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Restricted rights: obstacles in enforcing the labour rights of mobile EU workers in the German and Dutch construction sector

Author

Listed:
  • Ines Wagner

    (University of Duisburg-Essen)

  • Lisa Berntsen

    (Tilburg University)

Abstract

There is considerable evidence that employers are violating the labour rights of mobile EU workers. However there is disagreement as to whether the lack of enforcement of these rights is caused by poor EU-level or weak national-level potential to oversee and sanction infringing companies and to enforce the rules. This poses the following three questions. Which enforcement gaps exist in relation to EU labour mobility? Which circumstances lead to these particular enforcement gaps? And what is being done to close those gaps? To answer these questions we examine the behaviour of institutions key to these processes, interviewing the respective labour enforcement agencies and trade unions in the German and Dutch construction sector as well as mobile EU workers themselves. We discuss three distinct difficulties encountered in enforcing labour standards: 1) disparities between enforcement institutions in different EU Member States; 2) enforcement challenges faced within the national context; and 3) representation gaps between host country collective representation channels and mobile EU workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Ines Wagner & Lisa Berntsen, 2016. "Restricted rights: obstacles in enforcing the labour rights of mobile EU workers in the German and Dutch construction sector," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 22(2), pages 193-206, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:treure:v:22:y:2016:i:2:p:193-206
    DOI: 10.1177/1024258916636025
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. 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.
    2. Christer Thörnqvist & Sebastian Bernhardsson, 2015. "Their own stories – how Polish construction workers posted to Sweden experience their job situation, or resistance versus life projects," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 21(1), pages 23-36, February.
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