have as a proof. What do you want more? >> And that <<This doesn’t respect what it is here. >> And after that I o\got angry and I said: << I ant to speak to the hospital manager. You can’t see? What’s the matter with you? >> And she told me: << No, no…we will solve it. >> And that is how I solved it.” (Immigrant) Lacking information regarding their rights for the access to the services provided by the public institutions, the immigrants can easily become victims of the employees/employers wishing to benefit from the immigrant status of a person, especially those lacking a longer residence experience in Romania. To prevent such situations, one must find solutions to involve the institutions responsible for the management of the immigration phenomenon or the working force importing firms toward the facilitating the access of the immigrants to useful information which would aid them to became accustomed to the formal and informal practices in the Romanian society. Anyway, depending on the type/types of migration “agreed” by the Romanian state, solutions must be find for the different grades of immigrants’ integration oriented to facilitate their access to useful information on the working force market and also for learning Romanian language. Now, there is no preoccupation in this direction, but in the situation of a growth of the number of immigrants in Romania, such preoccupations must become a priority on the agenda of the social politics. Soros Foundation Romania

CHAPTER 3

BASARABEANS IN ROMANIA THE FIGHT FOR THEIR RIGHTS AND THE NEGOTIATING OF A CONTROVERSIAL IDENTITY

IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS

BASARABEANS IN ROMANIA THE FIGHT FOR THEIR RIGHTS AND THE NEGOTIATING OF A CONTROVERSIAL IDENTITY Simina Guga

Creating a free circulation zone is one of the main objectives of the European integration, this being done mostly by a .step by step elimination of personal controls at the internal frontiers together with the securing of the external barriers of the Union. In the perspective of Romanian adhering to the EU, the republic of Moldavia became one of the territories outside of what it is known as â&#x20AC;&#x153;the European Gateâ&#x20AC;?. The free circulation right enjoyed by the Romanians involved the restriction of the similar rights for the citizens of the country who are not part of the Union but who, in time, had strong relations of friendship and cooperation with Romania. In this context, the Moldavian citizens are a particular case in the immigration and citizenship granting landscape politics implemented by the Romanian state. The vision of the Romanian authorities on the rights granted to the Basarabean ethnics from Romania may be considered inconsistent and often even incoherent. The reason may be the government changes in Romania, the inability to conduct productive negotiations, parallel with a gathering of graduated tensions between Bucharest and Chisinau and also by adopting certain international politics for the EU integration and the abiding of the regulations imposed by the adhering at that formation. Beginning with 1st January 2007, the Basabean may abide the visas regime imposed by Romania, fact which lead to a breaking of the relationships between the Romanian ethnics on the two sides of the Prut and also to the apparition of some legitimate questions remained unclear up to now. For the people having a direct relation with Romania (work, commerce, studies, etc.) the consequences are mainly economical and social but for the Basarabeans generally the impact was firstly emotional. Many of them consider that the security of the eastern border of Romania is not a legit action based on reasonable politics, because the people being affected by it were mostly common people used to come to Romania for studies, commerce or visiting their relatives. When speaking about the right incumbent to the Moldavian citizens par rapport to Romania, many Romanian politicians invoke historical reasons which would be favorable to the Basabeans; however the braking of the relations between the ethnics on the two sides of the Prut became a reality of the last period.

