Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on ‘EURES — for a better integration of labour markets’ (own-initiative opinion)
Date: 2022-01-19
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: coronavirus disease, epidemic, equal treatment, exchange of information, free movement of workers, labour force, labour market, reintegration into working life, seasonal employment, youth employment








C_2022194EN.01001401.xml










12.5.2022   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 194/14






Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on ‘EURES — for a better integration of labour markets’
(own-initiative opinion)
(2022/C 194/03)

Rapporteur:

Dimitar MANOLOV






Plenary Assembly decision


20.2.2020




Legal basis


Rule 32(2) of the Rules of Procedure




 


Own-initiative opinion




Section responsible


Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship




Adopted in section


16.12.2021




Adopted at plenary


19.1.2022




Plenary session No


566




Outcome of vote
(for/against/abstentions)


237/1/5




1.   Recommendations and conclusions









1.1.


The EESC encourages initiatives at European and local level that develop a more adaptable and accessible European labour market for all citizens, regardless of nationality, gender, age or social status. The transparency and accessibility of information, counselling and intermediation services in the labour market are key to strengthening and developing the European labour market. The EURES portal, launched in 1994, has rapidly become a familiar tool aimed at providing equal access to quality information, counselling and intermediation, efficient and secure systems for the electronic exchange of data between jobseekers and employers, and improving feedback on processes accompanying job placement in another country between employers, jobseekers and institutions. However, the socioeconomic changes that have taken place in the EU and EEA over these nearly 27 years call for the improvement of these services and for greater clarity and visibility of the real performance of public employment services. This improvement can be made on the basis of an outline of future paths for the further development of or changes to information, advisory and intermediation activities, support for the reduction of imbalances in the European labour market, and also the addressing of abusive and unregulated practices in the area of employment intermediation. The new realities following Brexit, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, the dynamic socioeconomic environment in the EU and the EEA, and the inclusion of EURES in the activities of the European Labour Authority, also call for an updated reading of the EURES regulatory framework. It is also necessary to take account of the fact that, since its creation, EURES has not been subject to any substantial changes to update its roles and activities in a timely manner.












1.2.


The EESC recommends a comprehensive analysis of Regulation (EU) 2016/589 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1). In the context of its activities, we believe that the network has the potential to provide more analytical information and carry out monitoring of processes related to labour mobility. Through its electronic portal, the network could provide consolidated information and advice to jobseekers and employers on a much larger scale than at present. With the incorporation of EURES into the activities of the European Labour Authority (ELA), the activities of the network could be expanded and optimised in order to maximise the output of the human and financial resources invested therein.












1.3.


The EESC calls for a public consultation to be launched on the modernisation of the EURES network and portal, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of the services provided, which should be carried out in cooperation with the social partners at both national and European level. This will provide the necessary basis and platform for further development of the network, with the active involvement of all parties involved in the process.












1.4.


The EESC believes that a systematic and detailed analysis is needed of the activities of the EURES network, in the light of its inclusion in the general mechanism of action of the ELA. Being part of the ELA enhances the potential and opportunities of the network to further develop its activities in combatting malpractice in the labour market and to facilitate and better inform users about labour mobility and related challenges. The EURES network provides a good-quality channel for systematised information and can play a more active role in preventing, monitoring and controlling the risk of abuse of labour rights in connection with cross-border mobility. The development of publicly accessible systems to monitor processes associated with COVID-19 that affect the dynamics of the European labour market, as well as processes reflecting unregulated practices by intermediaries and labour market actors and casting light on them, would have significant added value for the activities of the EURES network.












1.5.


The EESC draws particular attention to the rapidly changing labour market situation in Europe, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Member States need to follow the algorithms designed to tackle the evolving social crisis and also develop innovative approaches to address challenges. The EURES platform should be ready to react immediately with concrete measures in the face of a pandemic or in the event of restrictions and new challenges to the free movement of the workforce. In this context, measures should also be developed to improve the integration of social groups furthest from the labour market, such as people with disabilities, people of pre-retirement age and young people, including through improved dialogue and cooperation between the various institutions concerned and the social partners.












1.6.


