More than 17 million workers living or working in another member state are exposed to possible violations of their rights, whether due to poor application of EU rules, disinformation or lack of coordination between member states. Therefore, the EU plans to set up a new authority that will support ”fair mobility” within the EU. This will enable citizens and businesses to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the single market while supporting cooperation between national authorities, including in preventing and tackling social fraud and abuse. ITEM works with authorities and civil society actors at all levels to achieve fair mobility, especially for cross-border workers. ITEM research supports joint efforts to remove obstacles to cross-border labour mobility in everyday life. Given the long-standing criticism of the EU’s “social deficit”, this new European Employment Authority (ELA) could help revive the long-unattended European social model.
The new European Employment Authority (ELA)
The President of the European Commission, first announced such an authority in September 2017 as one of the priorities for the roll-out of the European ‘’pillar‘’ of social rights. The legislative proposal in March 2018 was followed by an unusually fast procedure. The European Commission, the European Parliament (EP) and the Council reached preliminary agreement on the proposal on 14 February 2019. The EP’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee approved the outcome of the trilogue shortly afterwards. Once the member states’ permanent representatives have agreed to the deal, the vote in the EP plenary (expected for late March/early April) will be awaited. The aim is to complete the whole process before the upcoming European Parliament elections in May.
Working towards clear, fair and enforceable rules on labour mobility, the European Commission believes the ELA contributes to better enforcement of EU law. The ELA should start organising “joint or coordinated” labour inspections of possible abuses together with national authorities. The ELA should also start addressing social security issues to strengthen a well-functioning EU labour market. Moreover, trade unions have created a crucial addition to the Commission’s proposal: They will have the right to complain directly to the ELA instead of through employees of national authorities. One drawback, however, is that some critical sectors, such as transport – until now – will be excluded from the scope of the ELA.
Fair Mobility Tool
The application of labour and social security rules in cross-border situations causes many difficulties. ITEM therefore examined the added value of developing a “Fair Mobility Tool” for cross-border workers under the EU’s Employment and Social Innovation Programme. At the request of three interregional trade union councils (IVRs), ITEM carried out an exploratory study on “fair mobility” for cross-border workers and the feasibility of such a tool. The study concluded that the instrument could be an important means to address barriers and reduce abuses in cross-border employment with flexible contracts. Thus, it could also be useful for the ELA.
With these survey results, the unions will work together throughout 2019 to realise the ”Fair Mobility Tool” . ITEM and the three IVRs will present and discuss the results in a joint event in mid-June.