REPORT on impacts of EU rules on the free movements of workers and services: intra-EU labour mobility as a tool to match labour market needs and skills

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on impacts of EU rules on the free movements of workers and services: intra-EU labour mobility as a tool to match labour market needs and skills

(2020/2007(INI))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

– having regard to Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union,

– having regard to Articles 45, 56, 153, 154 and 174 TFEU,

– having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), proclaimed by the European Council, Parliament and the Commission in November 2017,

– having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD),

– having regard to the fundamental labour standards established by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and to its conventions and recommendations on labour administration and labour inspections,

– having regard to the extensive Union legal acquis on health and safety at work, in particular Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work[1] and its individual and related directives,

– having regard to the Council conclusions of 8 June 2020 on reskilling and upskilling as a basis for increasing sustainability and employability, in the context of supporting economic recovery and social cohesion,

– having regard to the ‘Political Guidelines for the next European Commission 2019-2024: A Union that Strives for More’, presented by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/1149 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 establishing a European Labour Authority, amending Regulations (EC) No 883/2004, (EU) No 492/2011, and (EU) 2016/589 and repealing Decision (EU) 2016/344[2],

– having regard to Regulation (EU) No 492/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on freedom of movement for workers within the Union[3],

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/589 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 April 2016 on a European network of employment services (EURES), workers’ access to mobility services and the further integration of labour markets, and amending Regulations (EU) No 492/2011 and (EU) No 1296/2013[4],

– having regard to the Commission Implementing Decision of 2 February 2018 on uniform detailed specifications for data collection and analysis to monitor and evaluate the functioning of the EURES network,

– having regard to the Commission report of 4 February 2019 on EURES activity January 2016 - June 2018,

– having regard to Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems[5],

– having regard to Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems[6],

– having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing common rules concerning the conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation of road transport operator and repealing Council Directive 96/26/EC[7],

– having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 on common rules for access to the international road haulage market[8],

– having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 September 2008 on common rules for the operation of air services in the Community[9],

– having regard to Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport and amending Council Regulations (EEC) No 3821/85 and (EC) No 2135/98 and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85[10],

– having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3577/92 of 7 December 1992 applying the principle of freedom to provide services to maritime transport within Member States (maritime cabotage)[11],

– having regard to Directive 2014/54/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on measures facilitating the exercise of rights conferred on workers in the context of freedom of movement for workers[12],

– having regard to Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications[13],

– having regard to Directive 2002/15/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2002 on the organisation of the working time of persons performing mobile road transport activities[14],

– having regard to Council Directive 1999/63/EC of 21 June 1999 concerning the Agreement on the organisation of working time of seafarers concluded by the European Community Shipowners’ Association (ECSA) and the Federation of Transport Workers’ Unions in the European Union (FST)[15], as amended by Council Directive 2009/13/EC of 16 February 2009 implementing the Agreement concluded by the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) on the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006[16],

– having regard to Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1996 concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services[17],

– having regard to Directive (EU) 2018/957 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 June 2018 amending Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services[18],

– having regard to Directive 2014/67/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the enforcement of Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System (‘the IMI Regulation’)[19],

– having regard to Directive (EU) 2020/1057 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 laying down specific rules with respect to Directive 96/71/EC and Directive 2014/67/EU for posting drivers in the road transport sector and amending Directive 2006/22/EC as regards enforcement requirements and Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012[20],

– having regard to Council Decision (EU) 2019/1181 of 8 July 2019 on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States[21],

– having regard to Decision (EU) 2016/344 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on establishing a European Platform to enhance cooperation in tackling undeclared work[22],

– having regard to Council recommendation of 22 May 2017 on the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning and repealing the recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning[23],

– having regard to its resolution of 19 June 2020 on European protection of cross-border and seasonal workers in the context of the COVID-19 crisis[24],

– having regard to its resolution of 14 September 2017 on a new skills agenda for Europe[25],

– having regard to its resolution of 14 January 2014 on effective labour inspections as a strategy to improve working conditions in Europe[26],

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 15 July 2020 on ‘Recovery plan for Europe and the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027’,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 5 May 2020 on ‘Sustainable funding for lifelong learning and development of skills, in the context of a shortage of skilled labour’ (Exploratory opinion at the request of the Croatian presidency),

– having regard to the opinion of the European Committee of the Regions entitled ‘Brain Drain in the EU: addressing the challenge at all levels’ (C 141/34),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 1 July 2020 entitled ‘European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience’ (COM(2020)0274) and to the accompanying Commission staff working documents (SWD(2020)0121) and (SWD(2020)0122),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 14 January 2020 entitled ‘A strong social Europe for just transitions’ (COM(2020)0014),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 17 December 2019 entitled ‘Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2020’ (COM(2019)0650),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 10 June 2016 entitled ‘A new Skills Agenda for Europe’ (COM(2016)381),

