Counteracting Labour Exploitation: The Italian Response to Undeclared Work by Migrants

This chapter analyses the legislative measures which address both undeclared work and the exploitation of migrant workers (whether legally employed or undocumented) in Italy. In particular, the chapter focuses on the Italian legislative provisions aimed at sanctioning: the employers of undocumented migrant workers, ie, workers without residence permits; those who recruit workers to be employed by third parties in conditions of exploitation, taking advantage of persons in a situation of need; those who makes use of, hire, or employ workers – including by means of illicit labour recruitment – and impose conditions of exploitation upon them, taking advantage of persons in a situation of need. The rest of the chapter starts by reflecting on the context of undeclared work by migrants in Italy (section II). It then examines the ways in which legislation concerning labour migration contributes to the irregular situation of many migrant workers (section III), before moving on to evaluate the sanctions aimed at tackling undeclared work and labour exploitation (sectionIV ).