ROME, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The United Kingdom's new immigration rules that favor skilled workers over blue-collar workers could send Italian waiters and pizza makers back to their home country to find work.
The UK formally left the European Union (EU), effective on Feb. 1, making it the first country to leave the now 27-nation bloc. The UK agreed to a year-long transition period to work out many of the details of the separation until the end of this year.
The stated goal, according to the new rules, is to give priority to "scientists, engineers, academics, and other highly-skilled workers." By most measures, that could leave many of the thousands of Italian-born restaurant workers living and working in the UK on the outside looking in.
The UK rules award points based on an array of factors that include age, English-language skills, professional qualifications and salary.
"High-skilled restaurant workers like chefs or sommeliers at top restaurants won't have a problem because they'll likely satisfy the minimum salary requirements," Gianni De Fraja, an Italian-born professor of economics at England's University of Nottingham, told Xinhua, adding "For lower-skilled restaurant workers, it could be more of a challenge."
De Fraja said the challenge could stem from the fact that they will have to compete on equal footing with workers from other parts of the world, as well as the difficulty of accumulating enough points to qualify for a residency permit.
"Things could change in the coming months but if they don't, lower-skilled workers will have to make some decisions," De Fraja noted.
The professor believes it is still possible some kind of bilateral deal could be struck between Italy and the UK for those already employed. But such a deal would not help workers who might come to the country looking for work in the future.
"What is clear is that the era for young Italian workers finding an easy job in a bar or pizza parlor in London for a year or two, that's probably finished," the professor said.
For those who don't manage to stay in the UK, a return to Italy could be in the cards. The slow growth of the Italian economy in recent years and a dramatic slowdown in the tourism sector due to the coronavirus could make it more difficult for restaurant workers to find a job.
"I can see a plus and a minus for a restaurant worker coming back to Italy from London," Mauro Castricone, a veteran pizzeria shift leader in Rome. "On one side, a pizzeria or restaurant owner could think that the person's skills may not be at the top level after working in another country. On the other side, speaking English can be valuable. I think the owner who needed someone would probably let them work one or two days and see how it worked out."