– having regard to the proposal for a joint employment report from the Commission and the Council of 17 December 2019 accompanying the communication on the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2020,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 11 December 2019 entitled ‘The European Green Deal’ (COM(2019)0640),

– having regard to the Commission report of 25 September 2019 on the application and implementation of Directive 2014/67/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the enforcement of Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services and amending Regulation (EU) 1024/2012 on administrative co-operation through the Internal Market Information System (‘the IMI Regulation’) (COM (2019)0426),

– having regard to the Commission 2019 Annual Report on Intra-EU Labour Mobility,

– having regard to the Cedefop report entitled ‘Skills forecast trends and challenges to 2030’,

– having regard to the Eurofound report entitled ‘Posted workers in the European Union (2010)’[27] and to the national reports,

– having regard to the Commission’s Spring 2020 Economic Forecast of 6 May 2020,

– having regard to the guidelines of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) of 24 April 2020 entitled ‘COVID-19: back to the workplace – adapting workplaces and protecting workers’,

– having regard to Parliament’s 2015 study entitled ‘EU Social and Labour Rights and EU Internal Market Law’,

– having regard to the Commission Guidelines of 17 July 2020 on seasonal workers in the EU in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak,

– having regard to the Council Conclusions of 9 October 2020 on improving the working and living conditions of seasonal and other mobile workers,

– having regard to the Council Recommendation of 13 October 2020 on a coordinated approach to the restriction of free movement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,

– having regard to the Commission’s 2015 ‘Study on wage setting systems and minimum rates of pay applicable to posted workers in accordance with Directive 96/71/EC in a selected number of Member States and sectors’,

– having regard to the Commission Guidelines of 30 March 2020 concerning the exercise of the free movement of workers during COVID-19 outbreak,

– having regard to the Commission Communication of 15 May 2020 entitled ‘Towards a phased and coordinated approach for restoring freedom of movement and lifting internal border controls’ (C2020/C 169/03),

– having regard to the Eurofound’s 2015 study entitled ‘Social dimension of intra-EU mobility: Impact on public services’,

– having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinions of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection and the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A9-0066/2021),

A. whereas non-discrimination is a fundamental principle enshrined in the Treaties; whereas the free movement of workers is a fundamental principle of the Union; whereas the principle of equal treatment, enshrined in Article 45(2) of the TFEU stipulates that freedom of movement of workers must entail the abolition of any discrimination based on nationality between workers of the Member States as regards employment, remuneration and other conditions of work and employment;

B. whereas Article 3(3) Treaty of the European Union (TEU) stipulates that the Union ‘shall promote social justice and protection’; whereas Article 9 of the TFEU states that ‘in defining and implementing its policies and activities, the Union shall take into account requirements linked to the promotion of a high level of employment, the guarantee of adequate social protection, the fight against social exclusion, and a high level of education, training and protection of human health’;

C. whereas the free movement of workers, the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services are fundamental principles of the internal market;

D. whereas the free movement of workers and services should comply with the principles enshrined in the European Pillar of Social Rights; whereas the Union’s commitment to the UN 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, the European Green Deal and the Gender Equality Strategy, including the protection and promotion of fair wages, gender equality and decent working and employment conditions, must be mainstreamed across all internal market policies, thereby taking due account of social and environmental considerations;

E. whereas the free movement of workers, including of seasonal workers, is essential to European integration; whereas it can be of mutual benefit to both sending and receiving Member States, and support economic, social and territorial cohesion goals; whereas the Union and the Member States must fully benefit from the potential of intra-EU mobility while effectively enforcing compliance with applicable rules on labour mobility;

F. whereas the free movement of workers and services contributes to economic growth and cohesion in the Union and creates job opportunities; whereas the single market can only be sustainable and increase prosperity if it is based on fair and common rules and on the principle of equal treatment, especially with regard to the free movement of workers and services;

G. whereas the Union should continue to play a key role in supporting the exchange of good practices at all government levels and in developing guidance and recommendations in collaboration with the social partners on ensuring decent working and employment conditions for all, including for vulnerable groups of workers;

H. whereas the social implications of the free movement of services can affect regions of origin and regions hosting mobile workers both in a positive and/or a negative manner; whereas labour shortages and the brain drain rate, triggered by current economic and social imbalances between the Union’s regions, especially after the financial crisis, have reached critical levels in some Member States, leading to further problems such as demographic imbalances, shortfalls in care provision and medical staff, and overall increased inequalities between regions; whereas rural and remote areas are particularly affected by these phenomena; whereas there is a need for a sustainable industrial policy and robust cohesion policy so as to maintain and create quality employment in sectors and regions under transformation in order to prevent brain drain and involuntary mobility;

I. whereas labour cost competition is harmful to cohesion between Member States; whereas a coordinated Union approach is necessary to avoid unfair labour cost competition and increase upward social convergence for all; whereas effective regulation and collective agreements are crucial to ensuring decent working and employment conditions, quality services and fair competition;

