Foreign workers and trade unions: the challenges posed

Trade unions have always found it difficult to get to grips with the subject of immigration. From their beginnings in the 19th century they assumed that working conditions were determined by labour supply and demand and became apprehensive in the face of any situation of surplus supply. The history of trade unionism abounds with conflicts between local workers and those from further afield. At the present time the European trade unions operate upon the assumption that immigrants are full members of the workforce, whose interests have to be defended alongside those of other workers. Even so, it remains the case that immigration prompts considerable misgivings within the trade unions and that situations of rejection continue to arise. The article identifies differences between southern Europe and central and northern Europe in trade unions' attitudes to new immigrants, differences that are reflected in the debates taking place on European legislation concerning labour immigration.