The president of the centre-right opposition Partido Popular , Alberto Núñez Feijóo, will unveil a migration plan based on ‘order, legality and humanity’ which could have implications for Britons wishing to work in Spain should the PP form the next government. Feijóo has already revealed some of his measures, such as a points-based visa conditional on jobs where there is a labour shortage; linking the Minimum Living Income (IMV) to active job seeking; limiting the principle of residence by roots for migrants, giving priority to employment contracts; and centralising immigration powers in a single authority instead of the current five ministries.
Immigration has been ranked among the main problems facing the general public, according to the CIS. In this October’s barometer, concern about housing and employment reached record levels, while concern about immigration fell compared to the previous month. The PP leadership stresses that its immigration policy is ‘aligned’ with that of other European countries. ‘Neither open doors, which means uncontrolled immigration policy, which is what the PSOE practises (...), nor mass deportations because immigration is necessary,’ the PP’s deputy secretary for Institutional Regeneration, Cuca Gamarra, recently told Europa Press.
One of Feijóo’s main proposals is a points-based visa for immigrants, in which the ‘principle of cultural proximity’ will be taken into account, as stated on Monday by the PP’s deputy secretary for Sectoral Coordination, Alma Ezcurra. In addition, the PP proposes temporary hiring of immigrants in a ‘legal and planned’ manner to cover seasonal campaigns and with a ‘guaranteed return within a specified period,’ especially in sectors such as agriculture and construction, according to party sources who spoke to Europa Press.
On Monday, Ezcurra reviewed other measures in Feijóo’s migration plan, such as a ‘single authority’ on migration issues to address the ‘chaos that currently exists among the five ministries that currently hold this authority’; and a reform of the Penal Code and the Judiciary Act to prosecute mafias in international waters and ‘with harsher penalties’ for both human traffickers and their collaborators.
He also said that the plan includes a coordinated circular migration programme to cover agricultural and labour campaigns; age and nationality tests within 72 hours and the expulsion of those who falsify their identity; reform of the asylum system; reform of the arraigo (rooting) system; and the revocation of residence permits for those with criminal links. ‘In short, no walls of hatred, no open doors to abuse. Common sense, security and justice,’ Ezcurra emphasised.
Scores of businesses, including tour operators, in the tourist industry in Mallorca and across Europe, whether it is during the summer or winter seasons, have been hit by new complicated employment rules and regulations in the wake of Brexit and fresh calls are being made to the government to solve the problem.
ABTA – The Travel Association (ABTA) and Seasonal Businesses in Travel (SBiT) have revealed new research showing strong public support for securing a youth experience deal with the EU, as they urge the government to press ahead with negotiations with the EU following May’s UK-EU Summit.A new survey, commissioned by ABTA with YouGov, found that 76% of Britons support a deal with the EU to enable young people to work, live, and study overseas for temporary periods.
The poll found strong support amongst all voter types, with even 61% of those who voted to leave the EU in 2016 in favour of a deal on youth mobility. The associations say this matters for the health of the UK’s outbound travel sector, which brings more than £52bn a year in Gross Value Added to the UK economy, because many of the workers in the industry started their careers in temporary roles overseas and around two-thirds of all UK holidays overseas are taken within the EU annually.
Previous research by ABTA and SBiT, revealed over a third of all workers, and nearly half of industry leaders, worked in similar roles earlier in their careers. There has also been a notable fall in opportunities for young people to find these roles since the UK voted to leave the EU, with the number of UK nationals working in tourism support roles – such as travel reps, having fallen by 69% since then.