“Undocumented Immigrants Are an Exploitable Workforce at the Beck and Call of the Bosses.”

What effect do undocumented workers have on the French economy ?

Thomas Coutrot : You have to avoid mixing up illegal workers, immigrant workers and undocumented workers. According to the on the job health and safety agency and the police, fewer than 15% of the violations for illegal work concern undocumented workers. As a consequence, the phenomenon remains a minor one. As to the effect of immigrant workers on the economy, it has been possible to note increased competition on the labor market, for relatively unskilled jobs. But this remains insignificant. And at the macroeconomic level, the negative consequences are non-existent. On the contrary, it is known today that immigration elsewhere, which is much higher than in France, has greatly stimulated economic growth. Finally, the polemic concerning whether undocumented workers pay taxes is pointless, because even when they don’t pay taxes, they remain consumers who pay value added tax and thus participate in the national expenses.

So there aren’t any economic arguments against legalizing undocumented workers ?

Thomas Coutrot : No. Those who are opposed to legalization do so in the name of the never-ending argument of the “in-draft”, the old fantasy that imagines that, if the undocumented workers are legalized, it is going to boost immigration. This idea, which has never been scientifically demonstrated, serves to justify every excess. In reality, undocumented workers represent, above all, an exploitable workforce that is at the beck and call of the bosses. They can be paid, without any qualms, under the social minimums. In this, they represent a means of lowering overall wages. This is the dream of the free-marketers : a discrete way of getting around the system that protects labor.

What do you think of the bosses who declare themselves to be in solidarity with their undocumented workers.

Thomas Coutrot : Some of them must be sincere. But to the degree that the only goal in employing an undocumented worker is improving a company’s profitability, I see, above all, a maneuver to maintain their brand image. Nobody is “forced” to employ an undocumented worker to assure the survival of his or her company. The idea that the underground economy is necessary is false.

What conclusions do you draw from this struggle ?

Thomas Coutrot : In my opinion, one of the most important questions raised by this affair is the general pressure on costs that are put on suppliers and subcontractors. The fall in prices sometimes amounts to 4% a year ! Consequently, we have been arguing for years in favor of making the order- givers responsible. They are indirectly responsible for the excesses of the companies that they are pressuring. In a more general way, there is also the question of the North-South imbalance. Neo-con policies, like the deregulation of the agricultural markets, are being systematically applied in the countries that these workers come from. Let’s not kid ourselves : despite the repression, demographic pressures are certain to grow in the years to come.