On 20 July, the European Commission published the second-stage consultation to gather the views of trade unions and employers’ organisations on how to improve the quality of jobs in the EU. This is a further step towards a possible legislative proposal on some key issues that need to be addressed to address major shortcomings in the labour markets across the EU.
The Commission is seeking social partners’ views on several dimensions:
The European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) has actively contributed the previous phases of this process, welcoming the renewed attention towards improving working people’s life.
In transport, job attractiveness has been on the decline over the last decades, as serious, structural labour shortages attest. These are not shortages of workers, but shortages of, precisely, quality transport jobs. Data from the OECD, the Commission and the European Labour Authority (ELA) link steadfast shortages with the lack of improvement, and even degradation, of employment and working terms. Persistent understaffing also poses serious health and safety risks for transport workers.
The five pillars identified by the European Commission represent key dimensions on which trade unions are asking for the EU to put forward specific legislation. These are issues that need to be addressed to protect workers and rebalance labour markets, notably in the wake of fast-paced technological developments and climate change, but also when loopholes are favouring unfair competition in the EU internal market.
In the face of years of mobilisation from the European labour movement, the Commission has recognised the need to address excessive subcontracting and labour intermediation. Several labour-intensive sectors are particularly affected, including transport and logistics.
ETF strongly supports a strong, comprehensive, EU-wide legislative approach to this topic, one that combines elements of prevention and enforcement. The very length of subcontracting chains, and their often cross-border nature, dramatically complicates enforcement. With national labour inspectorates under-resourced and effective cross-border enforcement depending on goodwill of Member States, inspections and controls remain insufficient, sanctions too seldom effective. Getting justice when their rights are breached is also very difficult for many workers, notably third-country nationals which happen to make up an important share of workforce in sectors where subcontracting is a dominant business model. For all these reasons, measures to strengthen enforcement must be complemented by preventive elements. Together with the ETUC, EFFAT and EFBWW, ETF calls for ambitious legislation on subcontracting:
Achieving safe, healthy workplaces means getting rid of workplace violence and reducing psychosocial risks. In transport, women only make up 22% of the workforce, with violence a major factor driving them away. Women workers surveyed by ETF are in majority victims of verbal abuse or sexual harassment or violence, and reported harassment or violence in majority in railways, urban public transport, and aviation, majoritarily from third parties (a customer or service user). Almost a quarter of LGBTQI+ transport workers surveyed by ETF reported feeling unsafe at work due to their LGBTQI+ identity. Third party violence and harassment (TPVH), whether it targets women or not, is a serious issue. It is a daily reality for many workers in customer- or user- facing roles, especially in situations of understaffing or isolation. It can take the form of rude behaviour, threats, verbal but also physical attacks and, in some tragic cases, homicides. The fear and feeling of insecurity caused to workers can lead to serious physical and mental health problems. ETF calls for the Quality Jobs Act to cover the following:
Low staffing levels, commonplace in transport, almost inevitably leads to workers being stretched thin to carry out an unchanged total amount of work. This leads to unsafe operations for workers in understaffing: not only threatening their immediate security and that of operations, but also causing stress and fatigue. Fatigue is a state caused by prolonged exertion and a condition that manifests itself physiologically, cognitively and emotionally. It is a crucial risk factor in several transport sectors, notably for truck and coach drivers, seafarers, aircrew and train drivers. Fatigue is usually a complex combination of individual, task-related and working conditions-related factors (such as understaffing). Any discussion on safety in transport must take into consideration the staffing levels and working conditions. The EU can encourage investment in transport jobs to improve their working conditions, which will in turn reduce shortages.
Alongside the above top priorities, ETF also strongly supports strengthened enforcement and role of social partners, including through a reinforced ELA mandate in the upcoming Fair Labour Mobility Package; workers-centered EU just transition plans; and EU action to address the risks induced by algorithmic workplace management.