Access to apprenticeships for young irregular migrants
As the second chamber of parliament, on 14 September 2010 the Council of States (Senate) decided that, in future, juvenile undocumented immigrants will have the right to an apprenticeship in Switzerland. After a heated debate, a 23 against 20 majority agreed to the motion by the Geneva national councillor Luc Barthassat (CVP) that limits the respective right to juvenile sans-papiers who have received all their schooling in Switzerland. A motion that went even further was rejected by the council. The Federal Council will now have to rephrase the respective law.
- Sans-Papiers dürfen in die Lehre
Article in the Tages-Anzeiger, 14 September 2010 (pdf, 2 pages in German) - Protocol of the debate in the Council of States on the website of the parliamentary services
(in German and French only)
Federal Council holds on to hardship case clause
On 3 March 2010, the National Council (House of Representatives) had discussed several issues related to migration among which two motions in favour of extending apprenticeship programs to undocumented immigrants were accepted. As the Federal Council recommended its rejection, the parliamentary vote came as a surprise and was welcomed by most Swiss NGOs.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular Article 28, prescribes that in all signatory states shall grant children access to freely available and compulsory primary education. Up to the present, Switzerland did not live up to this regulation since children of undocumented immigrants were not allowed to start vocational training. It is the Federal Council's view that the hardship case clause is comprehensive enough to deal with individual cases and therefore there is no collision with the regulations of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. But the majority of both chambers of parliament were not convinced by this explanation.
Council of States undecided at first
During this year's summer session that Council of States took its time to come to a decision since it wanted to get a better picture on some key issues, such as the financing, the competences on the cantonal and federal levels as well as the acceptance of degrees.
Lausanne plays a pioneering role
After a controversial decision in mid-February, the city council of Lausanne opened its job training programs to four young undocumented migrants who grew up in Switzerland. Around 20 children of undocumented migrants finish the compulsory primary education every year if they do not continue into higher education. As Federal Law disallows authorities to give working permits to undocumented migrants after leaving school, around 20 children of sans-papiers leave school with no perspectives whatsoever. And this constitutes a clear breach of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Documentation
- National Council accepts the rights of undocumented immigrants
Flüchtlingshilfe, 3 March 2010 - Apprenticeships for undocumented immigrants
Platform of the German-speaking information centres for sans-papiers - Hope on the horizon for young illegal immigrants
swissinfo, 2 March 2010 - House keeps immigrant apprenticeships
World Radio Switzerland, 3 March 2010
Documents of the Parliament website in the national languages
- Régularisation des jeunes clandestins ayant suivi leur scolarité en Suisse
Motion (08.3835) by Christian van Singer (VD/Green Party, in French) - Accès à l'apprentissage pour les jeunes sans statut légal
Motion (08.3616) by Luc Barthassat (GE/CVP in French) - Respect de la Convention des droits de l'enfant pour les enfants sans statut légal
Motion (09.4236) by Antonio Hodgers (GE/Green Party in French)
Additional information
- Support for young “sans papiers” grows
swissinfo, 25 January 2010 - Epische Migrationsdebatte mit einigen Überraschungen
NZZ, 4 March 2010 (pdf, 2 pages, in German) - Lausanne probt den Aufstand im Asylwesen
NZZ, 23 February 2010 (pdf, 3 pages, in German)
Update: 16.09.2010
