Posted Work in the European Union: The Political Economy of Free Movement

Description

Focusing on posting of workers, where workers employed in one country are send to work in another country, this edited volume is at the nexus of industrial relations and European Union studies. The central aim is to understand how the regulatory regime of worker "posting" is driving institutional changes to national industrial relations systems. In the introduction, the editors develop a framework for understanding the relationship of supra-national EU regulation, transnational actors and national industrial relations systems, which we then apply in the empirical chapters. This unique volume brings together scholars from diverse academic fields, all of whom are experts on the topic of "worker posting." The book examines different aspects of the posting debate, including the interactions of actors such as labour inspectorates, trade unions, European legal/political regulators, manpower firms, transnational subcontractors and posted workers. The main objective of this book is to explore the dynamics of institutional change, by showing how trans- and supra-national dynamics affect European industrial relations systems. This volume will represent the "state of the art" in research on worker posting. It will also contribute to debates on European integration, social dumping, labour market dualization and precariousness and will be of value to those with an interest employment relations, law and regulation. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgements 1 European Integration and the Reconfiguration of National Industrial Relations: Posted Work as a Driver of Institutional Change 1.1 The Socioeconomic Drivers of EU Posting 1.2 Competing Legal Principles and the Fundamental Tension of Posted Work 1.3 Firm Practices as the Driver of Change 1.4 Pressure on Domestic Institutions and Incremental Change 1.5 Enforcement Actors and Creative Re-Enactment of Institutions 1.6 National Institutional Change in Response to Posted Work 1.7 Feedback and European Level Changes 1.8 The Chapters and their Contribution to the Argument 1.9 Conclusions 2 The Benefits of Posting: Facts and Figures on the Use and Impact of Intra-EU Posting 2.1 Introduction 2.2 ‘The Posted Worker’: A Multifaceted Notion with a Very Concentrated Impact 2.3 Benefits of Intra-EU Posting from the Perspective of the Member State of Origin 2.4 Benefits of Intra-EU Posting from the Perspective of the Host Member State 2.5 The More We Know about Posting, the Better We Can Discuss it: Perception vs Reality 3 Shifting Employer Strategies in Light of Institutional Change 3.1 The Norwegian Labour Market Model Meets a New Reality 3.2 Analytical Framework 3.3 Methods 3.4 First Phase – 2004–2008: Use of Posted Workers and Extension of Collective Agreement 3.5 Second Phase 2009–2013: Individual Labour Migrants and New Court Battles 3.6 Third Phase 2013–2018: The Puzzle on Equal Treatment and Closure? 3.7 Discussion and Conclusion 4 Ambiguous Mobility: Polish Transnational Workers Navigating and Changing the Institutional Landscape of Posting 4.1 Transnational Mobility Regimes, Institutions, and Institutional Change 4.2 Posted Work and Institutional Ambiguity 4.3 The Departure: Allowing for the Ambiguity 4.4 Collaboration and Compliance 4.5 From Asking Around to Facing a State Institution 4.6 Trade Unionisation 4.7 Institutional Navigation and Incremental Changes 4.8 Concluding Remarks 5 A Comparative Analysis of Union Responses to Posted Work in Four European Countries 5.1 Introduction 5.2 How Does Posting Affect Union Rights? 5.3 Union Responses to Posted Work 5.4 Finland 5.5 The Netherlands 5.6 Germany 5.7 The United Kingdom 5.8 Analysis 6 Italian Labour Inspectors Facing Posted Workers Phenomena 6.1 Introduction 6.2 The Instrument of Posting in Italy: Sectoral and Geographical Trajectories 6.3 Business Strategies and Irregularities of Posting 6.4 Labour Inspectorate’ Actions: Dealing with Complexity 6.5 Changing Regulatory Framework: New Approaches towards Posting 6.6 Conclusion 7 Market Integration, Cross-Border Recruitment, and Enforcement of Labour Standards – A Dutch Case 7.1 Cross-Border Labour Mobility and Enforcement – Introduction 7.2 Working Method 7.3 The Role and Function of the Dutch Labour Inspectorate 7.4 The Dutch Instruments for Enhanced Compliance Control Based on the 2013 Social Pact 7.5 Assessment of the Intensified Compliance and Enforcement Policy 7.6 Business Models and Regulatory Engagement Strategies for Circumventing Enforcement 7.7 The Dutch Practice Against the Background of EU Experiences 7.8 Cross-Border Recruitment, Compliance, and Enforcement – Some Conclusions 8 Posting of Workers: From a Blurred Notion Associated with ‘Cheap Labour’ to a Tool for ‘Fair Labour Mobility’? 8.1 Introduction 8.2 The Legal Framework of Intra-EU Labour Mobility in an Enlarged Internal Market 8.3 Experiences and Perceptions of Posting in Practice 8.4 Towards a Comprehensive Set of Regulatory Responses at the EU Level: Enough to Disassociate Posting from Social Dumping? 8.5 Concluding Remarks 9 Stepping Stones Over Troubled Waters. Recent Legal Evolutions and the Reform of the Posting of Workers Directive 9.1 Introduction 9.2 The Reform 9.3 Stepping Stones 9.4 Conclusions 10 Labour Subcontracting in Cross-Border Labour Markets: A Comparison of Rule Evasion in Germany and Japan 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Dispatched Work in Japan 10.3 The Posting of Workers Regulation and Germany 10.4 The Layering of Immigration and Dispatching Regulations in Japan 10.5 Regulatory Arbitrage through Posting in Germany 10.6 Regulatory Displacement through Dispatching in Japan 10.7 Conclusion Author Biographies Index