Soros Foundation Romania

ROMANIAN CITIZENSHIP “Regaining the Romanian citizenship, the people from Basarabia and Bucovina wish to regain their citizens’ rights lost against their will”. In March 1991, before the proclamation of the republic of Moldavia as an independent Sate, Romania adopted the Citizenship law which contained information regarding to the gaining or regaining of the Romanian citizenship, especially mentioned being “those whose Romanian citizenship was withdrawn without their consent or other reasons not imputable to them, and also to their descendents” 17 . The Romanian citizenship may be regained on request by those who fulfill the conditions provided by the Law and could prove that they were born or are the descendents of people born on the Romanian territory before the allotting of Basarabia to the URSS in 1940. According to the Citizenship Law (21/1991), Romania recognized the right of double citizenship offering during 1991 - 2000 a number of 94,916 18 passports to the Romanian ethnics beyond Prut. The right to double citizenship was approved by law by the republic of Moldavia only in 2002, probably as a reaction to the fact that a great number of Basarabeans gave up their Moldavian citizenship got their Romanian one. Also, this was the moment in which the government from Chisinau begun to accuse Romania of involvement in its internal affairs 19 . In the same year, 2002, because of political reasons connected to the future adhering to the European Union, Romania stopped the process of granting citizenship by adopting the Law 165/2003 which considered the suspension for a period of six months of the Clause 10 from the law 21/1991 20 . In 2003, the law was modified, the Basarabeans having to prove that they live on Romanian territory for at least 4 years before the date of deposing the folder. For those who couldn’t fulfill this condition, the only solution was deposing the folder at an embassy or consulate outside Romanian borders. Although the Romanian authorities announced after that the unblocking the process of regaining the Romanian citizenship, the statistics show that during 2002 2008, the Romanian state granted only a few hundred titles of citizenship per year for the Basarabeans. The request to regain the Romanian citizenship is to be deposed at the Direction for Citizenship at the Ministry of Justice, and after that it has to be published in the Official Monitor, Part III. If the request is approved, the announce id made public in the Official Monitor, Part I. But the Law didn’t mention the terms in which the citizenship requests have to be solved, so now there tens of thousands of dossiers unsolved, some of which being deposed even 7 08 years before. Until now, nobody was able to offer explanations or understand the ways the citizenship regaining files are solved, especially if we take into account the fact that certain requests are 17 18

The Law 21/1991, Clause 35. Source: The Department of Public Communications of the Ministry of Administration and

Interior. 19

Source: the declaration of the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Moldavia (Ion Morei) at CEDO on 2nd October 2001 (Romania being accused on that occasion of “Romanian expansionism intentions”). 20 The Romanian citizenship may be granted also to the person who had it and who request its re-granting together with the keeping of the foreign citizenship and the establishing of the domicile in the country or it’s remaining abroad if they fulfill accordingly the conditions provided at Clause 8, letters b), c) and e). (excerpt from Clause 10, Law 21/1991)

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IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS approved in the same year they are deposed and other remain unsolved for unlimited periods of time.

“I deposed my folder to regain citizenship in 2003 and I still haven’t got any answer. The way they are processing the documents is a lottery because some gain their citizenship in a few months and others wait years hoping that they would get an answer which doesn’t have to be necessarily positive.” (V.A., 30 years old)

The authorities’ points of view are often contradictory or divergent and the diplomatic tensions between Bucharest and Chisinau are an obstacle for the realization of producing bilateral negotiations. The EU offcials 21 confessed many times their concern vis-à-vis the granting of Romanian citizenship to a great number of people outside the EU. However, the Romanian authorities protested saying that they are working at a project for a law providing means of simplifying the regaining of the citizenship both for the Basarabeans and the Bucovineans. But until now this didn’t become a fact and the Romanian authorities are called again to come forth to make affirmations justifying the reduced regime of granting the Romanian citizenship. The ex-Minister of Internal Affairs (Vasile Blaga) said recently that the main reason of the long period of the procedures is the fact that only 10% of the Basarabeans want to establish in Romania, the rest of 90% wishing to go to countries member of the EU from Western Europe. At the same convention, he declared that granting much Romanian citizenship “would deplete the Republic of Moldavia of its citizens of Romanian origin” 22 .

BASARABEANS IN ROMANIA

In 1992 the Embassy of Romania in Chisinau was created, the first foreign embassy on the republic of Moldavia territory. During 1991 - 2001, Moldavian citizens could travel in Romania on ID card only, many of them exercising this right only in tourism purposes, to visit their relatives in Romania, to study and to work, and also to do commercial activities. 21

The EU representative for the republic of Moldavia, Kalman Mizsei, said in 2005 that “at the Commission there is a strong preoccupation regarding the possibility to extend citizenship to many citizens outside the European Union”. 22 Source: http://www.obervatorcultural.roExperimentul-Moldova*articleID_17250articles_details.html

Soros Foundation Romania

In the same year, 2002, Romania implemented the passports regime for the Moldavian citizens. Also, beginning with 2006, they needed only an invitation from a Romanian citizen to present together with their traveling document at the customs. Their staying on Romanian territory is no more than 90 days since the date of the entering. Beginning with January 2007, the Moldavian citizens need a visa to enter Romania,. Though the visas are free of charge, the procedure is quite elaborate and long, prove to be too expensive for those ho wish to obtain a short residence visa. At the Romanian Consulate in Chisinau, the queues are too long and the people complain about having to spend whole days in queue to present their folder. Because the only place where it is possible to apply for these visas is Chisinau, all those who want the visas, no matter from where they come, they have to stay in the same line.

