Brief Review

Undocumented Workers

It is believed there are around 130.000 illegal immigrants living in Switzerland. Most are clandestinely employed and work in agriculture, hotels and restaurants, construction, as domestic help and in prostitution. According to professor Schneider of the University of Linz, there are around 90.000 clandestine workers in Switzerland.

The high cost of labour encourages businesses to hire undocumented workers, as companies avoid having to pay social and state costs, despite the low tax rates. In Switzerland undocumented workers are subject to a fine or forced departure, and may also be banned from re-entry. Still, compared with its neighbours and other industrialised nations, Switzerland has a relatively small illegal work sector. Though the government is trying to address the problem of undocumented workers, the low-skilled labour provided by these workers is what is helping the Swiss economy to thrive, so the government has tended to be less aggressive than they could be in eliminating illegal immigration.