Brussels, 26/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - It was with the desire to bring an end to exploitation of non-EU seasonal workers that the European Parliament (EP) civil liberties committee, on Wednesday 25 April, approved a report which is looking to put in place common rules across the EU for the first time. Among the proposals contained in the report by Claude Moraes (S&D, UK) are compulsory work contract, adequate housing guaranteed and penalties for employers who do not meet their obligations. Negotiations with the Council of the EU will begin shortly, with a view to a first-reading agreement.
The Moraes report is based on the European Commission's proposal for a directive of 2005, “A Policy Plan on Legal Migration”. While of the view that “this directive is needed to prevent the exploitation of seasonal workers”, Moraes says in his draft that “some areas need to be significantly strengthened”. This is to “address the exploitation of third-country, unskilled workers in the EU by ensuring a basic set of rights and minimum working conditions”, he said after the committee approved his report by 52 votes to none, with one abstention, an EP press release states.
Contract and work permit. While the Commission proposed the issue of a visa, rather than a work permit, for people spending less than three months in the EU on seasonal work, the civil liberties committee decided there should be no such differentiation “in order to prevent two categories of seasonal workers being created with different rights depending on their length of stay”. A seasonal worker permit should include a work contract or a binding job offer specifying essential aspects, such as pay and working hours and should also include “evidence that the worker will benefit from adequate accommodation” with rent which is not excessive or automatically deducted from the worker's wages. A seasonal worker contract would also provide social rights, such as access to social security. In addition, travel costs, the visa fee and the cost of health insurance should be borne by the employer.
Scope. Arrangements on seasonal workers should apply, even provisionally, for all third-country nationals, even where they have illegally entered the EU (and are therefore resident in a member state). The committee proposes that the scope be extended to sectors which are, by nature, seasonal; such as agriculture, horticulture and tourism, while stating that national authorities should be able to define what is meant by “seasonal by nature” in order to take account of particular national situations, just as they should be free to set limits on the number of seasonal workers. MEPs went, to a certain extent, with the Commission in proposing a maximum stay of six months. This should not be calculated over a calendar year but over a period of 12 months “in order to allow for the winter season”. The text also provides for the possibility of a multi-season permit covering up to three consecutive years.
Sanctions. In the event of breaches of these provisions, employers will be subject to sanctions, which could go as far as to ban an employer from taking on seasonal workers for several years. The employer would have to compensate the seasonal worker concerned. The Moraes report calls for the monitoring and inspection system to be toughened and for the complaints system to be simplified and to include the possibility of a third party (non-governmental organisation or trade union) lodging complaints on behalf of workers. (JK/transl.rt)