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ELA

First action week in the construction sector supported by ELA

10 cross-border inspections and 15 Member States were involved in a joint initiative coordinated and supported by ELA in the construction sector.

First action week in the construction sector supported by ELA

Updated on 30 May 2023 

This first action week in construction sector, organised and supported by ELA, took place in 24 - 30 April 2023.

In total, 10 cross-border inspections were executed during the action week. 15 Member States were involved: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Slovakia and Slovenia. Six Member States hosted the activities, while 10 other countries participated as observers.

The action week in numbers[1]:

  • 25 construction sites checked
  • over 136 companies checked
  • over 1040 workers affected
  • 156 possible infringements detected
  • 258 control officers involved (including 28 observers from other participating Member States and 17 ELA staff members)
  • 15 Member States involved in total

The most common presumed infringements were underpayment of wages, unlawfully obtained social benefits, breaches of working time regulations, non-genuine posted workers, bogus self-employment, bogus/fraudulent work agencies or letterbox companies, illegal employment of third country nationals, cross-border undeclared work, breaches of health and safety rules, and lack of posting declarations. In the preparations for this action, ELA has released a new leaflet[2] on Posted Workers in the Construction Sector: “Know your rights and obligations”, which was disseminated to companies and workers during the inspections.

A wide range of national authorities participated in the enforcement activities, from Labour Inspectorates to Social Security, Customs, Immigration, Health and Safety, and Tax Authorities. This multidisciplinary operation ensured a holistic and comprehensive approach to the various irregularities detected. The pre-selection and targeting of construction sites and/or companies to be inspected based on ex ante risk assessment was also an important element of the activities for the effectiveness of the inspections.

The construction sector: a priority area for ELA in 2023 and beyond

Construction was identified by ELA as a priority for 2023 in view of the prevalence of cross border workers in the sector and its consequent susceptibility to irregularities related to labour mobility.

The ELA will continue promoting and supporting targeted inspections in this sector. It will also keep  working with Member States and Social Partner Organisations to identify new cases requiring cross-border cooperation. In 2023 ELA will launch a communication and awareness raising campaign addressed to workers and employers – contractors and sub-contractors - of the construction sector.

 

[1] Numbers do not cover all 10 inspections.

[2] 1The leaflet is currently available in English, and it can be accessed via a QR code (ela-construction-leaflet.pdf).  All EU language versions of the leaflet, as well as of other non-EU languages most often used in this sector, will be soon made available online.

 

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