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The Unstoppable Force: Capital’s Demand for Migrant Labour

“Before Giorgia Meloni became Italy’s prime minister, she pledged to cut immigration. Since she has been in government the number of non-EU work visas issued by Italy has increased”. This is how The Economist of April 26th summarises the schizophrenia of their politics; and this is not only true in Italy: “Net migration also surged in post-Brexit Britain”.

The needs of the economic system do not coincide with the rhetoric of parliamentarism. And vice versa.

Schizophrenia and imbalances in their politics

Returning to Italy, the Bank of Italy has pointed out that by 2040, in just fifteen years, there will be a shortage of five million people of working age, which could lead to an estimated 11% contraction in GDP.

This is why even Italy’s “sovereignist” government is preparing to widen the net of its Immigration Flow Decree. The latest update, approved on June 30th, provides for the entry of almost 500,000 immigrants in the three-year period 2026-28, including 267,000 seasonal workers in the agricultural and tourism sectors. This is 10% more than the previous decree.

But where ideology takes a backseat, structural imbalances throw a spanner in the works: of the 136,000 places available in 2023, only 26,000 — less than one in five — have resulted in a “residence contract”, the last step before a “residence permit”. The consequence is that “many workers who entered our country legally have remained in a limbo of irregularity that leads to undeclared work and exploitation” [Il Sole-24 Ore, June 30th]. The process is so long that even employers are complaining, especially in agriculture, where seasonal workers risk being available only after the season is over.

The problem is not unique to Italy. In France, entrepreneurs criticise the long delays — more than a year after the law was passed — in publishing the list of “jobs in demand”, which provides for an expedited regularisation process in order to address labour shortages. According to Le Monde [May 23rd], this delay is also due to the fact that the current minister of the interior, Bruno Retailleau, had led a battle against residence permits for professions facing labour shortages, when he was the leader of Les Républicains in the Senate.

In Germany, entrepreneurs are concerned about the Polish government’s decision to reintroduce border controls, even for commuters who travel from Poland to work in German companies: “If [the workers] cannot get there on time, there is an increased risk that they will change jobs permanently, resulting in a shortage of skilled labour in Brandenburg”, complains Helena Melnikov, director of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry [Handelsblatt, July 7th]. However, it should be noted that the Polish initiative is itself a response to the Berlin government’s rejection of asylum seekers.

In the United States, the deportation campaign that accompanied Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric has been met with explicit opposition from business leaders, alarmed by the lack of manpower and brainpower. The Federal Reserve of Dallas expresses the fears of capital: “A sharp tightening of immigration policies has the potential to substantially reduce output growth” [The Wall Street Journal, July 10th].

An unstoppable force

The problem is strategic. The Economist again refers to the “great African migration”, which contrasts with the demographic decline of developed countries and, increasingly, of countries that have hitherto been major exporters of labour, such as Mexico and the Philippines, which are “getting older and richer”. As a result, African migration “is an unstoppable force that […] will help define the 21st century”. The magazine warns European political leaders: “Ignore it at your peril – and at your loss”. It concludes: “Africans need jobs; the rest of the world needs workers. That confluence of interests is a massive opportunity, if only both sides have the good sense to seize it”.

It should be noted that some agreements are already moving in this direction. The Economist cites the agreement signed by Kenya with Germany: the African country will provide a “legal” workforce, undertaking to accept the return of “illegal” workers, while the Germans promise support for language learning and vocational training.

As we have already reported, agreements for on-site training of potential workers have also been signed in Africa by Italian business associations. After all, the need for immigrant labour is a basic reality. Unioncamere (the Italian Union of Chambers of Commerce) reports that between 2021 and 2026, one in three Italian companies has hired or plans to hire foreign workers from outside the EU. However, the most significant picture of the current situation and its dynamics is the one provided by the INPS, in its latest annual report of July 2025.

The real change in our class

In the private sector, more than 16% of employees are foreigners, but this figure rises to one in four among factory workers and apprentices. In the sector that is somewhat pompously referred to as made in Italy (textiles, footwear, furniture), non-Italians account for 24% of the workforce; this percentage rises to 26% in the hospitality and catering sector, and to 27% in construction. However, the percentage reaches 40% in agriculture and up to 73% for domestic workers and carers. This is only counting regularised workers, thus excluding undeclared work, which, also due to the aforementioned imbalances, is most widespread among foreign workers.

Even more telling are the figures that express the dynamics of the phenomenon. Half of the increase in INPS-insured workers between 2019 and 2024 was represented by non-EU citizens. While in 2019 foreigners accounted for 13.5% of private sector employees, just five years later they account for almost three percentage points more, 16.2%, and among workers aged around 37–38, 21%, or one in five. These are all signs of a growth which, in the words of The Economist, is an “unstoppable force”.

The British weekly magazine also confirms the interest in an orderly and selective entry of the foreign workforce. It estimates that there are 900 million people worldwide who would like to migrate permanently, but many, finding it difficult to do so legally, circumvent the problem by applying for asylum, counting on the lengthy processing times. Hence the call to “scrap the asylum system” [The Economist, July 12th]: tighten the rules, send applicants to third countries (Giorgia Meloni’s “Albania model” enjoys undeserved support), and instead ensure an “orderly influx of talent”.

Capitalist selection and internationalist unity

Confirmation comes from Germany. The economic newspaper Handelsblatt [July 21st] warns the government: “Limiting irregular [immigration] is certainly essential, but it is also clear that Europe needs immigration, especially skilled immigration”. Therefore, European ministers “should focus” on how to “facilitate” these entries.

The game is up: selecting “talent” based on the needs of capital. There are those who succeed at the game, putting up a tough act on illegal migrants so that they can get away with recruiting the migrants they need. And then there are those who do not even get past the “tough act”, partly because of their own political imbalances.

Our welcoming of migrants, on the other hand, is of a completely different nature, because it stems from a class perspective: the unity of all wage earners, wherever they come from and whatever their reasons for moving.

Lotta Comunista, July-August 2025

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