J. whereas cross-border workers generate social and economic benefits for certain regions;

K. whereas in order to protect the rights of mobile workers, strengthen compliance with applicable rules and foster a level playing field and fair competition between all companies, it is crucial to improve, align and coordinate the cross-border enforcement of Union rules on labour mobility, and to tackle abuse, including undeclared work;

L. whereas the majority of workers in the Union are employed by micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); whereas MSMEs and self-employed persons are the most vulnerable to breaches of Union legislation; whereas conflicting national legislation, unnecessary administrative burdens and unfair competition are a major source of difficulties for MSMEs, self-employed persons and bona fide companies in the internal market; whereas initiatives targeting MSMEs and start-ups should help businesses to comply with current rules, and should not result in unnecessary administrative burdens, double standards or lower protection standards for workers;

M. whereas digitalisation provides an unprecedented opportunity to facilitate mobility, while helping to verify strict compliance with Union’s rules on labour mobility;

N. whereas the European Labour Authority (ELA) was established in order to help strengthen fairness and trust in the internal market, the freedom of movement for workers, the posting of workers, and highly mobile services, to monitor compliance with Union rules on labour mobility and the coordination of social security arrangements, as well as to enhance the exchange of best practices and cooperation between Member States and social partners in ensuring fair labour mobility and tackling undeclared work; whereas the promotion of fair wages, gender equality and decent working and employment conditions play a key role in creating a well-functioning, fair and sustainable single market;

O. whereas the ELA is a newly established body which is expected to reach its full operational capacity by 2024;

P. whereas posting of workers, temporary agency work and seasonal work are temporary by their very nature and legal definition;

Q. whereas a lack of adequate legal protection and access to social security systems for workers often result from abusive forms of non-standard employment, artificial arrangements, such as bogus self-employment, unremunerated and/or only poorly remunerated on-call work arrangements, so called ‘zero hours’ contracts, abusive use of temporary contracts and internships as a replacement for regular employment contracts, including in the public sector, and the use of letterbox companies; whereas these issues should therefore be tackled; whereas the increasing use of various subcontracting arrangements could also result in abuse, necessitating countermeasures; whereas intra-EU labour mobility directly based on Article 45 of the TFEU can naturally contribute to filling long-term labour needs by standard forms of employment open to Union citizens without discrimination based on nationality;

R. whereas social cohesion is one of the main principles of the Union; whereas, nonetheless, substantial differences in living and working conditions persist in the Union; whereas higher wages and GDP, robust social security, easier access to the labour market and higher employment rates are amongst the most relevant pull factors for intra-EU mobility[28]; whereas, on the other hand, poverty, social exclusion, poor living and working conditions and a lack of social assistance are push factors for intra-EU mobility; whereas persisting labour shortages in some of the critical sectors in some Member States can also be largely explained by poor working conditions and low wage levels; whereas such shortages should be tackled by improving working conditions in these sectors, especially through social dialogue and collective bargaining, rather than leaving work of poor quality to migrant and mobile workers, including cross-border and frontier, and/or undeclared workers;

S. whereas the choice to exercise one’s right to freedom of movement should always be voluntary and not forced by a lack of opportunities in the Member State of residence; whereas fair mobility based on solid social and labour rights is a precondition for sustainable European integration, social cohesion and a just transition;

T. whereas abusive practices, such as social and environmental dumping, weaken public support for the Union and further European integration, damage the functioning of the internal market and the competitiveness of businesses, in particular MSMEs and self-employed persons, and undermine the rights of workers; whereas, therefore, monitoring of compliance with the applicable legislation must be strengthened; whereas the ‘think small first’ principle should be duly taken into account at Union level when preparing legislative proposals; whereas conflicting provisions within national legislation create obstacles to MSMEs and should be avoided;

U. whereas the principle of equal treatment is a prerequisite for the social market economy and upward social convergence, requiring compliance with applicable legislation and collective agreements of the country of destination, thereby ensuring a level playing field between local and mobile workers, as well as between local and foreign service providers;

V. whereas more than 8 % of mobile workers are employed in the healthcare and social work sector, more than 7 % in the transportation services sector, and more than 10 % in the accommodation and food industries; whereas mobile and seasonal workers are often essential for the Member States for example in sectors such as healthcare, care for the elderly or persons with disabilities, or construction;

W. whereas at least 80 million workers in Europe are mismatched in terms of qualifications and more than 5 out of 10 jobs that are hard-to-fill are found in high-skilled occupations[29];

X. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has once again shown that highly mobile workers who frequently move within the Union are essential; whereas the pandemic has also shown that seasonal, posted, migrant and mobile workers, including cross-border and frontier workers, have contributed immensely to the survival of the Union’s economy as well as the Union’s international trade during the pandemic; whereas as front-line workers they have done this at a huge health risk to themselves and their families; whereas seasonal workers have proved essential to keeping many European farms operating; whereas at the same time highly mobile workers also remain the most vulnerable and the least protected; whereas during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, these workers were among the most affected by uncoordinated border management measures;

