18
Severe Labour Exploitation Workers moving within or into the European Union The ‘SELEX’ project 15 July 2015 Dr. Joanna Goodey Head of Freedoms & Justice Dpt
Severe Labour Exploitation
Workers moving within or
into the European Union
The ‘SELEX’ project
15 July 2015
Dr. Joanna Goodey
Head of Freedoms & Justice Dpt
2
1 in 5 professionals interviewed by FRA
– such as labour inspectors, health &
safety inspectors, and the police –
came across cases of severe labour
exploitation at least twice a week
3
EU policy context
Social policies Migration policies
Free movement of workers
Criminal justice and victims’ rights
Severe labour exploitation of
workers
4
EU law context
Transparency Free movement of workers
Migration policy Criminal justice Freedom to provide services
Social Policy
Working Time Directive Directive 2003/88/EC
EC and MS reports every 5 years
Temporary Agency Work Directive
Directive 2008/104/EC
Consumer Rights Directive
Directive 2011/83/EU EC report by 13 Dec. 2016
Public Procurement Directive
Directive 2014/24/EU Transposition by 18 April 2016
MS reports by 18 April 2017
Disclosure Directive Directive 2014/95/EU
Transposition by 6 Dec. 2016 EC guidelines by 6 Dec. 2016
review by 6 Dec. 2018
Posted Workers Directive Directive 96/71/EC
Enforcement Directive Directive 2014/67/EU
Transposition deadline 18 June 2016
EC report by 18 June 2019
Free Movement of Citizens Directive Directive 2004/38/EC
Free Movement of Workers
Regulation 2011/492
Facilitation Directive Directive 2014/54/EU
Transposition by 21 May 2016 EC report by 21 Nov. 2018
Employer Sanctions Directive
Directive 2009/52/EC EC reports by 20 July 2014 and
every 3 years MS reports
Single Permit Directive Directive 2011/98/EU
Transposition by 25 Dec. 2016 EC report by 25 Dec. 2013
MS reports by 25 Dec. 2014
Seasonal Workers Directive
Directive 2014/36/EU Transposition by 30 Sept. 2016
EC report by 30 Sept. 2019 MS reports by 30 June 2018
Residence Permit Directive
EC reports by 6 August 2008 and every 3 years
Anti-Trafficking Directive
Directive 2011/36/EU EC reports by 6 April 2015 and by
6 April 2016 assessing impact
Victims’ Directive Directive 2012/29/EU
Transposition by 16 Nov. 2015 EC report by 16 Nov. 2017
MS reports by 16 Nov. 2017 and every 3 years
Past transposition deadline Adopted, transposition
pending
5
Slavery
Servitude
Forced or compulsory labour
Severe exploitation in an employment relationship
Other forms of labour exploitation
Matters of civil/labour
law
Forms of labour
exploitation - a continuum
Violations of
criminal law
Criminal offences under the Employer Sanctions Directive: Exploiting the work of a third-country national in an irregular situation • Under particularly
exploitative working conditions
• If the worker is a victim of trafficking
• If the worker is a minor
The FRA report deals
with all criminal forms of labour
exploitation of workers
6
Slavery
Servitude
Forced or compulsory labour
Severe exploitation in an employment relationship
Other forms of labour exploitation
Fundamental rights
at stake
Also a violation of Article 5 of the Charter: Prohibition of slavery and forced labour
Fundamental rights aspects:
Violation of Article 31 of the Charter: Right to fair and just working conditions
7
Objectives of the SELEX-project
To support EU institutions and Member States in countering severe labour exploitation by:
identifying factors that put workers at risk of severe labour exploitation;
analysing the institutional setting in place and the means of countering serious risks of labour exploitation in terms of
– prevention
– monitoring and
– granting victims access to justice
8
Methodology Expert interviews, professional groups N
Monitoring (labour inspectors etc.) 102
Police services 82
Support services 139
Judges and prosecutors 69
Lawyers (who represented workers) 63
Recruitment 35
Workers’ organisations 56
Employers’ organisations 45
Coordinators at policy level 25
Total 616
•Desk research • All Member States
•Fieldwork research • 21 Member States
• 616 expert interviews
• 217 case studies
• 24 focus group discussions
9
Findings
Risk Factors Prevention
Monitoring Access to justice
10
Labour exploitation
Risk factors relating to legal and institutional
framework
Risk factors relating to
workers personally
Risk factors relating to workplaces
Risk factors created by employers
Risk factors
11
20
65
120
211
219
292
350
411
0 100 200 300 400 500
Other
Employment as a posted worker by foreign company
Worker is not a member of a trade union
seasonal worker
Worker not directly employed by the organisation wherethey work
Precarious or insecure situation of employment, e.g.formally self-employed
Working in isolation with few contacts to clients or peoplefrom outside
Working in a sector of economy prone to exploitation
• Economic sector • Isolation • Precarious
employment situations
Risk factors relating to the workplace
Risk factors
12
32
24
36
37
37
48
58
125
155
237
296
358
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Other
Human health and social work activities
Arts, entertainment and recreation
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and…
Other service activities
Transportation and storage
Administrative and support service activities
Manufacturing
Activities of households as employers
Accommodation and food service activities
Construction
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
Risk factors
Economic sectors most prone to labour exploitation
• Agriculture • Construction • Hotel/catering • Domestic work • Manufacture
13
Few specific prevention activities aimed at tackling labour
exploitation
Some promising practices:
• systems of standard setting, accreditation or branding of
products
• trade unions and support services reaching out to workers
Prevention
Findings – prevention
14
Lack of clear legal mandate/powers enabling inspections at all
workplaces
Victims seen in relation to irregular situation; not as crime victims
Limited resources
Lack of targeted monitoring
Ineffective cooperation with the police
Monitoring
Findings – monitoring
15
Piecemeal criminal law protection
Lack of targeted victim support services
Lack of investigations or proactive interventions
Weak avenues to back-pay and compensation
Victims reluctant and not encouraged to report
Access to justice
Findings – victims’ access to justice
16
• More effective monitoring of situation of workers
• More effective cooperation between organisations
• Ensure that workers know their rights
• Improve legislation
What would improve the situation?
Experts’ views
17
• Strengthen the criminal law framework protecting the
rights of workers to fair and just working conditions
• Improve workplace inspections, enhance cooperation
• Empower victims, encourage victims to report
• Create a climate of zero tolerance of severe labour
exploitation in all economic sectors
• Inform consumers - certification of products
Five main conclusions
