Governament told, work permit will be given to all who have applied regularisation september 2009.

Several associations and human rights groups in Italy have thrown their weight behind irregular immigrants who have scaled cranes in Brescia and Milan asking to be regularised.

Protesters have vowed not to come down before the government decides to regularise and issue them work permits.

All they are asking for is for the government to recognise their right to a dignified life.

An irregular immigrant in Italy can’t live a dignified life because without the permit, he/she is considered nonexistent by the State. The simple presence of one in the national territory without the permit is an offence punishable by a fine ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 Euros, and expulsion.

Irregular immigrants are continuously exploited, mistreated, but they can hardly report to the authorities because they risk being arrested, detained and deported. They therefore suffer in silence.

In Milan, the protesters scaled a tower crane along Via Imbonati. All the associations and organisations supporting the protest have appealed to all to come to Via Imbonati and camp there as long as the protest lasts.

By obtaining work permits, immigrant workers will no longer be forced to do undeclared work. They’ll also become less vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous employers, and this will be beneficial to all, says Comitato Immigrati in Italia – Milano, the body coordinating the associations and organisations supporting the protest.

Together with the protesters, the associations and organizations are asking the government to issue work permits to all who applied to be regularized.

They are also asking the government to prolong the validity of job search permits to enable immigrants who have become unemployed to look for other jobs. The job search permit is currently valid for six months, and if after this period the holder hasn’t succeeded to find another job, he/she is required to leave the country. Regardless of how long one has been living legally and working in the country, once this permit expires, the holder becomes an irregular immigrant.

The protesters are also asking the government to issue permits to irregular immigrants who report employers who have refused to hire them regularly, and to victims of exploitation at work.

Other requests include a law that guarantees the right to asylum; a law that grants immigrants who have been resident for at least five years the right to vote; and a law that grants citizenship to children of immigrants born in the country, and to those who have grown up here.

The associations and organisations have called for a meeting on 14th November, at 11:00 near the tower at Via Imbonati 49. During the meeting they’ll draft a proposal for regularization of irregular immigrants to be presented to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The initiative has the backing of the following associations and organization: Ci siamo anche noi (Pavia), Dialogo (Milano), Convergenza delle culture (Milano), Movimento immigrati Primo Marzo, Arci Milano, Naga, Cub, Comitato Inquilini Molise Calvairate (Milano); Associazione Trama di Terre (Imola – Bo); Associazione Sant'Angelo Solidale Onlus; Asgi - Associazione Studi Giuridici sull'Immigrazione; redazione di MilanoX; Gruppo EveryOne, Watching The Sky; La Ruota Rossa; Anne's Door; Generazione Italia Milano, Sezione Diritti Umani; Forum Cittadini del Mondo (Grosseto); SICET/Bovisa (Milano); Coordinamento Nord Sud del Mondo (Milano); Ass. Baobab di Opera (MI); Spazio Aperto Multietnico di Milano; Comunità del Messaggio di Silo "la città nascosta"; Luciano Muhlbauer (Prc Milano); Centro Culturale Multietnico La Tenda (Milano); José Luis Tagliaferro – NuestrAmerica; Massimo De Giuli – Milano; Rosa Cammarata, Palermo; Rete Milanese per il Boicottaggio, Disinvestimento e Sanzioni nei confronti dello stato di Israele; Associazione Umanista L'albero della vita onlus; Asnada onlus; Maria Luisa Tornesello; Partito Umanista di Milano; Rete Antirazzista Catanese; CNCA Lombardia; Partito della Rifondazione Comunista (Federazione di Milano); Sportello Immigrati USB di Pisa; Massimo De Giuli – (Mi); Raffaella Manzo; Giulio Cengia (Mi), Emergency; Gruppo bovisateatro (Mi); Le radici e le ali ONLUS; Rete Scuole Senza Permesso.