Y. whereas during the COVID-19 pandemic, seasonal and posted workers often lacked basic healthcare, decent accommodation, personal protective equipment and adequate information; whereas they often had only inadequate access or no access at all to social protection schemes in the host Member States. including sick pay and short-term unemployment; whereas in some cases they were even deported; whereas the mobility of workers is highly dependent on available means of transport, and workers from islands and the outermost regions of the Union are particularly affected; whereas border closures also affected cross border and frontier workers by making it more difficult for them to go to their workplaces and back to their families, and by limiting their access to social and healthcare services; whereas, in some cases mobile workers suffered discrimination and poor working and living conditions which led to outbreaks of the COVID-19 infection;

Z. whereas the COVID-19 outbreak has exposed and exacerbated the difficult and often deplorable working and living conditions of hundreds of thousands of seasonal workers, the vast majority of whom are mobile workers, and of some of the over one million posted workers in the EU; whereas their already precarious conditions are further undermined by cases of structural discrimination in the labour market and a lack of proper enforcement of current laws and regulations;

AA. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic revealed numerous structural shortcomings in the European and national regulatory frameworks; whereas many of these shortcomings were not only related to the pandemic; whereas these shortcomings should be addressed at Union and Member State level as a matter of urgency to ensure fair competition and equal treatment in the internal market; whereas the COVID-19 pandemic is having a fundamental and lasting impact on European labour markets;

AB. whereas labour mobility and particularly the posting of workers must not result in competition based on precarious working conditions and employers evading their obligations, and/or the circumvention of applicable national legislation and collective agreements in host Member States, as such abusive practices only result in tensions between Member States, unfair competition between businesses, and distrust among workers; whereas these adverse effects, including brain drain and unfair competition, can also be due to the absence of upward social convergence; whereas labour mobility should be perceived as an opportunity, facilitate the sharing of skills and professional experience, and promote upward social convergence; whereas the rules on labour mobility and the posting of workers should not result in a disproportionate administrative burden; whereas the posting rules also apply to nationals posted from one Member-State to another, who are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, and therefore need particular attention from national labour inspectorates and the ELA;

AC. whereas skills mismatches and skills shortages present important challenges to the Union labour market and education and training systems; whereas this reveals a substantial need for the improvement of education and vocational training systems to make them more future-proof and forward-looking, as well as for the improvement of the system of re-skilling and up-skilling of workers; whereas, however, there are still no official statistics or indicators to measure skills mismatches in European labour markets;

AD. whereas job polarisation is expected to increase further, and there will be more jobs at the higher and lower ends of the skills spectrum;

AE. whereas the urban-rural digital divide and the impact of socio-economic factors on the digital divide remain major challenges that need to be addressed without delay; whereas there is an immense lack of digital and green skills among the workforce, which should be tackled, inter alia, through lifelong learning;

AF. whereas corporate investment in training and education as well as in working and employment conditions is an important instrument for attracting skilled workers; whereas the mutual recognition and transparency of qualifications have a key role in achieving the convergence of professions, freedom to provide services and the fair mobility of workers;

AG. whereas the development of the system for recognition of informally gained knowledge and skills, e.g. in the case of informal carers, should be taken into consideration in this context; whereas this development is extremely important in light of current demographic challenges and trends related to ageing societies in the Member States;

AH. whereas effective tripartite dialogue and the social dialogue can successfully complement government and institutional efforts to overcome current tensions and divisions in the EU; whereas social partners’ involvement has the potential to improve policy-making, implementation and enforcement, and needs further strengthening at all political levels;

AI. whereas there is no EU-wide, systematic data gathering exercise aiming to provide adequate data on mobile workers or to allow them to establish their social security coverage status and claim various acquired entitlements; whereas access to information on applicable rules as well as effective compliance, monitoring and enforcement are necessary preconditions for fair mobility and the fight against abuses of the system; whereas digital technology, which can facilitate the supervision and enforcement of legislation, safeguarding the rights of mobile workers, should therefore be promoted and used in compliance with data protection rules;

1. Notes that the country of destination provision is the guiding principle of the Services Directive, and considers that this provision should not be changed; stresses that the free movement of services must be achieved without undermining workers’ rights and social rights; recalls that the principles of equal treatment and free movement do not apply only to service providers, but equally to workers; considers that the free movement of services goes hand in hand with the free and fair mobility of workers providing these services, and that the internal market benefits when the rules on working conditions are upheld and the health and safety of mobile workers are protected; underlines that the implementation of the principles enshrined in the EPSR as a minimum standard could contribute to enhancing the rights and the protection of European workers;

