Even in the absence of legal barriers compared to migrant workers from third countries, a new study by the ETU (European Trade Union Institute), published on 19 July, “shows that intra-EU mobile workers also face similar difficulties on the labour market, with generally lower probabilities of employment and lower quality jobs for the same level of skills”.
Intra-EU mobility flows are considerable and particularly important in sectors that make intensive use of posted workers, subcontracted workers and seasonal workers, such as agriculture, meat processing, road freight transport and construction.
Short-term mobile workers are generally considered to be privileged compared to other migrants, yet they face “high risks of working on temporary contracts - especially very short-term ones - and in low-skilled occupations. They tend to work below their level of skills and qualifications and for a lower salary than would be expected in the host country - even if it is higher than in the country of origin”.
This situation opens the door to exploitation and downward pressure on jobs and working conditions for workers in the host country, adds ETUI.
Link to the study: https://aeur.eu/f/869 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)