Romanians Forced in the Illegal Job Market by Spain’s 2-Yr Moratorium

Romanian construction workers build court houses, bridges, supermarkets and holiday homes all over Spain. However, the Spanish Government introduced a two-year moratorium on the free movement of Romanian workers on Spain’s job market. Some 41% of the Romanian workers in Catalonia are still working on the black market.

In Catalonia, Spain, some 41% of the Romanian workers go on the black job market because Spain limits their access on the legal job market

Romanian construction workers build court houses, bridges, supermarkets and holiday homes all over Spain. However, the Spanish Government introduced a two-year moratorium on the free movement of Romanian workers on Spain’s job market. Some 41% of the Romanian workers in Catalonia are still working on the black market.

Those already in Spain waited for Romania’s European Union accession on January 1st as to their life-changing event, expecting it to allow them work legally in that country.
But this was not to happen: scared by an estimated flood of workers, Spanish authorities ask Romanians willing to engage in lucrative activities to file for a work permit.

Many Romanians gave up on turning their lives around, and chose to stay on the black job market.

The law is pretty clear: Romanians who travel for tourism or study, or those that held residential status and had work permits for one year or longer, should stay calm.
There are no changes for them.
But those arriving after January 1st have only a right to reside in Spain, not one to work. That is unless they hold a "tarjeta de trabajo", or work visa.

The employer should first present his job offer to the Office for foreigners in the province his business resides; then the employees file their applications for resident status and work permit, if they want to work longer than three months.
But prior to all the above, the prospective legally employed worker should get his or her "empadronamiento," or listing in the Spain’s population roster. This, however, requires the applicant to have a permanent address, while rents go from 600 euros upwards in the Barcelona area.

An electrical worker I met at the church Romanians gather in Barcelona said he was accepting to work illegally, while waiting for the past three months for his papers to be processed. "Things are not that bad; one can still find work without proper documentation, in spite of the hefty fines employers have to pay in case they are caught breaking the law - the fines go up to 80,000 euros," explained the man, who did not want to be named.

"We work in less visible areas, and when the construction site is in a crowded area, those documented work on the outside, and those with no proper papers work inside the building," he said.

Romanian workers I met at the Triumph Arch, in Barcelona, said they did not understand why the two years moratorium was enforced, since Romanians did not crowd Spain as media reported they would, and the need for "paletas", meaning workers who are ready to skip lunch and put in 10 hours of work a day, stays high in the Spanish economy.

Another Romanian worker who wanted to stay unnamed presented a different situation: of the documented workers who are not that well liked by their employers, who would rather cut the expenses with the workforce employing illegal workers. "The employer does his best to alienate us, the 12 documented Romanian workers he has on his payroll, to make us leave prior to our six-month contract," the man said.

Aida Stoian is a Romanian-born contractor in Barcelona, employing 35 documented Romanians. "One cannot take the risk of running the business with infringing the law," she said. Stoian said that many Spanish contractors complained at the Work Ministry about the moratorium on the Romanian workforce, but they did not get many satisfactory answers.
Stoian said she would never hire Spanish workers, for no other reason but the more relaxed work ethics they have.
"To Spanish workers there is no such thing like skipping the lunch break, or putting in 10 hours of work daily." At one point we had some of them stranded on a construction site because the security personnel was unaware they worked overtime, and closed the gates to the site.
She said she paid the workers 7 to 10 euros per hour.

The Secretary for Immigration said Romanians filing an application with it are of two kinds: those having their "tarjeta" expired, and those that have no papers and need an entry visa.
"This could be done here too, but the applicant must first get the residency permit, and then wait for six to seven months for the work visa too," said Gassan Saliba, spokesperson for the Secretary for Immigration in Barcelona.
According to the data held by Spanish authorities, some 41% of Romanian workers are employed illegally.

Josep Planells, government delegate, said the job market in Spain was very fluid, and this was the reason why the moratorium on Romanian workers was enforced.

Romanians understand the reasoning behind the Spanish authorities’ move: they know most of those coming to Barcelona and its region, Catalonia, do not do it for travel and pleasure.
"In two years since being in Barcelona I saw only one of these famous churches - San-I-do-not-know-who. I mounted some doors there," said yet another Romanian worker.