In a pandemic situation, one of the most affected segments of the labour market are seasonal workers. An important element in the informed decision to enter employment in a country other than one’s own is the provision of detailed information to jobseekers by the potential employer on all measures for dealing with complications to seasonal cross-border employment due to COVID-19. The EESC also feels it would be useful to perform a qualitative review of the organisation and template of the published notices, so that quality is prioritised over the amount of information published.












1.7.


The EESC recommends the use of the European job mobility portal (EURES) also as a conduit for initiatives related to educational mobility and the upskilling of different groups in the labour market. We believe that such a model would be profitable and feasible using the resources and quality of EURES, within the framework of the ELA.




2.   Specific comments









2.1.


The EESC values the European job mobility portal EURES as a vital tool in the process of transforming the European labour market, as well as recognising the essential role of public employment services in its implementation. The EESC believes that EURES can play a much greater role in informing and advising the workforce on how best to respond to the current challenges posed by digitalisation, the transition to green jobs, the ongoing pandemic and in light of the new policies and forms of employment. The EESC welcomes the establishment of the ELA and its role as a coordination mechanism in the field of cross-border labour mobility for facilitating joint checks, and as a mediator to find solutions in the event of a cross-border dispute between national authorities. In this sense, the EESC believes that EURES, as part of the ELA, must continue and accelerate its transformation so as to actively adapt its operations to the new challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, which have an effect on the overall development of the European labour market.












2.2.


A measured and timely balancing of priority policies is essential for the EU’s economic and social health. The human factor and people’s well-being and development is the shared mission of the European community. This new reality requires an urgent rethinking of all available resources and, where necessary, transformation of activities related to the EURES network in a way that is appropriate to the new market and social conditions. At this juncture, the EESC believes that special emphasis should also be placed on vulnerable groups in the labour market — people with disabilities, young people and an ageing population — and that particular attention should be paid to certain forms of employment, such as seasonal workers (2), to ensure equal treatment for those employees, particularly in the context of a pandemic. The challenges faced by employers when using the network are not insignificant. The EESC therefore calls for the launch of an evaluation of the services provided and an analysis of the results, together with the social partners at local and European level.












2.2.1.



Seasonal workers. At present, seasonal labour mobility from one MS to another, in addition to carrying an additional risk to workers’ health due to the pandemic, entails a reduced ability to ensure their safety due to their lack of knowledge and awareness of the host country’s labour law. The EURES network, which focuses on jobseekers, needs to rethink its way of working and ensure the highest possible level of awareness of guarantees regarding the rights, working conditions and status of this group of workers in a pandemic. Any worker who chooses to work in a country other than their own and who makes this choice using the network must be informed in advance by the EURES teams, in a comprehensible manner, of the precise terms and conditions, as well as the specific health measures, that will be guaranteed to them and their family when entering employment in another MS. Liability for failure to comply with the proposed sanitary and health conditions must also be defined in a unambiguous manner. The EESC therefore considers it urgent to assess whether Regulation (EU) 2016/589 is capable of responding to the current challenges and specific needs of the European labour market, and whether it should be revised. Seasonal workers, given the nature of their employment, are among the most vulnerable cross-border workers and the protection of their rights should be reviewed both in a situation of constraints due to epidemic measures, natural disasters or other force majeure circumstances and, in general, after the normalisation of public and economic life. EURES should, through its advisers in the Member States, provide daily updates on measures taken in each MS that concern the rights and obligations of the workforce in a pandemic situation, including treatment options and conditions when health problems occur. Publications on the e-portal (3) relating to the rights of seasonal workers are a good basis for building on this type of information. It is necessary to develop safeguards for this group of workers, which should be subject to publicly available monitoring. The EESC recommends that services aimed at seasonal workers be considered and made subject to the requirements of Directive 2014/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (4), as well as the Communication from the Commission on Guidelines on seasonal workers in the EU in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak (5).












2.2.2.



People with disabilities. The EESC recommends adapting the network to the specific needs of people with disabilities, who are currently excluded from the scope of the portal, creating inequalities between vulnerable groups in the labour market. The EESC recommends, first of all, building into the portal a functionality that allows its use by people with different disabilities. Next, a separate section is needed for jobs that are suitable for people with disabilities, as well as an accessible environment to easily reach and obtain information about these jobs. The EESC believes that, in our efforts to create a common and socially committed European home, it is necessary to focus more attention and resources on this segment, and calls for structured information on the number of people with disabilities who benefit from the services of the portal. At the same time, we also lack systematic information on European-wide initiatives initiated by EURES, and this gap should be addressed in a timely and adequate manner.












