Undocumented
âOnly foreigners work here, he confesses. Itâs hard work and poorly paid. Sixteen hours a day for the minimum wage. You keep going because they give you a contract, that is needed for a permit.â Amit Kumar, originating from India is 32 years old and works since 2013 in Portugal. First in horticulture in the Algarve and after that in a restaurant in Belem. Although he is paying tax and social security, he runs the risk of being expelled as he canât prove to have entered the country in a legal way. In 2017 he falls ill and has to be admitted to hospital for a week. Being unable to pay the bill, he asks his uncle in India for help. âI was supposed to support my family over there, not the other way around.â
When he returns to work, he discovers he is fired.
The ruling socialist party wants the government to speed up the legalization of undocumented immigrants, who have been working for more than a year and paid tax and social security. Even if they have entered the country illegally. The party invokes on Article 123 in the Aliens Act, which permits residency for foreigners on humanitarian grounds.
The reason for the amendment was the large-scale demonstration in May, when immigrants gathered before Parliament, expressing that they were treated like second-rank citizens, even though they paid tax and social insurance.
âIt concerns a group of approximately 30.000 people, who have work commitments but no rights whatsoeverâ, explains Flora Silva, president of the solidarity organization Olho Vivo (www.olho-vivo.org). âMost of them are from Lisbon but also from the Algarve, where many people from Nepal and Indonesia work in agriculture.
âThe law doesnât promote the integration of immigrants, who work here for many years but are not treated as human beingsâ, says TimĂłteo Macedo, president of Solidaridade Imigrante (Solim). âOur Government argues, that we need more immigrants for our economy. Fine. They are already here, just come and see!â
Research by Solim in April showed that illegal immigrants pay on average 6 times more for a visit to the Emergency Department and 8 times more for a doctorâs consultation in Primary Health Care, than legal employees. âWhen undocumented workers pay their social securityâ, Macedo points out, âthere shouldnât be any difference at all, isnât it?â
Bom fim de semana      Enjoy the weekend            (pic PĂșblico)