
Cross-border and seasonal workers in the COVID-19 crisis
European Union wants to improve working conditions
TR – 07/2020
The current pandemic makes the existing weaknesses in the working
conditions of cross-border and seasonal workers even more apparent. Especially
the Europe-wide lockdown spring this year with border controls up to the point
of closure showed this once again quite drastically.
Already on 26 March 2020, the members of the European Council
stated in a Joint declaration: "We will, with the support of the
Commission, urgently address the ongoing problems faced by EU citizens, who
cannot return to their home countries due to closed internal EU borders, as
well as cross-border and seasonal workers, who must be able to continue to
carry out essential activities without further spread of the virus."
As a result, the European Commission published the first Guidelines on the exercise of
free movement of workers during the COVID-19 outbreak on 30 March 2020.
Who are these people?
In total, more than 17 million citizens of the European Union (EU)
live and work in a foreign Member State - twice as many as ten years ago, or
almost 4 per cent of the total working population. Of these, more than 2.3
million people are temporarily posted to another EU country to provide services
on the instructions of their employer, based in one member state.
In addition, there are about 1.5 million cross-border commuters,
who live in one EU country and work in a neighbouring country and commute back
and forth daily or at least once a week, for example about 125,000 employees
from Poland in Germany and about 52,000 from Germany in Luxembourg
(Eurostat, People on the move).
Seasonal workers only work for a limited period of time, often
under precarious conditions (poor pay, inadequate social security, lack of
safety measures, cramped group housing). Up to one million seasonal
workers are employed in the EU each year.
Under EU law, mobile workers must be treated in the same way as
domestic workers. Nevertheless, labour inspectorates continue to observe
violations in terms of pay, working hours, safety standards, insurance status
and living conditions.
Specific demands of the European Parliament
On 19 June 2020, the European Parliament
adopted a Resolution with numerous requirements. The most
important measures to be implemented are:
· Clear rules
on the coordination of social security schemes as regards the payment of
contributions and benefits.
· The health
and safety of all workers must be protected with fair working conditions and
adequate accommodation.
· The
European Labour Authority (ELA) in Bratislava must become fully operational,
cross-border and national labour inspections must be strengthened.
· EU and
national rules need to be improved and fraudulent practices in subcontracting
must be prevented.
· All workers
must be informed about rights, obligations, risks and safety precautions in a
language they understand.
Also the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United
Nations specialised agency for human and labour rights and social justice, published
a Report on social protection for migrant workers
on 23 June 2020.
European Commission's wake-up call to the Member States
This was followed by the European Commission, which on 16 July 2020
submitted further Guidelines for the exercise of
free movement of workers during the COVID-19 outbreak. Nicolas Schmit, Commissioner for Employment
and Social Rights, explained: "Our guidelines are a wake-up call to Member
States and businesses to ensure that they fulfill their duty to protect
indispensable but vulnerable workers."
The next day he took part in the first Video conference of the Ministers
of Labour and Social Affairs during Germany's EU Council Presidency. The focus was on the
contribution of social security systems to overcoming the COVID-19 crisis,
health and safety at work and the rights of seasonal and mobile workers. As
German Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, Hubertus Heil stated:
"All people in the EU should be able to live in safety and dignity."