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Hyper-mobile migrant workers and Dutch trade union representation strategies at the Eemshaven construction sites

Author

Listed:
  • Lisa Berntsen

    (University of Jyväskylä, Finland; University of Groningen, The Netherlands; University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Nathan Lillie

    (University of Jyväskylä, Finland)

Abstract

The EU regulatory regime and employers’ cross-border recruitment practices complicate unions’ ability to represent increasingly diverse and transnationally mobile workers. Even in institutional contexts where the industrial relations structure and labour law are favourable, such as the Netherlands, unions struggle with maintaining labour standards for these workers. This article analyses Dutch union efforts to represent hyper-mobile construction workers at the Eemshaven construction sites. It shows that the nexus of subcontracting, transnational mobility, legal insularity and employer anti-unionism complicate enforcement so that even well-resourced unions can, at best, improve employment conditions for a limited set of workers and only for a limited period of time.

Suggested Citation

  • Lisa Berntsen & Nathan Lillie, 2016. "Hyper-mobile migrant workers and Dutch trade union representation strategies at the Eemshaven construction sites," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 37(1), pages 171-187, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:37:y:2016:i:1:p:171-187
    DOI: 10.1177/0143831X14537357
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nathan Lillie, 2012. "Subcontracting, Posted Migrants and Labour Market Segmentation in Finland," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 50(1), pages 148-167, March.
    2. Ines Wagner & Nathan Lillie, 2014. "European Integration and the Disembedding of Labour Market Regulation: Transnational Labour Relations at the European Central Bank Construction Site," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 403-419, March.
    3. Jan Cremers, 2013. "Free provision of services and cross-border labour recruitment," Policy Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(2), pages 201-220.
    4. Stefania Marino & Judith Roosblad, 2008. "Migration and trade unions. A comparison between Dutch and Italian trade union actions and strategies," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 14(4), pages 625-638, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Anne Theunissen & Patrizia Zanoni & Koen Van Laer, 2023. "Fragmented Capital and (the Loss of) Control over Posted Workers: A Case Study in the Belgian Meat Industry," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 37(4), pages 934-951, August.
    2. Francesco Bagnardi & Devi Sacchetto & Francesca Alice Vianello, 2024. "Constructing Mobilities: The Reproduction of Posted Workers’ Disposability in the Construction Sector," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(6), pages 1703-1724, December.
    3. Diane van den Broek & Chris F Wright & Joanna Howe & Alexander Reilly, 2021. "Pro-market governance, migration status and worker vulnerability: The case of Australian horticulture," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 42(4), pages 1305-1325, November.
    4. Jens Arnholtz & Bjarke Refslund, 2019. "Active Enactment and Virtuous Circles of Employment Relations: How Danish Unions Organised the Transnationalised Copenhagen Metro Construction Project," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 33(4), pages 682-699, August.
    5. Bjarke Refslund & Markku Sippola, 2022. "Migrant workers trapped between individualism and collectivism: The formation of union-based workplace collectivism," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(3), pages 1004-1027, August.
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    7. Eric Tucker, 2020. "Migrant workers and fissured workforces: CS Wind and the dilemmas of organizing intra-company transfers in Canada," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 41(2), pages 372-396, May.
    8. Bjarke Refslund, 2021. "When strong unions meet precarious migrants: Building trustful relations to unionise labour migrants in a high union-density setting," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 42(2), pages 314-335, May.

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