Working Lives Research Institute
The Lindsey dispute in 2009 catapulted the issue of posted workers to the fore in the UK, while the European judgments on Viking, Laval and Ruffert have highlighted the limitations of the Posted Workers Directive. However, most studies into posted working have concentrated on the labour market effects for workers resident in the host country.
A team of researchers from five countries, led by WLRI in the UK, have been successful in a bid to the European Commission (DG Employment) to conuct a 12 month study which will focus on the experiences of posted workers themselves.
Through interviews with posted workers in UK, France, Germany, Sweden and Belgium, the project will seek to understand the problems that might be faced by posted workers, in terms of employment rights and living conditions. We will consider what means exist in the Member States concerned to address those problems, and posted workers’ awareness of and preparedness to use those means. Findings will be presented both through an international conference of social partners, enforcement bodies, academics and other stakeholders and via a website which, as well as the report of the findings, will feature photographs of the workers, their temporary workplaces and accommodation.
The project will be led by Steve Jefferys and Nick Clark, and our partner organizations are:
Belgium: Université Libre de Bruxelles, Institut de Sociologie.
France: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Midi-Pyrénées.
Germany: Erlangen-Nürnberg University, Institut für Soziologie.
Sweden: Linköping University, REMESO Institute for Research on Migration, Ethnicity and Society.