2. Stresses that Union legislation related to the free movement of services must not in any way affect the exercise of fundamental rights as recognised in the Member States and at Union level, including the right to strike or to take other action covered by the Member States’ specific industrial relations systems, in accordance with national law and/or practice, nor can it affect the right to negotiate, to conclude and enforce collective agreements, or to take collective action in accordance with national law and/or practice; stresses that quality legislation and its effective implementation is a long-term investment;

3. Recalls that the protection of mobile workers’ working and living conditions based on the principle of equal treatment must cover the free movement of workers as well as the freedom to provide services; is concerned about the persisting shortcomings in the protection of mobile workers, including cross-border and frontier workers, highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic; stresses that workers must not face any disadvantages as a result of having exercised their right to freedom of movement or because of Union rules on the free provision of services; highlights the need to address any regulatory shortcomings at Union and national level without undue delay; underlines, furthermore, that applicable legislation concerning the access to social rights and social security protection, including their portability, the recognition of diplomas, qualifications and skills and access to training, must be respected with regard to the free movement of workers as well as free movement of services; recalls that any border restrictions within the EU, even though adopted in response to a severe public health crisis, should take into account their impact on mobile workers, and should respond to their specific situation;

4. Is concerned about the current lack of harmonised interpretation of EU law by Member States, such as the recently revised Posting of Workers Directive[30], which leads to a lack of legal clarity and to bureaucratic burdens for companies providing services in more than one Member State; calls on the Commission to directly assist Member States during the whole process of transposition so that a uniform interpretation of European law is ensured;

5. Stresses, in this connection, the need to pay particular attention to workers living in the outermost regions of the European Union, and to facilitate their mobility to and from the mainland and between the outermost regions themselves;

6. Regrets that only 4.2 % of EU citizens of working age reside in an EU country other than that of their citizenship in 2019[31]; calls on the Commission and Member States to step up their efforts to reduce mobility barriers for workers and businesses;

7. Recalls the need to ensure the free movement of workers in order to preserve employment and the economy of certain regions, and to maintain activities such as farming;

8. Calls on the Member States to implement and monitor the revised Posting of Workers Directive in a correct and timely manner in order to protect posted workers and their freedom to provide services during their postings by laying down mandatory provisions on working conditions and the protection of workers’ health and safety;

9. Calls on Member States to make full use of the possibility of applying the provisions on wages and working conditions contained in all collective agreements to posted workers in the EU, and to as much as possible ensure equal pay for equal work at the same place for workers, and a level playing field for companies as part of the implementation of the revised Posting of Workers Directive;

10. Calls on the Commission to conduct in-depth research into the trends affecting the working conditions of posted third-country nationals; emphasises the need for possible policy measures at Union or national level based on the outcome of this research; is deeply concerned about the current increase in the share of third-country nationals in sectors with a reputation for precarious working conditions and cases of abuse; underlines that third-country nationals are often more vulnerable to exploitation and therefore need protection; highlights that exploitation includes abusive practices such as bogus posting, bogus self-employment, fraudulent subcontracting and recruiting agencies, letterbox companies and undeclared work; underlines that third-country national workers can work with work permits in the EU, under the precondition that all safeguards in national and Union labour law effectively ensure protection and decent working conditions for third-country nationals as well, and that this will not result in labour market distortions; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure compliance with applicable laws and rules on employment conditions when dealing with third-country nationals, in order to eliminate abuses; calls on the Member States to implement the protective provisions in Directive 2009/52/EC, ensuring accessible and effective complaint mechanisms making it possible to effectively claim back wages due and social security contributions;

11. Recalls the nature of European-wide supply chains in strategic industrial sectors that are a key source of employment and activity for mobile workers and service companies, and which are heavily impacted by uncoordinated measures, such as different rules concerning the COVID-19 testing and quarantines, adopted by Member States in their efforts to tackle the pandemic; calls on the Commission to attach the same importance to ensuring safe conditions for workers as to restoring freedom of movement and the flow of goods;

12. Recalls that the lack of harmonised quarantine periods, testing requirements and travel rules within the Union present a significant challenge to many companies and many mobile workers and their families, especially in sectors with high mobility; encourages Member States to coordinate efforts to extend social security coverage, access to sick pay and temporary unemployment schemes to also protect frontier, cross-border and mobile workers, and especially those hit by the crisis who are therefore suffering poverty, unemployment, social exclusion, and poor living conditions;

13. Reiterates that it is crucial for people’s everyday lives that essential goods such as food, medical devices or protective equipment keep being delivered across the EU at all times; calls on the Commission to ensure continued free movement of essential goods and services within the internal market in times of crisis such as a pandemic;

14. Urges the Commission and the Member States to recognise mobile workers in strategic manufacturing supply chains, e.g. for medical equipment and others, as essential or critical, and therefore to review the applicable quarantine requirement if there is no risk to public health and safety, proven by relevant testing in line with the Council Recommendation on a coordinated approach to the restriction of free movement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic;

