Alex Trelinski
MIGRANT workers in Spain earn 29.3% less on average than locals according to a Norwegian-led study published on Wednesday.
Are Skeie Hermansen from the University of Oslo coordinated the survey with research over a dozen universities worldwide with the IESE Business School providing Spanish statistics.
The wages gap in Spain is comparable to that in Canada(27.5%) but far higher than that of other European countries including Germany, Norway, and Sweden.
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The average figure is around 18%.
The gap is caused by problems for immigrants in getting better-paid jobs in various sectors, professions, and companies.
Also there is some evidence of migrants getting lower pay for doing the same job.
The results published in Nature magazine analysed data from employers and employees of 13.5 million people in nine migrant-receiving countries in Europe and North America.
“We show that the segregation of immigrant-origin workers into lower-wage jobs accounts for roughly three-quarters of the total immigrant-native wage gap,” the study states.
It also confirms that migrants often face problems in the work market, while their children manage to progress.
The report highlights the importance of policies aimed at reducing job segregation, such as language training, job training, job search assistance programs, improved access to national education, recognition of foreign qualifications, and settlement programmes aimed at improving access to information and networks.
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