[Culturechat] Black work

[Vance Roy]

The term "black work" (Schwarzarbeit) is a current theme under 
discussion in CH. When I first came here, it seemed that to have to have 
a work permit, which I do not have, was one of those curiosities of 
living in a foreign country. After some thought, it became apparent that 
one has to have a permit to do legal work in the USA also. For most of 
us, this just amounts to being a citizen. The same holds true in CH.

If one works in the USA or in CH, one must either be a citizen of the 
respective country or one must have a permit from the government 
allowing the work. Black work costs each country money. Jobs for the 
legal worker are less available, more people collect unemployment 
insurance, less is paid into this insurance by employers, and there are 
health care and other tax consequences also. Some countries in Europe 
have a long history of "guest workers". Those people who are invited to 
come and work in the country legally but who must go back to their 
country when the job is over. Some of these fail to find their way back 
home. Much the same can be said for the USA with its foreign students.

The Swiss figure that they are currently losing about 37 billion CHF per 
year due to black work. I wonder what the figure would be in the USA in 
dollars?

A breakdown on black work percentages in several countries, highest to 
lowest:

Greece 
28.7%
Italy 
27.1%
Belgium 
22.2%
Germany 
16%
France 
15.2%
Britain 
12.7%
Japan 
11.2%
Austria 
9.8%
USA 
8.7% 

CH 
8.6%



-- 
Vance Roy
gigli.saw@dplanet.ch.