Testing EU citizenship as „labour citizenship“ from cases of labour rights violations to a strengthened labour-rights regime

Although all EU workers are entitled to the same labour rights across the entire EU region, in praxis this often does not materialize. Equal employment terms and conditions with regards to labour laws are especially unfulfilled in low-qualified and low-paid jobs, which often take the form of seasonal work, internships, domestic work or are facilitated by private work agencies. In addition, employee status often lacks the basic standards of fully-fledged employment contracts (thus creating what is commonly referred to as precarious employment).

The project brings together 12 partner organizations who collect EU and non-EU migrant workers‘ testimonies about serious labour rights violations in the EU. In this project, we use the testimonies as the basis for discussing the role of EU and national labour related institutions (labour inspection, labour offices, etc.) and laws (ex. public procurement directives, seasonal workers directive). The project adopts the normative position that decent wage and working conditions are necessary for enabling EU citizens’ full democratic participation, granting labour citizenship.

The objective of the project is to study EU citizens‘ mobility both from the perspective of economically weak regions (as a source of work migration) and from the perspective of the places of destination where migration influences labour dynamics and the broader social milieu. We emphasize the concrete experience of migrant workers and seek to translate it to broader discussions on the future of labour in Europe.

Assozierte Links:

• MigrationOnline.cz
• Link zur Publikation "Liability and co-responsibility in subcontracting chains"