Start of project on posting of third country nationals

The Con3Post project is set up to explore the growing phenomenon of recruitment and posting of third country nationals (TCN), most notably from the Western Balkans, non-EU Eastern Europe and North African regions, to work as posted workers in the EU construction sector. Experts and key stakeholders from seven carefully selected EU Member States that represent a mix of TCN sending (Slovenia, Poland, Italy) and receiving countries (Austria, Finland, Belgium, Estonia) are brought together to establish transnational cooperation, share information and conduct empirical research to outline current challenges, future scenarios and possible strategic responses to the far-reaching yet largely unexplored consequences/implications of this persistent trend. Read more here

POOSH comparative report of the OSH conditions of posted workers in nine EU countries

A comparative study of the OSH conditions of posted workers in nine EU countries. The authors looked into the way OSH regulation is applied to posted workers and their experiences with OSH-related issues, and at the legal and institutional framework on posting and OSH, cross-border communication and exchange, the mechanisms for grievances at different levels, the vulnerabilities of posted workers and language barriers. Read more here

POOSH COUNTRY Report in Austria: Occupational safety and health of posted workers in Austria

This research report prepared by Katarina Hollan and Sonila Danaj in the frame of the POOSH project provides first insights on the occupational safety and health (OSH) vulnerabilities of posted workers in Austria. The authors explain the multiple vulnerabilities posted workers face in the country, spanning from employment and contractual conditions, wages and working conditions, social and health insurance, to accommodation, language barriers and social isolation. The national OSH structures, mechanisms and procedures as well as cross-border institutional exchange on the OSH of posted workers are also discussed. The report finds that although Austrian authorities have undertaken substantial efforts to reduce the vulnerabilities of posted workers, some issues remain. They persist both in terms of OSH and other aspects of posting, such as working time or remuneration. Read more here

POOSH country report in Austria

Posting is an important form of transnational temporary labour mobility for Austria. With a total of 108,627 of PDs A1 issued in 2015 for posted workers coming to Austria, the country ranked 4th in the EU after Germany, France and Belgium. The temporary migration and employment status affect the situation of EU and TCN workers posted to Austria in multiple way.

  • Firstly, employers pay less attention in terms of OSH training towards them;
  • secondly, their temporary status marks them as workers who are easier to exploit and pressure to accept unsatisfactory working/OSH conditions;
  • thirdly, it also influences posted workers’ behavior in so far as due to their short-termed stay, they tend not to inform themselves sufficiently about their rights and the regulations in Austria.
  • The last point is caused by a lack of integration and a feeling of not belonging of posted workers themselves into the Austrian system, which again are caused by the temporariness of their stay.

National competent authorities and agencies in Austria have made great attempts early on after the transposition of the Posting of Workers Directive (96/71/EC) to protect posted workers from increased OSH-related risks. Yet, data from our research suggest that vulnerabilities still persist. Read more

Local capacity building in Kosovo across divides

Key municipal and NGO stakeholders participated in 5 workshops across all regions in Kosovo to develop local action plans for improved social service delivery. This effort is part of the EU-funded project Support for better social services for the most vulnerable groups in Kosovo, which is led by Save the Children Kosovo in partnership with the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research. On December 19, 2018, the workshop in the North included stakeholders from both Serbian-majority North Mitrovica and Albanian-majority South Mitrovica.

The Orbán welfare reform and its impact on the Hungarian living standards

The Hungarian social policy of the early 2010s focused on unemployment. The Orbán’s workfare reform aimed at expanding the Public Work Schemes, which mostly failed at integrating their participants into the primary labour market. This was the consequence of a policy centred only on the job places creation rather than addressing quality of work and social inclusion. The Public Work Schemes rendered mandatory for people receiving welfare benefits sectorial jobs with a low marketable profile despite the level of education, creating a low and segregated profile for public workers. So that, long-term unemployment issues such as family conflicts, health problems and social exclusion arose. Thus, the Orbán’s policy increased income equality by boosting the employment rate. Yet, it did not increase employability and, by not including public workers into the primary labour market, the workfare reform also increased the poverty gap and the stigmatisation of social exclusion. (Virginia Trulli, postgraduate)

Please find here the full capture.

 

Russian versus European welfare attitudes

The new report of the PAWCER project presents welfare attitudes in Russia and the European countries. It covers public support for changes in social protection systems as well as in current social policies. The vulnerable groups include: the poor and concern about income redistribution, the unemployed and unemployment benefits, the elderly and public pensions, working parents and childcare, as well as migrants and accessibility to social rights. See project here

15 PhD-funded Marie Sklodowksa-Curie fellowships for PhD-applicants in the field of informal care

15 PhD-funded Marie Sklodowksa-Curie fellowships are aimed at students who achieved a Master degree in the last four years, or who will achieve it by 1st March 2019. Of the 15 positions available, two are allocated to the Italian National Institute Rest and Care for the Elderly (INRCA), for studies related to the connection between migrant care work and informal care (ESR-5: https://entwine-itn.eu/research/willingness/) and to the role of web-based support services for informal carers (ESR-11: https://entwine-itn.eu/research/implemention/).

The deadline for applications is the the 30th of November 2018.

EEPOW Workshop in FYROM

The fourth country workshop happened in Skopje, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on November 6, 2018. The workshop organized by the local partner, the organization PUBLIC with the support of the European Centre, brought together representatives from the Macedonian Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, the various ministerial directorates, the Labour Inspectorate, the social partners, employment agencies and researchers to discuss the transposition of the Posting of Workers Directive in FYROM and the institutional capacities for implementing the Directive once the country becomes a member state.

More on ‘Posting of workers in Eastern Europe’

Social investments in focus – MACRO conference 2018 in Chisinau

Moldovan policy experts and scientists met during the 6th MACRO conference 2018 in Chisinau on 19 October 2018 to discuss Moldova’s attractiveness for international investments. While public authorities, local businesses, and civil society discussed the role of private and public investment for the countrie’s economic development, the European Centre highlighted the need for social investments. Ms. Anette Scoppetta, Deputy Director of the European Centre, draw attention to the fact that investments aren’t supposed to be only about economic development, but about people. Social investments are core for any economy to grow.