The European Parliament is making ready an own-initiative report on abusive subcontracting practices within the EU, gathering harrowing tales from individuals caught up on this system throughout the union. The report will name for the Fee to suggest modifications to EU guidelines governing labour intermediaries.
At a European Parliament occasion in April, a consultant of the Fee’s labour vp, Roxana Mînzatu, signalled that the subject can be included within the upcoming High quality Jobs Roadmap and Labour Mobility Package deal.
Euractiv requested Johan Danielsson, a centre-left Swedish member of the European Parliament engaged on the file, and Tom Deleu, secretary common of the European Federation of Constructing and Woodworkers, why EU laws is required and what modifications they suppose should be made.
The way in which that subcontracting is used within the European development sector has undergone a major evolution over the previous many years. What was the intention when subcontracting was first launched throughout the EU single market, and the way has using this observe modified over time?
Danielsson: Subcontracting has at all times and can at all times be part of the development sector. What worries me is that over the previous many years, the misuse of subcontracting for functions apart from filling specialist wants appears to have elevated.
Once I go to development websites, staff speak to me a couple of sector the place fewer individuals know who their employer is, the place working circumstances are underneath strain, and exploitation is on the rise. The enterprise homeowners, in flip, describe how it’s turning into more and more exhausting to search out good, reliable contractors to rent, and the way this impacts the standard of the work and their capability to ship to the consumer.
Deleu: Initially, subcontracting in development aimed to permit foremost contractors to usher in specialised experience for particular duties. Nevertheless, it has now turn out to be an exploitative enterprise mannequin the place the subcontracting of staff is solely used to cut back prices and to flee authorized tasks. And this occurs increasingly more.
Usually, corporations use subcontracting chains to disguise employment relationships, circumvent tax and social safety funds, keep away from legal responsibility and conceal from controls by labour inspection our bodies.
The elevated use of short-term work businesses and different labour intermediaries demonstrates that the casualisation of working relationships is an entrenched a part of the enterprise mannequin of the development business. This shift in subcontracting practices has gone hand-in-hand with a rising reliance on posting and cross-border preparations, which makes enforcement harder and sometimes excludes staff from nationwide protections.
What are your foremost issues about using subcontracting as we speak?
Danielsson: My foremost concern is that subcontracting within the sector is more and more turning into an indicator of dangerous working circumstances, occupational well being and questions of safety and in some circumstances, outright labour exploitation. When talking to authorities in several European nations as we speak, the image is obvious: after they management worksites, it’s not often with the principle contractor and even within the first hyperlink within the chain that they discover points, however from hyperlink two and down.
Deleu: Our concern is that the subcontracting of staff has turn out to be a structural enterprise mannequin. On this enterprise mannequin, subcontracting results in the substitute of direct, high quality employment by a layer of ultra-flexible, susceptible staff who are sometimes subjected to precarious working circumstances, decrease salaries, in unhealthy and unsafe conditions.
Subcontractors repeatedly vanish with out paying the employees their wages due after months of working, or with out paying their social safety contributions. Subcontracting chains are sometimes so advanced and opaque that authorities can not decide who’s accountable.
That is why we’re calling for EU-level guidelines to restrict subcontracting chains, guarantee full legal responsibility and defend all staff equally, no matter their employment or posting standing.
The European Parliament has began an own-initiative report on abusive subcontracting and labour intermediaries. What would be the affect of this report, and what are you anticipating from the Fee by way of willingness to overview the laws?
Danielsson: My hope is that we are able to produce a robust report with clear calls for for the Fee to place ahead a legislative proposal on this difficulty.
Deleu: Pressing motion is required from the European establishments, and the expectations are excessive. The European Parliament’s initiative is a transparent political sign that there’s broad assist for motion. It helps construct momentum and lays the groundwork for concrete legislative proposals.
We count on the Fee to reply with a legislative proposal, not simply delicate legislation or tips, which might solely act as a sticking plaster and let staff down. The time for research and consultations is over.
What do you suppose is most essential to see from a brand new labour mobility package deal?
Deleu: A brand new labour mobility package deal should shut enforcement gaps and cease the abuse of free motion to take advantage of staff and undercut rights.
A good mobility package deal would promote direct jobs and good working circumstances. These are the essential circumstances to fight labour shortages. Employees solely come to work in development if the sector is engaging, and this implies good and honest working circumstances.
Our foremost calls for are to restrict subcontracting of labour, ban intermediaries in development – that features digital instruments to stop fraud and defend staff; that promotes direct jobs.
Furthermore, we wish a good mobility package deal which isn’t contradicted and even threatened by different Fee initiatives.
The Fee, which is making ready to launch the Honest Labour Mobility Package deal and High quality Jobs Roadmap, is identical Fee which is planning the Single Market Technique.
If accredited, this technique could have dramatic penalties for staff’ rights and can water down most of the rights conquered by staff. We’re able to battle this proposal.
Is there a danger that introducing legislative modifications on this at a time of financial uncertainty may lead to protections being weakened throughout the legislative course of? If that had been to occur, would you be ready to ask the Fee to withdraw it?
Deleu: In fact, there may be at all times a political danger when discussing new laws, particularly when there may be strain to ‘simplify’ by slicing protections. If a proposal essentially weakens protections, we might name on the Fee to withdraw it. We is not going to assist laws that legitimises exploitation.
If the EU desires simplicity, then promote direct jobs. If the EU desires simplicity, then restrict subcontracting. This already reduces purple tape and obstacles considerably and simplifies the administration of development websites. That is what contributes to a robust, easy and seamless European market. And to a Honest Single Market.
Danielsson: To me, the problem is pretty easy – if the Fee places ahead proposals to handle abuse and exploitation within the sector, they may have my assist. In the event that they do the other, they’ll count on robust opposition.
Within the meantime, there are various harrowing private tales of individuals caught up in abusive subcontracting conditions. What’s the most typical sort of story that you just hear on this regard?
Danielsson: I’m very marked by what occurred in my hometown, Stockholm, on the finish of 2023, the place 5 staff died, caught in a damaged development raise that fell from the eighth flooring.
4 days after the accident, their employer nonetheless couldn’t say if the employees who died had been his workers or not. As a result of nobody appeared to have a clue about who was truly current on the office.
That’s in all probability the most typical think about all of the tales I hear – the notion that nobody is aware of who’s on the worksite, who employs whom and who will take accountability if one thing goes flawed.
Deleu: We hear every kind of tales regarding totally different matters. And they’re certainly horrific tales. Essentially the most frequent story we hear is of a employee caught in a subcontracting chain who’s underpaid, not correctly registered for social safety, or left with out safety after a piece accident, usually with out understanding who their employer is.
When accidents occur, and the employees want assist, not solely do they uncover that they should pay for well being care from their very own pocket, but when the employer intervention is required, they usually don’t even know who their boss is. The state of affairs is even worse when lethal incidents occur.
I recall the collapse of a college constructing underneath development in Antwerp in 2021. It took a number of days earlier than the victims – the employees – could possibly be recognized. It was not doable to know who was working on the development web site on the time of the accident.
The households, with the assist of commerce unions, needed to pay for the transportation of the victims to their nation of origin, as they had been posted staff.
4 years later, the investigation into who’s legally accountable continues to be ongoing, and the victims’ households are nonetheless ready for monetary compensation.
[Edited By Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab]
