PRIMTS – Prospects for Integration of Migrants from »Third Countries« and their Labour Market Situations: Towards Policies and Action

Many migrants from “third countries” are recruited to the European Union labour markets for unskilled labour. They contribute to the growth of the EU economy by filling in positions that are unattractive to the “native” workforce, responding to job demands where many are exposed to abuse, violations of contracts or exploitation in the informal market. Current integration policies declare integration as a two-way process that should equalize the migrants’ opportunities with those of the “nationals.” However, these policies often remain at the descriptive level, lacking mechanisms that would enable and accelerate integration.

The PRIMTS project responds to these challenges by considering precarious labour market positions of “third country nationals” and analyses these from the perspective of integration bills with the purpose to contribute to long-term benefits of “third country nationals,” particularly male and female workers in lower sectors of economy. A further objective is to establish proposals for comparable flexible integration policies at the EU level tailored to specific needs of “third country nationals” who are faced with deskilling and hardship in the labour market. A central assumption is that integration policies should attend to the agency of the persons involved.

The analysis covers six EU member states: Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Slovenia.

Project leaders: Vlasta Jalušić in Mojca Pajnik
Project coworkers: Sanja Herič, Jasminka Dedić, Neža Kogovšek Šalamon, Veronika Bajt and Jasna Babić