This gap - explains the World Labour Organization (ILO), author of the report - results from the comparison between the education and qualifications of migrants and natives and the respective value per hour of work, wage level and type of work.

Migrants “are more likely to have low-skilled and low-paid jobs, which are not in line with their educational level or skills,” notes the ILO, in what is the first comprehensive report on migrant workers’ wages .

The ILO analysed the situation in 49 countries to prepare the report “Disparities in wages for migrants: analysis of wage differences between migrants and citizens of host countries”.

One of the countries is Portugal, where according to the report, the situation worsened between 2015 and 2020, with an increase in wage inequality for migrants from 25 to 29 percent.The wage gap reaches 42 per cent, in the case of Cyprus, and drops to 9 percent if the whole European Union (EU) is analysed.

The ILO also addressed the difficulties that migrants face in receiving the same wages as the citizens of the host countries and in finding work compatible with their level of education (“largely as a result of the lack of recognition systems skills and qualifications ”).

In countries with a high number of entries, even migrants with higher education “are less likely to get jobs in high professional categories”, said the organisation.

In all the countries analysed, migrant workers face “problems associated with discrimination and exclusion”, the organisation notes.

“Migrant workers often have to face unequal conditions in the labour market, particularly in terms of wages, access to employment and training, working conditions, social security and union rights. They play a major role in many economies. They cannot be considered second-class citizens, “says Michelle Leighton, director of the ILO’s Labour Migration Service.