The Eurocadres blog
Room for improving labour mobility
Although labour mobility is one of the founding principles of the European Union (EU), there is still much room for improvement, particularly for young people.
Eurostat estimates that half of unemployed young people in the EU are willing to settle elsewhere to get a job, however less than 1 per cent of young workers have settled in another EU Member State, to get their current job.
The lack of language skills is a barrier that hinders the intra-community mobility of young people. We must work to strengthen language teaching in Europe’s education systems. The relatively poor education levels of Europe’s young people is also a discriminatory factor, when it comes to labour mobility.
Half of unemployed young people in the EU are willing to settle elsewhere to get a job.
In order to be able to combat youth unemployment, it is important to work on the development of apprenticeships and vocational training at the European level, with greater emphasis being placed on learning outcomes. Partnerships also need to be developed and encouraged in order to tackle youth unemployment.
To work well EU labour mobility must be voluntary and be part of a professional career path.
We also need to obtain a guarantee of better social security coverage and resources for young workers, who wish to travel in the EU, for work. There also needs to be a simplification of existing social security procedures.
During organisational restructuring or as part of an imposed career path, managers are often relocated abroad by multinationals, ignoring family responsibilities and often creating great suffering at work and home. On the other hand, many managers welcome international experience and find it difficult to cope with the lack of response to their repeated requests. To work well EU labour mobility must be voluntary and be part of a professional career path and also be responsive to family and personal requirements of individual workers.
Brexit testifies to Europe's fragility, improving the labour mobility of Europe’s workers while ensuring that they enjoy good conditions of integration, would undoubtedly strengthen the links between Europe’s citizens and the European project.
The author
Nayla Glaise
Eurocadres Committee Member