“We live at about 200 km from Chisinau. To present our file, we had to wait for two days. In this time we slept on the grass, in front of the consulate. Most of us have relatives or friends in Chisinau and they could stay there but we don’t have anyone here.” (R.D., 50 years old). Before, the Basarabeans could apply also at the Romanian Consulate in Odessa but after its closing, all the applying had to go to Chisinau where the crowd and the long waiting are the principle problems tens or hundreds of people are confronted every day. Recently, the government in Chisinau rejected the demand to open two new consulates in the cities of Cahul and Balti, near the Romanian border. Although there were many tentative to simplify the procedures, most of them failed. Programming the interviews on the Internet was not a valid solution because the infrastructure allowed only for a limited number of daily visits, many people being disappointed that the web page was blocked. Also, for most of the people in the rural area or those not used to the new technologies, this was in fact a real barrier to obtain a visa. Presently, lacking the need for organization felt from the authorities in Chisinau, the Basarabean citizens created their own systems of organizations in front of the Consulate.

“People decided to make waiting lists for those wishing to obtain a visa. Now, the first thing you have to do when you arrive here is to put your name on a list. Then, depending on the number of files processed every day, eventually comes your term. Many prefer to wait days staying here but other go home and return when their turn comes. Usually the people doing the list begin to cry loud at 12 in the night or at 4 in the morning for the people to stay in line. If you are not here they erase you from the list and you have to start all over again.”

Migration and Development

IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS The papers necessary to obtain a visa for short term are not difficult to obtain (except the invitation) and the visa is free of charge if we do not take into account the transportation and accommodation expenses which most people living outside Chisinau have to pay. The biggest problem is the waiting and the fact that if certain documents are missing all the process have to be taken from the start. In this context, the relationships between the Basarabeans and the Romanians are often interrupted or postponed fro unlimited periods of time, the nostalgia previous the introduction of the visas regime being the sole resort of those isolated on the right side of Prut.

“My grandmother has been born in Romania and we have relatives there and we wish to visit them on holydays or on someone birthday. My boy grew up with his cousins on the other side but now, since we need a visa, we haven’t seen each other but once.” (Woman living near the border - village of Giugiulesti) 23

MOLDAVIAN STUDENTS IN ROMANIA

“I choose to study in Romania because the faculties here are better, because we have the same language, because I knew that there are many Basarabeans in Romania and because I am relatively close to home.” (A, 21 years old)

Many of the young Basarabeans choose to study in Romania beginning with 1991 when the universities in Romania opened their gates to the foreign students. The options ho benefited to them were the applying for scholarships offered by the Romanian government, or the subscription to the paying places of the universities. To those who didn’t have adequate financial means, the only solution was applying for a scholarship which was granted based on the results obtained in high school. These cold choose a specialty faculty and after that they were sent to one of the universities in the country with the mention that if they asked to be transferred to another university, the scholarship was annulated and they have to pay the taxes. Once gaining the documents proving their belonging to a certain university, the Basarabeans students obtained a yearly permit of residence.

The introduction of this type of quotation (emotional) in the text is due to the fact that some ideas are often encountered in the discussions with the Basarabeans, the author thinking that their omission would represent a methodological error.

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“In 2002, when I came hear, it took quite a long time to obtain the visa because there were big queues. Many of us didn’t obtain immediately the permit and if there were inspection in the hostel we received a fine which was annulated after we proved that we have our visa.” Most of the problems encountered by the young Moldavians were the small scholarships 24 (which remained the same in the period 1997-2007) - insufficient for covering the basic expenses, the impossibility to apply for the international programs of exchange of the students, the impossibility to work during the studies, etc. Beginning with January 2007, they had to pass though a process of obtaining the visa for Romania and afterwards the usual procedures.

“Hundreds of pupils and students from the Republic of Moldavia who learn in the high schools and universities from Iasi could be absents at the first tutorials. The reason: they had not got in time their visa for entering Romania.” (Sorin Gaiţă, coordinator of the Bureau for Foreigners in Iasi) 25

Since 2007 the Basarabean students can obtain a labor license respecting the conditions of the Law but they may work only 4 hours per day 26 .

“When I was still a student I, as a Basarabean, couldn’t work on my own name. But I had to work to live and I did it on the name of a Romanian colleague” (V, 24 years old) They can’t benefit from the facilities offered by the right to permanent sojourn which can’t be accessed during their studies in Romania 27 . Also, if after they finish their studies they choose to obtain the definitive permit of sojourn, only half of their studying period of the years in Romania is taken into consideration 28 .