15. Calls on the Commission to examine protection gaps with view to ensuring decent working and living conditions for mobile workers and preventing abusive practices, and to properly enforce Union legislation on subcontracting; calls on the Commission to ensure general joint and several liability throughout the whole subcontracting chain in order to protect workers’ rights; emphasises that such an initiative should increase transparency and strengthen the liability of main contractors in subcontracting chains by legally guaranteeing the payment of all social security contributions and workers’ entitlements due, and by urging national authorities to effectively impose dissuasive sanctions whenever necessary; calls on the Commission to promote, and on the Member States to guarantee, trade union access to all workplaces, including workplaces outside the country of employment; calls on the Commission and the Member States to take action to strengthen and promote social dialogue and the autonomy of the social partners, and to encourage workers to organise as this is a key instrument for achieving high standards of employment;

16. Calls on the Commission to analyse negative developments related to labour mobility, particularly the brain drain in certain sectors and regions; stresses that measures to counter the brain drain must go hand in hand with those to promote upward social convergence; insists that, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Member States should permit and facilitate the crossing of borders for professional reasons, whenever professional activity in the sectors concerned is allowed in the host Member State, in order to safeguard equal treatment between local and mobile workers; calls on the Commission to establish clear quantitative and qualitative indicators for the purposes of the European Semester and the publication of country-specific recommendations in order to monitor the implementation and enforcement of the rules on the free movement of worker; calls on the Commission to table recommendations to ensure fair, equitable and decent living and working conditions for mobile workers;

17. Underlines that the objectives of the European Pillar of Social Rights, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the European Green Deal and the Gender Equality Strategy must also be reflected in the approach to the single market, promoting high social and environmental standards as a prerequisite for productivity increases; highlights the importance of public procurement for achieving these objectives;

18. Urges the Commission to ensure that the ELA becomes fully operational as a matter of priority in order to monitor and promote the application and enforcement of Union law relating to labour mobility and social security coordination; urges the Commission to support and strengthen the capacity of and cooperation between competent national authorities, as well as social partners, in order to ensure fair rights-based mobility, adequate information to workers and employers about their rights and obligations, and the effective cross-border enforcement of workers’ rights, including the portability of rights and entitlements, and to effectively tackle social security fraud and abusive practices; believes that the ELA should focus on better enforcement and implementation of current Union legislation so that competition within the single market is fair and just; stresses that in order for the ELA to be effective in combating illegal practices, it should give priority to the development of a real-time database to validate information from foreign service providers; stresses that the ELA must have sufficient resources to perform its tasks; underlines that the partial integration of the EURES into the ELA should strengthen the link between the promotion of freedom of movement and information provision and compliance with the relevant legislative framework protecting mobile workers and citizens;

19. Calls on the Commission to propose EU framework provisions to combat unfair competition on labour costs in order to ensure full compliance with the principles of equal treatment and equal pay and labour costs for equal work in the same place;

20. Recalls that Parliament repeatedly asked the Commission to withdraw its proposals on a European services e-card and on a revision of the services notification procedure; welcomes the fact that this was finally done in the Commission Work Programme for 2021;

21. Stresses that the digitalisation of data exchanges between Member States could facilitate the free movement of workers on a fair and equitable basis as well as the enforcement of relevant Union rules; calls on the Commission to launch, after an impact assessment, its proposal on a digital European social security number (ESSN) without any undue delay, while ensuring that ESSN will be subject to strict data protection rules, which is necessary to ensure legal certainty for workers and businesses, fair mobility and the effective protection, portability, traceability and enforcement of workers’ rights, as well as to support fair competition, ensuring a level-playing field for businesses; considers that the ESSN should complement national social security numbers and regulations and facilitate the Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information (EESSI) for the purpose of improving coordination and information exchange between competent national authorities; points out that the EESSI should allow a quick and accurate verification of social security insurance status, providing individuals and authorities with a monitoring mechanism to easily verify coverage and contributions;

22. Stresses the need for further alignment and coordination of labour mobility regulations and monitoring procedures, including common control standards, joint inspections and information exchange under the guidance of the ELA and in collaboration with national competent authorities; urges the Member States to step up the exchange of best practices between competent national authorities; calls for the ELA to have real labour inspection power in cross-border cases, in cooperation with competent national authorities; calls on the ELA to improve data collection and to set up real-time databases on labour mobility for the purpose of analysis and risk assessments, as well as to prepare information campaigns and targeted inspections; recalls that the ILO recommends a benchmark of one labour inspector for every 10 000 workers;

23. Recalls that the ILO recommends establishing a benchmark of one labour inspector for every 10 000 workers;

24. Highlights that Union funding and grants should contribute to decent work in order to promote sustainable development and social progress;

