A Race to the Bottom? Trade Unions, EU Enlargement and the Free Movement of Labour

Krings, Torben

doi:10.1177/0959680108100165

Cited by 122 publications

(123 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…(Alexandru, Romanian, Pardubice) Casualisation -the acceptance of long and sporadic working hours and low pay -has led scholars to portray migrant workers as victims of ferocious new capitalism, as unfree labour (Geddes et al, 2013), and/or as driving a race to the bottom (cf. Krings, 2009). While not disputing the exploitative working conditions that migrant workers experience, we suggest that these views of migrant labour stem from the notion of a single, permanent workplace.…”

Section: A Temporary Workplacementioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, wages and employment standards decrease because East European workers are willing to work for lower salaries than domestic workers, causing job displacement and an increase in unemployment among the local workforce as employers prefer to hire migrant and/or posted workers (Cremers et al, 2007;Lillie, 2012). Second, trade unions in Western Europe are often opposed to the free movement of labour because labour migration is seen as putting pressure on existing collective agreements, resulting in a proliferation of temporary and flexible jobs that are difficult to unionise (Krings, 2009;Wagner and Hassel, 2015). Furthermore, with increased scope for business relocation to East Europe, coercive comparison undermines European-level union actions and alliances (Bernaciak, 2010;Meardi, 2012).…”

Section: The Limits Of Mainstream Approaches To Intra-eu Labour Migramentioning

confidence: 99%

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From labour migration to labour mobility? The return of the multinational worker in Europe

Andrijasevic

Sacchetto

2016

Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research

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There is currently a large knowledge gap about intra-European labour migration. Existing scholarship focuses overwhelmingly on the movement of workers from East to West Europe. Commentators are caught up in a debate over whether such movement is best understood in terms of social dumping and hence a race to the bottom, or in terms of business opportunities and benefits for firms, states and migrants. The argument put forward in this article is that both approaches are inadequate in that they focus attention on a linear East-to-West movement and discuss this movement from the vantage point of the state, businesses and trade unions in the country of destination. It is our suggestion that such readings of intra-European labour migration fail to grasp the changes in labour force behaviour engendered by freedom of movement and European Union citizenship. In order to gain a clearer understanding of emerging migration patterns in the enlarged Europe, this article adopts mobility as the analytical lens though which to examine the integration of labour markets as well as the tensions between capital, trade unions and labour to which mobility gives rise. Building on fieldwork and interviews with migrant workers conducted at Foxconn electronics assembly plants in the Czech Republic, the article illustrates processes of both segregation and mobilisation produced by intra-European labour mobility, and suggests that the term 'multinational' worker is best suited to convey the experiences and practices of this emergent workforce.

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Section: A Temporary Workplacementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Limits Of Mainstream Approaches To Intra-eu Labour Migramentioning

confidence: 99%

From labour migration to labour mobility? The return of the multinational worker in Europe

Andrijasevic

Sacchetto

2016

Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research

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“…6 Although no definitive figures are available, survey evidence suggests that in original member states, migrants from the countries added to the EU in both the 2004 and 2007 expansions are strongly over-represented in sectors that rely on unskilled and semiskilled manual labour, in particular, agriculture, hospitality and construction (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EFILWC), 2009: 6-7). 7 For accounts of trade union responses in individual countries, see Krings (2009) and Woolfson and Somers (2006). Note also that although it clearly reflects sectoral exposure, the ITF's programme for seafarers is an important exception to the generalisation that GUF trends have necessarily been driven by events in Europe.…”

Section: Fundingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Global Union Federations and temporary labour migration in Malaysia

Ford

2013

Journal of Industrial Relations

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Since the mid-2000s, the Global Union Federations have played a pivotal role in the reshaping of Malaysian trade unions' attitudes towards temporary migrant workers, providing the conceptual tools and material resources -and, in many cases, the motivation -required to reach out to this most non-traditional of non-traditional constituencies. This article documents the different approaches taken by a number of Global Union Federations as they seek to apply lessons learnt from the experience of their European affiliates in the Malaysian context. It argues that while Global Union Federation agendas are largely determined by donor and head office priorities, those agendas are mediated, and sometimes transformed, as they are rolled out through the Global Union Federations' regional offices and to local affiliates in 'target countries' like Malaysia. This finding not only has consequences for temporary migrant workers in particular destinations, but also for our understanding of the structures of the international labour movement and the practices of trade union aid.

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“…Research on trade unions and migrant worker issues has compared Denmark with the UK (Wrench, 2004) and Italy with the Netherlands (Marino and Roosblad, 2008). There have been two studies on trade union responses to migration issues specifically in the context of the free movement of labour in an enlarged EU: Krings (2009) comparing unions in Austria, Germany, Ireland and the UK, and Meardi (2012) comparing unions in Austria, Germany, Poland and the UK. In 2011-2012 the EU-funded TEAM project on trade unions and migrant workers covered six countries: Austria, Belgium, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK (Jubany and Güell, 2012).…”

Section: Research On Trade Unions and Migrantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Still no problem here? Responses to anti-discrimination legislation among trade unions in EU countries

Wrench

2015

Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research

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This article looks at the responses of European trade unions to EU legislation against racial discrimination. Previous research has revealed great variety between EU countries in the nature and extent of union responses to immigration and issues of racial discrimination. However, the EU Racial Equality Directive, adopted in 2000, has become a factor for potential convergence in trade union policies in this field. All EU countries now have in place legislation forbidding racial discrimination in employment, and for some this has been an entirely new development. The article draws on research by two EU agencies – the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights – carried out 14 years apart, covering all EU Member States. Their research throws light on the differences that exist between EU Member States in trade unions’ awareness of, and receptiveness to, the Racial Equality Directive, as well as on changes in union attitudes and policies that have occurred since the 1990s.

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A Race to the Bottom? Trade Unions, EU Enlargement and the Free Movement of Labour

Cited by 122 publications

References 16 publications

From labour migration to labour mobility? The return of the multinational worker in Europe

From labour migration to labour mobility? The return of the multinational worker in Europe

The Global Union Federations and temporary labour migration in Malaysia

Still no problem here? Responses to anti-discrimination legislation among trade unions in EU countries

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