WEC-Europe makes recommendations for labour mobility & legal migration to make positive contribution to labour markets

From a business perspective, there is a clear need for targeted and well-managed economic and legal migration to address labour and skills shortages in Europe, which are an increasing challenge for the continent’s employers, economies and labour markets. Labour mobility and work migration have been central topics within the political debate at European level and a core pillar of the current European Commission’s programme. Furthermore, the recent situation arising from the Russian war of agression against Ukraine has further shed light on the challenges associated to labour mobility and work migration.

In this context, the World Employment Confederation-Europe looks at how we could improve policies around labour mobility and work migration to make a positive contribution to labour markets in Europe. In a new strategic issue paper, WEC-Europe analyses and proposes recommendations in two areas: intra-EU work mobility and economic migration.

On intra-EU work mobility, the World Employment Confederation-Europe

• Calls for using and unlocking the contribution of free movement of workers to better functioning labour markets
• Recommends to link mobility of workers with a focus on compliance and enforcement of rules and regulations on labour mobility
• Supports the removal of existing, unjustified restrictions on agency work services
• Advocates for involving and associating social partners at European and national level in policies on intra-EU work mobility

On economic migration policies, the World Employment Confederation-Europe

• Favours demand driven economic migration policies that are meeting the needs of companies but at the same time offer opportunities associated with the European and international mobility of workers.
• Supports labour migration based on an appropriate and non-discriminatory legal framework. Unjustified restrictions imposed on the agency work industry must be lifted.
• Calls for demand-driven legal migration and reducing the persistent labour and skills shortages in the EU, which are intrinsically linked.
• Advocates for labour migration and mobility policies to include a focus on compliance with and enforcement of existing European and national law, including the need for social protection for all workers.

The paper complements the Strategic Issue Paper on skills and labour shortages “Making Better Matches”, released in September 2022. Broadening access to labour markets – notably through work mobility and economic migration – is identified in that paper as one of four pillars to solve skills and labour shortages in Europe.