Fragmentation and internationalisation of the labour force Mijke

Fragmentation and internationalisation of the labour force Mijke Houwerzijl Re. Mark. Lab conference 19 May 2016

Juncker: "A normal work contract is a permanent contract“ and “the same pay for the same job at the same place” [Sept 2015 European People's Party/Flickr]

Why this message now? • The European social model was the EU’s calling card. Citizens were made to believe that the EU would make the “Stockholm consensus” prevail over the “Washington consensus, ” not just in the north, but also in the east and south of Europe. They are now clearly disappointed, and many of them are backing anti-European politicians promising easy solutions for Europe’s complex social problems. • Jan Zielonka 2015

Fragmentation of the labour force - 2006: • “There is evidence of some detrimental effects associated with the increasing diversity of working arrangements. There is a risk that part of the workforce gets trapped in a succession of short-term, low quality jobs with inadequate social protection leaving them in a vulnerable position. Such jobs may however serve as a stepping‐stone enabling people, often those with particular difficulties, to enter the workforce. ” • COM (2006) 708 p 8 (green paper on modernising labour law to meet the challenges of the 21 th century)

A more diverse population and workforce

Intra-EU labour mobility under several regimes 45 Free movement workers 49 Freedom of establishment 56 Free movement of services

Fragmentation & internationalisation of the labour force - 2016 • Under influence of the economic crisis and especially in the ‘troika’ countries it was tried to increase the labour supply by cutting back on workers’ rights, decreasing employment protection, de‐ centralising collective bargaining and encouraging atypical employment. • A continent moving West? EU enlargement has triggered labour migration from ‘new’ MS to the ‘old’ MS • The new forms of migration are more fluid, sometimes irregular, involve circular movements between several countries, and are often related to specific economic sectors of seasonal or heavy jobs.

Blaming immigration rather than the forces that drive it • She used to work as a supervisor at a large food factory in Wisbech and said she had watched migrants being brought in by agencies, undermining the terms and conditions of English workers. • Working patterns had switched from five days a week with overtime at weekends to rolling 12 -hour shifts, four days on, four days off. “The work got harder and harder, and more agency people came in – foreigners. Don’t get me wrong, some of them were good hard workers, but I went home off one shift and when I came back on the next, they were still there. How can that be legal? ” • http: //www. theguardian. com/uk‐news/2016/may/11/gangsters‐on‐our‐doorstep

Did the promotion/protection strategy fail? • Three EU labour law Directives concerning fixed-term work, parttime work and temporary agency work are aiming to provide equal treatment of ‘atypical’ workers with comparable permanent and/or fulltime staff concerning employment conditions unless there are objective reasons for different treatment. • At the same time these Directives encourage Member States to liberalise the rules for non‐standard work, to ‘identify and review’ regulatory barriers to their use.

The answer? A European Pillar of Social Rights? • Juncker: Europe's ambition should be to earn a 'social triple A'" and that "for EMU to succeed, labour market and welfare systems need to function well and in a fair manner in all euro area Member States” • Purpose is to build on the “social acquis” of the EU and, if need be, to review its relevance in light of new trends and to identify possible areas for future action.

On the acquis re “flexible and secure labour contracts”: • a. Equal treatment shall be ensured, regardless of employment contract, unless different treatment is justified on objective grounds. Misuse or abuse of precarious and non-permanent employment relationships shall be prevented. • b. Flexibility in the conditions of employment can offer a gateway to the labour market and maintain employers' ability to swiftly respond to shifts in demand; however, the transition towards open-ended contracts shall be ensured.

Posting : from exception to business model… 15

Answer? The ‘targeted’ revision of the Posting of Workers Directive

Daunting challenges on the road to resocialising Europe • Any serious “Roadmap to a Social Europe” must be unflinchingly honest about the immense challenges travellers will face on the road. To get from where we are today to a sustainable economy generating quality jobs, eliminating poverty and radically reducing the obscene wealth gap in modern European society, will demand political courage, intellectual imagination and a capacity for popular mobilisation not seen for more than a generation. • John Palmer 2015

On the road to resocialising Member States? • The 2014 public procurement directives open up the possibility for local authorities to impose living wage clauses in their supplier contracts. • Implementation of Art. 3(9) Dir 96/71 (Posted Workers Directive) • Implementation of Dir 2014/67 (Enforcement Directive) and Dir 2014/54 • Platform against undeclared work • Relaunching the European social dialogue…