The European Social Partners of the construction sector, EFBWW and FIEC, developed the EU-funded project “The Future of the European Labour Market in Construction” (FELM). The goal was to assess the effect of the increased number of third country national (TCN) companies and workers in the labour market of the construction industry.
In the recent years, an increase in the presence of non-EU companies and non-EU workers has been observed in the EU construction industry. This emerging trend – which is fed, amongst others, by the shortage of skilled construction workers in European countries – has created some new significant challenges for the European and national Social Partners of the construction sector.
The FELM project was conceived to understand these new developments and collect the evidence basis for sharing the Joint Recommendations issued by FIEC and EFBWW at the end of the project Final Conference held on 25th April in Vienna. Started in June 2021, the FELM relies on 6 case studies (3 focusing on TCN companies and 3 on TCN workers in the EU) to highlight the concrete aspects of this phenomenon.
The Joint Recommendations address the challenges and opportunities related to the presence of non-EU workers and companies in the European construction sector. While promoting a fair and sustainable labour market, the guidance principles aim at ensuring compliance with existing regulations and enhancing social cohesion. FELM encourages fair treatment of migrant workers (in terms e.g. of full and equal rights, adequate wages, working conditions, social security, nonetheless the access to training and education).