The scholarship quantum: 40$ for high school students and 50$ for university students per

month. 25

Source: http://www.md-ro.org/?ref=archive-economic-2007-01-05-1 Source: OUG no. 56/2007 regarding the working status and displacement of aliens on Romanian territory 27 Source: Clause 70, paragraph 1 from OUG no. 194/20023 regarding the aliens regime in Romania reissued in 2008 28 Source: Clause 71, paragraph 1 from OUG no. 194/2002 regarding the aliens regime in Romania reissued in 2008 26

Migration and Development

IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS Many of the Basarabeans wishing o study in Romania consider that the present Law is restrictive forcing them to work on the black market to cover their expenses for staying in the country. However, obtaining a diploma from an approved educational institution in Romania represent for many Moldavians the hope of obtaining a better job ensuring them thusly a more promising future, no matter where they would live after finishing their studies - especially if we think that the Romanian diplomas could be approved in the European Union. At a perceptive level, many of the Basarabean students from Romania consider that the Romanian state has a clear strategy and a pre-established purpose in granting scholarships to the Moldavian students.

“The Romanian state does not want us here. They want that after we finish our studies to return to Moldavia and to promote there the Romanian culture.” (G, student in Bucharest)

THE RIGHT TO WORK The right to work on Romanian territory is regulated by the law 203/1999 modified by OUG no. 56/2007, at the present time not being facilities to employ the Basarabean citizens who studied in Romania. As any other foreigner, they need a working license obtained from the Romanian Office for Immigration for the file with all the necessary documents. Until 2008, the Moldavian citizens had to prove that they are paid with medium salary on economy, situation discouraging many of them to find an adequate job. Employing a Moldavian citizen implied big costs, both from the employee (folder taxes and 200 Euro) and form the employer who had to pay supplementary taxes to the State and to prove that he didn’t find a Romanian candidate for the respective job. Base on the work authorization one obtained the visa for working purpose or the permit for working purpose. During they period of staying in Romania, the Basarabean citizens don’t have the right to have two or more jobs at the same time, even if some of them are part time jobs. Also, when changing the employer, they need to obtain a new working authorization, fact which implied new procedures with the respective costs 29 . After some Law modifications, the foreign citizens abide presently to the same salary requirements as the Romanian citizens, fact which partially helped them to obtain a job. But still, because the employment of a foreigner request supplementary resources from the employer “many prefers not to complicate themselves and they think you have to be very good or to accept to work a lot for few money to obtain the job” (S.C., 22 years). This is the main reason for which most of the Basarabean in Romania have to obey the conditions imposed by the employer even if when those are heavy or incorrect. 29

The periods of waiting to obtain a new authorization for work are about 2 - 3 months from the moment of the demission from the previous working place

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Also, before the introduction of the visa system, many Basarabeans used to work in agriculture on seasons, and also in some industrial sectors from Romania. Now this process have been stopped, most of the people having to work in the Russian federation to ensure their expenses for sustenance and to sent their children to school.

SMALL TRAFFIC AT THE ROMANIAN - MOLDAVIAN BORDER

Beginning with 1991, during the economical recession in the republic of Moldavia, the small border traffic was one of the only resources of income especially for the people living near the Romanian border. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many sold agricultural products in Romania which was their only market and from where they got their incomes. Those who had whole orchards loaded also trucks fro Russia or Ukraine. But the common people who had only a few yards they went to Iasi because from there they had to go about half an hour to get there. This was the main source of living for most who were unemployed or the retired. Now they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go anymore in Romania and they no longer cultivate those fields and the fruits are more expensive also at home because we have to bring them from other regions. Many of those ho use to sell in Romania are getting poorer and can hardly make the ends meet because the small producers from the border area disappeared from the markets.â&#x20AC;? (Maier, village Petresti).

According to the Regulation no. 1931 adopted by the European Parliament and the EU Council, the member states have the right to sign bilateral agreements regarding the small border traffic with third parties. Based on this agreement, the Moldavians who live on a radius of 30-50 km on the border area with Romania could obtain a pass for a sojourn of maximum 3 months. But because Romania refused to recognize the existence of the Moldavian language and to sign the Border treaty to juridical document the Romanian Moldavian border, the Government in Chisinau refuses to sign the Convention regarding the small border traffic. Because of the relationships often of a conflict nature between Bucharest and Chisinau and to the incapacity of the two parts to reach an agreement, some hundreds of thousands Basarabeans living in the border area have to wait until they will be able to gain a profit from selling their products in Romania.

