Mallorca report: migrants do not take Spanish jobs

Migrants do not push Spanish workers out of jobs, benefits or public services, according to a report presented in Palma, Mallorca, on Thursday 24 September. The Economic and Social Council (CES) says migration boosts Spain's economy when it is properly managed. CES president Antón Costas said migrant workers support, rather than replace, Spanish employees.

Many migrants arrive with limited qualifications and work chiefly in tourism, the primary sector and construction, Costas said. The report is based mainly on data on regular migration, as reaching people who arrived without regular status proved more difficult.

Pay gap narrows, services not overloaded

Migrant workers initially earn less than Spanish workers, but their conditions become similar after four or five years, the report says. It attributes the early gap to limited knowledge of Spain's economy and weaker social networks, while adding that there is generally no discrimination.

Costas said migrants taking lower-skilled jobs can move Spanish workers into better-paid roles with improved conditions. He said productivity in Spain's economy has risen for several years alongside immigration.

Migrants use hospitals more often than primary care, according to the report, but this does not overload health services for Spaniards. Applications for financial support, including the minimum income benefit, are at a similar level among migrants and Spanish nationals, CES said.

Spain grows less tolerant of immigration

CES says attitudes towards immigration in Spain have become less tolerant. Spain had long stood apart in Europe for its level of tolerance, but the council says that is changing.

Most of Spain's ten million migrants live in Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Region of Murcia, the Community of Madrid, the Balearic Islands and Andalusia's Mediterranean coast. Costas said that where migrants account for more than 20 per cent of the population, it is more accurate to speak of saturation than concentration.

He called for migration policies that prevent public services from being overwhelmed in particular areas while preserving immigration's economic contribution. Secretary of State for Migration Pilar Cancela also called for greater political agreement and criticised hate speech aimed at migrants.

Topics: Court cases · Migration · Sea & coast · Social affairs · Jobs & labour · Health · Tourism · Palma

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com