A compulsory civic integration course for labour migrants, even more emphasis on knowledge of the Dutch language and steps towards policies that require migrants to return something to society to match what they receive in Flanders: the new Flemish government is tightening up policy on the integration of newcomers and people with a migration background. Read more on the plans and intentions for the next five years here.
Home News
New Flemish government: compulsory integration courses for labour migrants and stricter requirements on Dutch
‘Our goal is clear: newcomers should be able to fend for themselves in a society where good neighbourliness comes first and where everyone does their part,’ say officials close to Hilde Crevits (Flemish Christian democrat/CD&V), the integration minister in the new Flemish government.
However, the chapter on integration is one of the shortest in the coalition’s government agreement: four and a half pages. The integration procedure for newcomers and migrants underwent reform during the previous parliament. Today, according to the OECD, the organisation of the world’s most industrialised countries, Flanders has one of the most comprehensive integration programmes in the world. The new Flemish government is eager to build on what has already been achieved.
Two new concrete measures are certain to be introduced: labour migrants from outside the European Union will have to take a compulsory integration course and the requirements for the knowledge of the Dutch language will be raised.
More controversial are plans for a study to discover ‘for which Flemish social support the government can require a residence requirement of at least 5 years.’
The rest of the text of the government’s accord on integration consists mainly of a number of intentions without any concrete objectives or plans of action says VRT’s integration expert Marjan Temmerman. Plenty of work still needs to done. The integration of low-skilled women is described as ‘difficult’. Flanders also still has fewer newcomers in work than other EU states and performs under the European average.
Compulsory integration for labour migrants
Work is the main reason why people migrate to Flanders. From now on, migrants from outside the European Union who arrive here to work at the invitation of an employer will be obliged to follow an integration programme. Until now, this obligation only applied to people arriving here as part of family reunifications or as recognised refugees.
‘It is something we have been seeking for some time,’ notes Jan Knockaert of Fairwork Belgium, an organisation that defends the rights of migrant workers. ‘Migrant workers today are not aware of their rights and obligations. Some employers abuse this and employ migrants in poor conditions and at wages that are illegal.’
Flemish integration starts in country of origin!
The new government also wants prospective newcomers to start an integration programme in their country of origin. Last year, pilot projects were initiated, for labour migrants and for people involved in family reunifications. These pilots will be rolled out further and could become compulsory.
‘Not a good idea,’ thinks Pascal Debruyne, a researcher specialising in asylum and migration at Odisee, the university of applied sciences. ‘That way you are keeping families apart longer. That is bad for integration. Migrants will invest less in a future here as long as they don't know if and when their families can join them.’ In other words, it slows down the integration process.
Fairwork also fears that secondments will become even more attractive as a result. By focusing on regular labour migration that is exactly what the Flemish government wants to prevent. Under secondment arrangements, EU citizens come to work here, but are still subject to the social security and working conditions of their home country. This makes workers more vulnerable to fraud and exploitation. This is a route that also allows people from outside the EU to come to Belgium. Brazilians can come here via EU member Portugal!
Getting to work quickly and sustainably
Work is important to achieve successful integration, the coalition agreement states. Getting newcomers into work quickly is one thing. But it’s even more important that newcomers end up sustainable jobs. That is why the new Flemish government wants to remove several barriers to the labour market.
Today, for instance, it takes months before people get their foreign diplomas recognised. This should happen more quickly the new government believes. It is an objective that was also mentioned in previous government accords. No target date for recognition to be given is included in the accord.
‘Faster diploma recognition is definitely important, but it doesn't stop there,’ Dries Lens, migration researcher at the University of Antwerp tells VRT. ‘Foreign master's degrees are often only recognised here as bachelor's degrees. As a result, many newcomers are forced to follow additional studies in higher education, but the referral and guidance of newcomers to higher education is very difficult.’
In addition, low-skilled people who are not in permanent work may be obliged to take vocational training or second-chance education courses. ‘Specifically, we are looking at training for jobs on the occupation shortage list’ the coalition agreement reads.
Tests on discrimination on the shop floor in every sector should in turn reduce discrimination, although it remains to be seen whether anything will actually be done with the results of these tests. Former Flemish employment minister Jo Brouns (Christian democrat/CD&V) had measurements on discrimination per sector carried out last year. Not all sectors were happy with this. The results of the measurements were never published, so no further follow-up could be given to tackle any discrimination.
Stricter on Dutch
Knowledge of Dutch is crucial, according to the new government. This is why it is increasing the requirements for those following an integration programme: newcomers must achieve level B1 on oral tests. That is advanced knowledge, with correct sentence structures and an extensive everyday vocabulary. Today, that level is only compulsory for those who have not found work after two years.
Across the education sector more attention will be paid to Dutch language skills. This includes a ‘language bath’ or immersion class for children in primary education whose mother tongue is not Dutch. Parents who do not want to learn Dutch may even lose the school grant for their children.
Moreover, anyone renting social housing will also have to be better at Dutch (level B1 will be required instead of A2).
Social support for newcomers could be withdrawn?
There are also plans for the new Flemish integration minister Hilde Crevits to investigate ‘for which Flemish social support the government can introduce a residence requirement of at least 5 years.’
Social support that falls under the jurisdiction of the Flemish government includes child allowance, social protection and school grants. The government will examine whether it is legal to exclude some residents on the basis of the length of time spent in the country. Social support would then only be available after five years.
‘It’s hard to reconcile this plan with the obligation for low-skilled people to take training courses as part of their integration programme. These will often be full-time courses. So the question is how they will then be able to manage financially,’ Dries Lens wonders.
‘The new government's plans on integration are unbalanced,’ he says. ‘On the one hand, there is an assumption that newcomers do not want to integrate. This prompts the government to impose all kinds of additional requirements. On the other hand, they take few concrete measures to remove barriers that make it difficult for newcomers to participate in integration offerings.’