Migration and Development

IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS

ALIEN IN ROMANIA According to OUG no. 194/2002 regarding the alien status in Romania, reissued in 2008, the alien is any “person who has not the Romanian citizenship or the citizenship of another State member in EU or the European Economical Space” 30 . Even if according to the actual Law the Moldavian citizens are now considered aliens on Romanian territory, many of them consider that their nation is a factor more relevant than the citizenship when discussing the rights they would have to benefit from the Romanian state. From historical reasons they consider that the border with Romania should be more permissive than the other European borders.

“We are all part of the same nation even if some of us are called Moldavians and the others Romanians. We have the same roots, the same language, the same holydays, relatives living in Romania and children studying there.” (R.T.)

taking into account the precarious economical context in the Republic of Moldavia, many of the young Basarabeans wish to establish in Romania at least until they will have better conditions to develop in Moldavia. But, once arrived in Romania they are forced to adapt quickly too the context here especially if we are taking into account the small perceptible differences or the Romanian lack of information who made them feel discriminated in their destination country.

“Many Romanians, especially those with few studies, associate the Moldavians with the Russians. I don’t know wherefrom that logic come, even if Moldavia has good relationships with Russia. Anyway, because of that you are considered different by many… more like a Russian that that a Romanian.” 31

The language differences are often a reason for the discrimination of the Basarabeans both in their relations with the Romanian citizens and also with the representatives of the State institutions that often operates with the stereotypes founded often in reporting to the Other who is different from himself.

OUG no. 194/2002, Clause 2, paragraph a) Source: Maramures Gazette (5.3.2007) - interview with Ghenadie Brega, president of ONG Hyde Park 31

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“People don’t understand that even if we talk differently or we use words from the Russian language, mainly we have the same language. Some, when they hear us talking immediately they consider us Basarabeans and they look and they treat us differently. They have the impression that we are drunkards and fighters and that our girls are whores. […] I try not to believe that it is discrimination but only senseless prejudices.” (S.C., 22 years old)

The young Basarabeans are permanently subjected to a process of negotiating and renegotiating of their identity trying to live between two worlds lead by governmental systems behaving sometimes irrational without considering the implications the decisions they take on a high level may have on the common people. “Many students and graduates from high schools do not find their place in Romania, a State with European pretensions, but who has a series of discriminating laws towards those unknown Romanians, neither in the Republic of Moldavia where, surely, the young generation I regarded with suspicion, being excluded from the decisions taking process.” Because sometimes the years spend in Romania make those youngsters to change, their return to Moldavia has often implication generally positively valorized, they being able to balance the differences and the advantages and disadvantages which put their mark upon the live of the people on the two sides of the Prut. “At home we are ours, but here we are somehow strangers even if we are Romanians. […]. I think that the Basarabeans would return home if they would be able to make themselves a future there. For now however some things have to change there, even if here many things didn’t change for the better. I think that we can influence a change in Moldavia, even from here.”

Migration and Development

IMMIGRANT IN ROMANIA - PERSPECTIVES AND RISKS

CONCLUSIONS

• The immigration in Romania is based on the patterns of any migration in the beginning phase in Europe. The problems of the immigrants in Romania are similar to those the Romanian immigrants meet in Spain or Italy. The way Romania would manage to regulate this immigration will decide the evolution in time of the phenomenon. • The immigration in Romania is mainly an economical one, either because the decision of the individual depends at start on a complex of factors (political causes, reuniting with the family, studies, etc.), mostly the immigrants desire a fast integration on the Romanian working force market, their status having valences correlated with the economical migration. • Now the immigration is on an individual level, and the immigrants arrive to Romania on its own or are aided by recruitment firms to find a job. There is a migration network which operates in Romania through the small investors/small entrepreneurs who either bring friends, family members or workers but ht emigration nets made by the foreign workers are still undeveloped and we do not have detailed information on their way of working; however, once these will develop. It is to be expected that the immigration will grow. • The immigrants problems and their vulnerability in front of the employers are generally connected to the barrier of language, cultural differences, lack of social relationships in Romania and a non-existent set if information regarding he rights and obligations they have. All these can be ameliorated by structures, programs and politics especially dedicated by the authorities who would provide an attention and supplementary protection to the immigrants.

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