2.2.3.



Youth. Offering initiatives to support young people looking for apprenticeships and traineeships is a step towards improving the working climate. The EURES network already participates in European youth projects and, by objectively examining the results of their implementation and using an integrated approach, could contribute to improving awareness of dangers in the process of recruiting young people for traineeship positions and the resolution or prevention of those dangers. More and more young people are exercising their right to labour mobility in another Member State to start their work experience. Unfortunately, there are also many unregulated and harmful practices used in this type of employment, arising mainly from differences in Member State standards and varying applicable legislation. So far, the only initiative targeting young people aged 18-35 was Your First EURES Job (YfEj (6)). The EESC calls for this initiative to be evaluated and an assessment made of its effectiveness and efficiency, and for the portal to provide structured information by MS on the rights and obligations of trainees/apprentices, as well as on the applicable legislation.












2.2.4.



Persons of pre-retirement age. The EESC welcomes the fact that life expectancy in Europe is increasing, but is very concerned about the effects of Europe’s ageing population on the labour market. To make full use of older people’s potential for as long as possible through the possibilities of EURES, it would be advisable to develop pan-European programmes to promote the retention of older people in employment, similar to Senior Expert Services in Germany (SES (7)). The share of older people in the labour market is steadily increasing, requiring specific measures and incentives. The demographic challenges (8) facing the European labour market require new approaches and measures that are coordinated and monitored in terms of the results achieved. In this context, EURES possesses excellent technical and human resources which could be used more actively and specifically for the purpose of initiatives related to supporting employment in the context of an ageing population. The initiative currently proposed by the network is Reactivate (9), and the EESC recommends that this initiative should also be evaluated and an assessment made of its effectiveness and efficiency.












2.2.5.



Employers. The EESC believes that the EURES network should provide accessible and understandable information to employers who use the network, and the portal should focus not only on cross-border mobility, but also promote mobility within Member States. To put all employers on an equal footing, clear guidance should be given to address administrative obstacles when hiring from other Member States, as found by the 2019 evaluation report of the network — Study supporting the ex-post EURES evaluation and the second biennial EURES report (10). In a context of the labour shortages encountered in all Member States, particularly of qualified workers, the EURES network should also provide up-to-date information on national labour shortages and surpluses in each MS, and also encourage coordination of MS actions for an equal distribution of jobseekers in order to strengthen the pan-European labour market.












2.3.


At the same time, the EESC is aware that upskilling and transferable skills are essential for strengthening the workforce’s abilities and creating good quality and sustainable jobs. To really improve jobseekers’ employability, the EESC proposes that the functionalities of the EURES portal be expanded to provide relevant information on educational mobility opportunities detailing training opportunities in other MS provided by private and public organisations and institutions, including other EC portals/networks, such as SALTO (11). Such information is currently not available gathered in one place. It would be possible to complement the portal’s information in this respect by stepping up cooperation with training and education organisations and institutions. In this way, the network’s electronic portal can become a solid platform for offering uniform solutions in relation to training, employment and the protection of jobseekers’ and employers’ interests.












2.4.


The EESC believes that the limited role of the EURES portal as an ‘intermediary platform’ for job searches and placement, even more so after the ELA was commissioned with its administration, should be reassessed and expanded. The functions of EURES advisers in individual Member States, which currently include the provision of information, guidance and recruitment for both jobseekers and employers, should be upgraded and complemented with functions for issuing alerts in connection with breaches of labour law, and facilitated contact with labour inspectorates and other control bodies. This would require much better cooperation between public employment services and labour inspectorates at national level, as well as liaison with the platform for declared employment.












2.5.


The EESC also calls for the development of sustainable rules for the work of the EURES network on the monitoring of published notices, as well as on the organisation of job fairs in different Member States. There is a need to establish common rules and mechanisms in each MS for primary control, verification of risky employers and temporary exclusion of their access to the portal. An appropriate system should be developed for protecting the rights of cross-border workers through the relevant networks and organisations for social cooperation.












2.6.


