Seasonal Work in Italy: Flexibility and Regularisation

Abstract

Immigration into Italy for the purpose of work is a quite new phenomenon in the general landscape of migrations which have interested, and still interest, European countries. In Italy, the transition from emigration country to immigration country took place in 1975, when, for the first time since the unification of the country (1870), the migratory balance showed 200,000 arrivals more than departures. Approximately 20 years on, this foreign presence has multiplied by a factor of five1 such was the impact of the new arrivals — first on an illegal basis, but attaining legal status during a second period. The importance of the foreign presence became evident after the promulgation of the regularisation laws (No. 943 in 1986 and No. 39 in 1990), and the family reunification, family reasons and study permits. Laws 943 and 39 have given a legal status to foreigners in general and to immigrant workers in particular. They have also ‘legitimised’ this presence in Italy, introducing the ‘universal’ principle of equality of rights as well as rights on an economic and civil footing, independent of national origin. Italy may therefore be considered, from all points of view, a country of immigration with inward flows from the developing countries and from Eastern Europe, representing around 180 nationalities, distributed across the national territory.