25. Recalls the importance of social dialogue, and in this regard encourages the stronger involvement of the social partners in Union agencies, public authorities, committees and institutions in order to ensure practice-oriented initiatives and legislation that take into account the various different European labour market models; stresses the need to enhance EU-level tripartite dialogue in the design and implementation of regulations on the provision of services and the mobility of workers, as well as in the mutual recognition of professions, diplomas, qualifications and skills, in line with the principles enshrined in the European Pillar of Social Rights; calls on the Commission, the Member States and local authorities to work together with the social partners to design and implement necessary support structures for upskilling and reskilling of workers, implementing relevant public policies and providing quality jobs;

26. Highlights the need to place the protection of workers and social partners’ involvement at the core of Union law in this field so that democratic functioning, economic growth and high social and environmental standards are ensured;

27. Calls on the Commission to present a new Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work post-2020 as soon as possible, and to commit to eliminating work-related deaths by 2030; urges the Commission to present proposals for a directive on work-related stress and musculoskeletal disorders, for a directive on mental well-being at the workplace, and an EU mental health strategy in order to protect all workers in the workplace; calls on the Commission, furthermore, to present a more ambitious revision of the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive, and to include limit values for a minimum of 50 substances in the Directive on exposure to carcinogens and mutagens at work; calls for the inclusion of substances with damaging effects on the reproductive system in the Directive;

28. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to address the need for safe and healthy working conditions for workers and the self-employed, including a special focus on the free movement of workers, and to guarantee them decent working and living conditions, especially in the context of the upcoming revision of the Union’s Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work; urges Member States to address the problem of undeclared work, including undeclared seasonal work, through enhanced cooperation with the European Platform tackling undeclared work, including by fostering better awareness among workers and employers about their rights and obligations; calls on Member States to impose measures uniformly and without discrimination;

29. Urges the Commission and the ELA to investigate the numerous cases of denied access to the labour market, as well as abuses and discrimination related to working conditions, based on nationality, which have become highly visible during the COVID-19 crisis; calls on the ELA to ensure accessible, transparent and non-discriminatory procedures for national social partners to submit cases to the ELA, and assurances for their effective follow-up in line with Regulation (EU) 2019/1149;

30. Calls on the Member States to apply all Commission recommendations on the adoption, coordination and lifting of measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic; calls on the Member States, furthermore, to establish a common healthcare protocol for mobile workers, including cross-border and frontier workers, taking into account the guidelines by the European Centre for Disease Prevention (ECDC); stresses that the guiding principles for any measure taken for the crisis and the road to recovery should be the health and safety of all workers, respect for fundamental rights, including equal treatment between local and mobile workers, while at the same time recognising the particularly vulnerable situation of frontier, posted, seasonal, cross-border and other mobile workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath; recalls the constitutional right of Member States to go beyond the minimum levels established by European Union directives as part of their national democratic legislative processes in order to reach policy objectives such as ensuring quality public services and a high level of protection of workers, consumers and the environment;

31. Emphasises that the freedom of movement has been severely affected by the full or partial closure of borders by Member States during the COVID-19 pandemic; regrets that the rushed, uncoordinated and sudden closure of borders and introduction of accompanying measures left people in transit stranded, and has severely affected those living in border regions by limiting their ability to cross a border for work, to provide and receive services or to visit friends or family members; stresses the detrimental effect that the closing of internal and external borders has had on the international business, scientific and tourism sectors; stresses that instead of introducing border controls, Member States should strive to take the measures necessary to allow people to cross borders while ensuring maximum safety and protecting health;

32. Acknowledges the crucial role of carers, especially during the pandemic; calls on the Commission to ensure their mobility in order to meet the needs of different Member States and regions, in view of demographic challenges and any future pandemic or health challenges; calls on the Commission, in close cooperation with the Member States and local authorities, to introduce under the ordinary legislative procedure a common, Union-wide science-based protocol for the freedom of movement during health crises and other crisis situations, and to closely consider the role of the ELA in this regard; calls on the Member States which have not yet ratified and implemented ILO Convention No. 189 on domestic workers to ratify and implement it without delay; calls on the Member States to establish legal frameworks facilitating the lawful employment of domestic workers and carers;

33. Underlines the need for further use of harmonisation and mutual recognition tools for the recognition of professional diplomas, skills and qualifications throughout the Union, avoiding red tape and facilitating trade and transport, respecting the fundamental principle of equal treatment and without lowering Member States’ educational standards and validation mechanisms; calls therefore on the Commission and the Member States to promote and improve current mutual recognition mechanisms and job mobility portals, facilitating and promoting transparent mobility, such as the EURES job mobility portal, the Europass online platform and the European skills, competences, qualifications and occupations classification system (ESCO); calls in particular on the Member States to establish cross-border partnerships to help mobile workers in cross-border regions; calls on the Member States to facilitate the free movement of people with disabilities within the Union, and urges the Member States to ensure the adoption of a common European definition of disability status in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the mutual recognition of disability status among Member States;