EURES must play a more active role in preventing imbalances in national labour markets. The network should provide information and take into account specific shortages and oversupply of labour, in certain periods preventing the large-scale attraction of workers in short supply, especially those in highly skilled occupations, which are extremely important for the national economy. For many Member States, the brain drain to countries with higher living standards already poses a threat to their own ecosystems. The EESC recommends that the network collect and analyse information on workers in short supply by country, and create a clear algorithm for organising and participating in activities related to the recruitment of such workers. In order to improve the visibility of the network’s activities and ensure that it is kept up-to-date, it is necessary to re-examine what vacancies are published on the EURES e-portal (12) by the national advisers. At present, millions of notices from national employment services’ databases are currently visible on the portal, but due to requirements a large proportion of these are not applicable for all European citizens. This creates a feeling of scale, but on the other hand the effectiveness of such an approach and its final outcome must be analysed. The EESC reiterates the need to seek a balanced approach to recruitment and labour supply that takes into account labour shortages and surpluses in individual MS.












2.7.


The EESC calls for a uniform approach in the work of EURES advisers across the Member States through the exchange of good practices and the development of uniform guidelines. Feedback between the various actors involved in the consultation and intermediation process should be improved. In some MS, there is no regulatory framework requiring feedback and reporting on actual employment following a placement under the EURES network. We recommend tasking the European Coordination Office, as the umbrella unit, with collecting and analysing this type of information by Member State. On this basis, it will be possible to take timely and adequate decisions to improve network functionalities or build on its functionalities. The EESC is of the opinion that feedback between employers, workers and public employment services (PES) is key to evaluating the effectiveness of EURES.












2.8.


The EESC also draws attention to the fact that the withdrawal of one of the main players in the European labour market, namely the United Kingdom, requires further flexibility and calibration of processes relating to the processing, protection and transfer of personal data and labour rights, and work with intermediary agencies at local level and throughout the EU. The timely reaction and adaptation of the network to the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU is key for the security of processes that accompany intermediary activities, and also for the quality and safe processing of EU citizens’ personal data. It is necessary to ensure that European citizens whose personal data have been transferred through the network and are already held by intermediary organisations on the territory of a third country are kept adequately informed and that any problems are addressed. These processes directly concern the functioning of the EURES network and need to be reflected properly and in a timely manner in the legal basis, including, if shown to be necessary, through a revision of Regulation (EU) 2016/589 and its implementing decisions.





Brussels, 19 January 2022.


The President of the European Economic and Social Committee

Christa SCHWENG




(1)  Regulation (EU) 2016/589 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 April 2016 on a European network of employment services (EURES), workers' access to mobility services and the further integration of labour markets, and amending Regulations (EU) No 492/2011 and (EU) No 1296/2013 (OJ L 107, 22.4.2016, p. 1).

(2)  In their analysis of 28 April 2021, published on the Migration Data Portal, International Organization for Migration (IOM) experts Lea von Martius and Dr Martina Manke stated: ‘The lack of political prioritisation of seasonal workers’ concerns is certainly to blame. This is compounded by the dearth of comprehensive, meaningful data on the issue: significant underestimates of these workers and patchy data on the impact of COVID-19 on their movements, working conditions and health undermine workers’ rights, and threaten their and the public’s health and ultimately food security. The numbers that do exist do not give us a representative picture of the sector and the role of migrants within it. This creates serious gaps in the information needed to design effective policies and monitor the impact of COVID-19 related policies on seasonal migrant workers.’

(3)  https://ec.europa.eu/eures/public/seasonal-worker-guide-your-rights-2021-09-30_en

(4)  Directive 2014/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the conditions of entry and stay of third-country nationals for the purpose of employment as seasonal workers (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 375).

(5)  OJ C 235 I, 17.7.2020, p. 1.

(6)  https://www.yourfirsteuresjob.eu/en/home

(7)  https://www.ses-bonn.de/en/about-us

(8)  According to Eurostat, the old-age dependency ratio (people aged 65 and over as a share of the working age population 16-65) in the EU will shift from 27,8 % in 2013 to 39,5 % in 2030, and may reach 47,6 % and 43,6 % for Denmark and Latvia respectively.

(9)  https://www.reactivatejob.eu/en/home

(10)  https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=738&langId=en&pubId=8370&furtherPubs=yes

(11)  https://www.salto-youth.net/

(12)  https://ec.europa.eu/eures/public/index_en