The EFBWW calls on the European Commission (EC) to urgently act and end the business model used in Slovenia which promotes the exploitation of construction workers, and which is responsible for letting millions of euros in social security and tax revenues escape public authorities.
Slovenia is one of the biggest exporters of foreign workers to European countries, mainly to Austria and Germany. Numerous workers from the Western-Balkans (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Croatia, but also from Albania and Armenia) enter the EU via Slovenia and end up being exploited as their social security contributions are calculated based on the wage that they would receive for comparable work in Slovenia.
EFBWW general secretary, Tom Deleu: “We want action! The EC must take this seriously and take effective measures to end this state aided business model based on offering cheap labour. Stop social dumping!”.
The Posting.stat project sheds new light on the Slovenian problem with very concrete and alarming data:
· Almost one third of the construction workers are posted abroad. This is the highest percentage in EU
· 6 out of 10 posted workers from Slovenia are third country nationals
· 4 out of 10 third country nationals employed in Slovenia are posted to another Member State
· This system exempts an amount of € 128 million from social security contributions
· Slovenian state receives roughly € 49 million less in social security contributions.
Josef Muchitsch, president of the trade union GBH in Austria and vice chair of the EFBWW Building Committee calls for quick action. “Workers cannot continue to be exploited, not in Austria, not in Slovenia, nowhere! And of course, national companies cannot continue to be the target of unfair competition”.
Already in 2019, the EFBWW submitted a complaint to the European Commission against Slovenia pointing out these irregularities. However, until today, we have not received any answer. We want action today!
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