The SIDE-CIC project is a joint initiative of the European social partners in construction, the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW) and the European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC), co-funded by the European Commission. Its purpose was to examine the feasibility of creating an interoperable framework for social identity cards in construction across the European Economic Area.
Social ID cards are already used in many Member States to verify employment relationships, support inspections, improve OSH standards and combat undeclared work and have proven to offer many benefits for both workers and employers. The project has demonstrated the strong added value that interoperability could bring to labour mobility, in reducing fraud and administrative burdens.
This is why, FIEC and EFBWW call on Member states and national social partners to further develop social ID cards for construction and to better align existing schemes.
However, many challenges remain to interconnect the existing social ID cards and this will be possible only with strong support from the European Commission and from Member states. These schemes remain fragmented, with no system for mutual recognition or interoperability.
This project builds on earlier work carried out jointly by EFBWW and FIEC in 2015, which assessed the potential of social ID card schemes in construction where it highlighted the added value of an EU-level framework, complementing existing national systems. Since the conclusion of that project, the number of social ID cards has grown, as well as their maturity.
The project carried out three studies: a mapping of existing schemes, a legal feasibility study and a technical feasibility study. Together, they provide evidence on current practices, potential obstacles and possible solutions. Based on the findings, the social partners agreed on a set of recommendations to guide future initiatives, promote interoperability and prepare a potential pilot project.