The European Commission has today announced its ambition to make Europe the most attractive place in the world to come and work in an effort to tackle the labour shortages holding back the European economy.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) says the ambition contained in the European Migration and Asylum Strategy proves that the need to raise the quality of jobs in Europe for all workers is central to increasing Europe’s competitiveness – not a race to the bottom.
This ambition is however contradicted by the strategy’s continued drive towards increasing deportations and border controls, including by strong-arming countries through ‘migration diplomacy’.
ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said:
“Europe should be the best place in the world to work. At a time when evidence shows that low pay and poor conditions are driving labour shortages, raising job quality for all workers is essential to strengthening Europe’s economic competitiveness.
“Yet the commitments in this strategy fall short of that ambition. What’s missing is concrete action to improve pay, conditions and rights for migrant workers, including undocumented workers, who are too often pushed into exploitation in the shadow economy.
“That means supporting trade unions, promoting collective bargaining, regulating subcontracting, and extending the mandate of the European Labour Authority to properly cover migrant workers. These gaps underline why the Commission must work closely with trade unions — not only with ‘EU industry and employers’, as the strategy currently foresees.
“Every day, the headlines from the United States show that a hostile and punitive approach to migration is a dead end. Europe must choose a more pragmatic and humane path.”
ETUC Confederal Secretary Giulio Romani:
“The Commission’s continued focus on deportations, including by strong-arming countries through ‘migration diplomacy’, is completely counterproductive to its ambitions of raising competitiveness."
“Labour shortages are one of the key challenges to European competitiveness. Regularisation pathways would help tackle shortages while ensuring that bad bosses cannot exploit irregular migrant workers to undercut wages and working conditions.
“The strategy touches on this abuse in illegal employment but includes no concrete measures to tackle a problem which will continue to grow without concerted action. Digitalising fortress Europe won’t protect local or migrant workers.”
Photo credit: EC - Audiovisual Service / Philippe Therasse
