SOLIDAR (2010): Social dialogue - Horus.be

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“I had to pay by all socialcontributions myself, althoughthey were supposed to be paidby the employer. I was alsoblackmailed, humiliated andthreatened, like a beast.Now I pray to God to be lucky,find a permanent job andregularise my position onceand for all.”Migrant care workerItaly:Undeclared and unprotected migrant workers in the private welfare marketMany Italian families are turning to foreign family assistants to care for theirelderly relatives (caregivers, or ‘badanti’) and provide domestic help (maids)because of the limited supply of home care services. The carers are usuallywomen and most left their home countries to escape a difficult situation, oftenworking in Italy without a legal permit. They are highly vulnerable to exploitationin a sector where they are seen as a cheap and flexible solution. The professionis now officially recognised and protected by a national collective agreement,but a significant minority of workers remain in an illegal situation. Employersresist formally registering their employees because of both the initial costs andongoing social security costs.Italy:Discrimination against foreign workers in the construction sector“All my life I have worked, butthe employer doesn't recognisethis and hires me in anotherpay grade. Every day I losemoney; the engineer saysI don't care, I'm not interested.He gave me a grade 2 contract,even though I am qualifiedas a grade 7.”Romanian crane operatorForeign workers are an essential part of Italy’s construction industry, makingup about 17% of the workforce. They have been exposed to discrimination,exploitation, and poor health and safety standards, as well as difficulties intheir social and cultural inclusion. Where trade unions have been involved theyhave successfully negotiated specific measure to protect foreign workers incollective agreements. It is a difficult task however because many foreignworkers distrust the trade unions. Those most exposed to discrimination inworking conditions are workers without a residence permit, workers who arenot aware of their rights or who are willing to ignore them in exchange for animmediate economic return. The most common problems they face aredowngrading, lack of retirement benefits and lack of severance pay. Foreignworkers are also frequently confined to the lower grades, perform the hardesttasks and are far more vulnerable to blackmail compared to Italian workers.Lithuania:Young people faced with high unemployment, low protection and little training“I found out, that in order toreceive the benefits, I had towork for at least 18 months.If I had known that, I might havestuck it out a little longer atwork. I was left without a job orbenefits. The EmploymentOffice has not suggestedanother job in ticket sales.”Youth unemployment in Lithuania is the second highest in the EU according toEurostat, reaching 31.2% in August 2009, and continues to rise rapidly. Theprospects of young people finding a job via the labour exchange are minimalin the current economic climate, and the system has been found to be unwieldyand ineffective. Only 10% of young workers are entitled to and receiveunemployment benefit owing to the requirement to have worked 18 monthsout of the previous 36. State institutions have been slow to respond to thecrisis in youth unemployment, and have done little in terms of support ortraining.Lina, 28, who was asked to leave“voluntarily” when the tourist officeshe worked in was closed down08.
Social Dialogue as a Toolto Promote and Defend Decent WorkIn each of the cases outlined above, good practices have been identified and implemented to help address these situations,and meet the criteria for decent work. Social dialogue has played an essential role in strengthening the rules andregulations, and enforcement of those rules, to protect workers’ rights.Romania:The role of social dialogue in building decent jobs for third countryposted workersRomania’s construction sector has some well-developed social dialoguemechanisms. The ARACO Employers’ Confederation and the FAMILIA ‘AnghelSaligy’ General Federation of Trade Unions, the representative organisations inthe sector, are signatories to the 2008-2009 collective agreement inconstruction. The two organisations also concluded a sectoral social agreementfor 2007-2009, which set up a System of Sectoral Self-regulation inConstruction (SASEC). This system consists of:• A Builders’ Social Fund (providing compensation for periods of inactivity dueto bad weather).• A Builders’ Vocational House and Sectoral Committee on Vocational Training(whose tasks include linking the Romanian vocational training system tosimilar systems in Europe and developing a system of occupational standardsfor life-long learning).• A Builders’ Fund for Safety and Health at Work to build a system of training andauditing aimed at developing a package of services that should lead to theawarding of a certificate of good health and safety practices to constructionsites that meet the legal standards.• A Builders’ Holiday Fund to help reduce the cost for workers, particularly in thelow-earning winter season.• A Builders’ Pension Fund that collects and invests part of individual contributionsto the social insurance fund.Despite this support system, however, many non-EU posted workers are stillunprotected and open to abuse. To help tackle these problems the social partnershave set up bargaining committees. The SASEC has a bargaining committee forcombating undeclared work and another on the relationship between transnationaltrusts and domestic entrepreneurs. Finally, it has a bargaining committeefor migrant workers, which cooperates with the relevant public institutions,develops partnerships and concludes bilateral agreements between tradeunions/employers’ organisations and similar organisations in the countries oforigin, helps foreign workers join trade unions and ensures the observance offoreign workers’ rights and obligations while employed in Romania.Lobbying in partnershipTrade unions and NGOs haveworked together to lobby tochange legislation. Three tradeunion confederations, the NationalTrade Union Confederation CartelALFA, the National Free TradeUnion Confederation in RomaniaFRATIA and the National TradeUnion Block BNS, together withthree NGOs, ARCA the RomanianForum for Refugees andMigrants, the Group for DialogueInitiative and the Association forOrganisation Development – SAHROM, submitted a report to theRomanian government to urgeactive involvement in theverification of the implementationof legislation to protect non- EUworkers to tackle the weaknessesin both law, notably the lack ofclear provisions on the legalterms and conditions ofemployment of non-EU workersand practice, such as the failureto observe the initial agreementwith the worker and the lack ofinformation in a language theycan understand.The structures developed under the sectoral social agreement are operational,have their own staff, and implement projects funded by EU’s PHARE andLeonardo Da Vinci programmes, the European Social Fund, and the InternationalLabour Organisation (ILO), and cooperate with similar foreign institutions. Theyare particularly important in terms of their potential with regard to therepresentation and protection of migrant workers.09.
Page 1 and 2: Social dialogue:a tool to promote a
Page 3 and 4: ForewordFor more than one year now
Page 5: The “Decent Work for All” Proje
Page 10 and 11: 11For reference to the Danish model
Page 12 and 13: The 2008 national collective agreem
Page 14 and 15: To social partners• Strengthen th
Page 16: SOLIDAR is a European network of NG

SOLIDAR (2010): Social dialogue - Horus.be

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