34. Considers that national provisions, practices and regulations on access to and the exercise of specific professions, and the access to and the provision of services for the protection of the public interest and the protection of workers and/or consumers, are not an obstacle to the deepening of the single market;

35. Calls on the Member States to ensure that mobile workers have access to training and retraining in order to address the shortage of labour in certain sectors and to support digital transitions and measures towards a climate-neutral economy;

36. Recalls the fundamental right of Member States to go beyond the minimum levels established by European Union directives without creating undue and disproportionate obstacles;

37. Notes with concern the difficulties and lack of adequate access to social protection systems for mobile workers and especially cross-border and frontier workers; stresses the importance of coordinated action at Union level, but acknowledges and welcomes the successful bilateral agreements signed between Member States to guarantee social security rights for all workers as set out in the Council Recommendation on access to social protection for workers and the self-employed; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure the social rights of mobile workers in the event of a health crisis and other crisis situations;

38. Recalls that good working and employment conditions are a competitive advantage for companies to attract skilled workers; underlines the importance of corporate investment in formal and informal training and life-long learning in order to support the just transition towards the digital and circular economy; stresses that companies deploying artificial intelligence, robotics and related technologies have the responsibility of providing adequate re-skilling and up-skilling for all employees concerned in order for them to learn how to use digital tools and to work with cobots and other new technologies, thereby adapting to the changing needs of the labour market and staying in employment; stresses in this regard the importance of the European social partners’ framework agreement on digitalisation; recalls that the aforementioned agreement outlines the responsibility of employers to ensure the re-skilling an up-skilling of workers, in particular in view of the digitalisation of jobs;

39. Stresses the need for full digitalisation of procedures regarding labour mobility and the posting of workers in order to improve the provision and exchange of information between national authorities, and to enable the effective enforcement, including via the establishment of a one-stop helpdesk for workers and future employers on applicable Union rules, based both digitally and physically within the ELA; urges the Member States to fully support the digitalisation of public services, in particular social security institutions, in order to facilitate European worker mobility procedures while guaranteeing the portability of rights and compliance with obligations linked to the freedom of movement; stresses the need to create better statistical tools to measure skills mismatches in European labour markets and to assess the needs of labour markets and the differences between them; highlights the importance of EURES, and draws attention in particular to the linking of EURES activities to labour market needs in order to meet priority sectoral and skills needs and to support jobseekers in finding new employment;

40. Calls on the Commission to proceed, within a reasonable time frame, with the evaluation of the ELA’s mandate, after the Authority has become fully operational for at least two years; urges the Commission to involve stakeholders with profound knowledge of different labour market models in the work and evaluations of the ELA;

41. Calls on the Commission to propose a legislative framework with a view to regulating teleworking conditions across the EU, and to ensure decent working and employment conditions;

42. Calls on the Commission, the Member States and local authorities to work together with the social partners and the ELA to formulate specific sectoral strategies to not only promote and facilitate the voluntary mobility of workers, but also to design and implement necessary support structures for upskilling and reskilling of workers, implementing the relevant public policies and providing high-quality job opportunities that match workers’ skills; emphasises the added value of the mutual recognition of the compatibility of skills and qualifications, supported by current recognition mechanisms such as the EURES job mobility portal, the Europass online platform and the ESCO classification system;

43. Is concerned that access to information for employees and employers on mobility of labour and services still remains a challenge; notes that information on employment conditions and collective agreements which is made available on single official national websites is very often limited in nature and is accessible only in a few languages; calls on the Commission, therefore, to improve access to information by creating a single template for official national websites;

44. Urges the Member States to ensure adequate social security coordination, including through the ongoing revision of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, and by strengthening the portability of rights, paying particular attention to the portability of social security benefits for persons with disabilities; stresses that digitalisation provides an unprecedented opportunity to facilitate MSME cross border operability while ensuring strict compliance with fair mobility rules; stresses the importance of prior notification and the application of A1 certificates before the start of the worker’s cross-border assignment;

45. Stresses that the enforcement of Union rules on labour mobility must ensure the principle of equal treatment, the principle of non-discrimination and the protection of workers, and reduce unnecessary administrative burden;

46. Calls on the Commission to examine protection gaps and consider the need for a revision of Directive 2008/104/EC on temporary agency work in order to ensure decent working and employment conditions for temporary agency workers;

47. Stresses that workers with disabilities continue to face multiple obstacles that make it difficult or impossible for them to fully benefit from the free movement of services; calls on the Member States to implement without delay Directive (EU) 2019/882 (the European Accessibility Act) in order to effectively remove barriers for workers with disabilities, and to ensure the availability of accessible services, as well as the suitability of the conditions under which services are provided; highlights the paramount importance of achieving a fully accessible single market that ensures the equal treatment and economic and social integration of workers with disabilities;

48. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.