INTRODUCTION

SOLIDAR is a European network of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), trade unions and social movements brought together by the common objective of advancing social justice in Europe and beyond.

In the framework of its work on realising a Social Europe for all and with all, SOLIDAR is currently looking for expert(s) to draft a policy paper on realising fair working conditions for migrant workers in the EU.

It is very common for migrant workers, particularly with a short-term, precarious or irregular status, to face difficult employment and working conditions in Europe. As highlighted by the Council of Europe and the International Labour Organization (ILO), migrant workers, especially those with irregular status, often face legal, social, and institutional barriers that also exclude them from trade union representation, workers’ associations and other support structures such as public services and civil society organisations. Many migrant workers, and particularly the most precarious, may therefore not attempt to negotiate or seek remedy for lack of adequate information and support, or can’t even leave the employment relationship for fear of deportation. In the worst cases, the unfair working conditions amount to labour exploitation and modern slavery.

The European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) and its Action Plan are meant to act as a compass toward a robust social Europe. With the opportunity presented by the review of the Action Plan in 2025, SOLIDAR seeks to explore how the current Action Plan equips Member States and other stakeholders to realise migrants’ fair working conditions, assess its implementation and identify avenues for improvement for the upcoming revision.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES 

In 2020, ILO reported that migrant workers, particularly with a short-term, precarious or irregular status, generally have lower wages, fewer benefits, longer and more irregular working hours, putting them in a more precarious situation than EU citizens as described above. Migrant workers with precarious or irregular status often experience wage arrears and wage theft. In addition to being an unlawful practice that violates their labour rights, these unfair working conditions delay and prevent migrant workers’ inclusion in society. The ILO further notes that sectors with high concentration of migrant workers, such as domestic work and agriculture, often lack formal union structures all together, further limiting their access to organising, inclusion and collective bargaining. Here CSOs have filled an important role in certain circumstances as a bridge. They work with migrants, people who are not employed, and vulnerable groups with less access to public services and unionization. Among these CSOs are inclusion support structures, legal aid associations, diaspora collectives. As such, they play a central role in reaching out to vulnerable communities, helping them navigate job-searching and migration procedures, and advising and monitoring compliance with fundamental rights and labour rights.

In the European Union, various mechanisms exist for workers to seek remedy when their labour rights have been breached. But, as stated, for migrant workers with a short-term, precarious or irregular status, confronting their employer about an unfair practice, seeking remedy or leaving the employment are all perceived to carry substantial risks. In this situation of dependency abusive practices and harsh exploitation is commonplace.

The EPSR sets out 20 principles and rights intended to act as a compass towards a strong and fair social Europe. Translated into ambitious and transversal policies, it has a real potential to improve the well-being of people in Europe, including marginalised groups, by promoting equal opportunities and access to the labour market, fair working conditions and social protection and inclusion. For SOLIDAR, a worker is a worker, and the migration status should not exclude anyone from enjoying the rights recognised to workers.

The European Commission announced a review of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan foreseen for 2025. In parallel, Commissioner Mînzatu will be working on a Quality Jobs Roadmap to support fair wages, good working conditions, training and fair job transitions for workers and self-employed people. Commissioner Brunner is, in turn, tasked with stepping up enforcement and, where necessary, reviewing the rules on preventing exploitation of workers in Europe with an irregular status. These three processes represent opportunities to advance inclusive policies to support migrant’s fairer working conditions and their broader inclusion.

Guiding questions:

• What gaps exist in current EU legislative frameworks in the field of migration and labour rights to protect migrants’ working conditions sufficiently?
• How could a new Action Plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights better integrate the needs of migrant workers, especially in the area of decent work and fair working conditions?
• More broadly, what kind of policies are needed to support migrant workers, prevent labour exploitation, and facilitate access to union representation and support from civil society organisations?

The objectives of the publication are the following:

• Identify the barriers that may prevent migrant workers, including workers with a short-term, precarious or irregular status, from enjoying fair working conditions with special attention to access to civil society and Trade Union representation and collective bargaining (Council of Europe, 2022; ILO, 2021).
• Analyse the state of play of the current EU labour standards framework (including under the European Pillar of Social Rights) and identify gaps in addressing the specific challenges faced by migrant workers, including workers with a short-term, precarious or irregular status, in enjoying fair working conditions.
• Examine the state of play and identify the gaps in the current EU migration and work permit policy frameworks in addressing unfair working conditions.
• Propose actionable avenues for mainstreaming the realisation of migrant workers’ fair working conditions across the studied policy frameworks, as well as policy recommendations that support CSOs and Trade Unions working with migrant workers.
• Provide elements of reflection useful to discuss cooperation and alliance-building between CSOs and Trade Unions in the area of migration and decent work. 

The expert(s) are encouraged to:

• Present(s) good practices for fair working conditions.
• Conduct(s) interviews with key actors in the field, including trade unions and migrant-led civil society organisations.

The expert(s) will develop a policy paper (of between 10 000 and 20 000 words) aiming to answer these questions and meet these objectives. The publication will provide policy recommendations to policymakers on strengthening fair working conditions in EU policy frameworks, notably in the European Pillar of Social Rights new Action Plan, which will impact policy frameworks at national level. The language and tone of the document should make it intelligible to broader audiences without a legal background, so that it is accessible a minima to a generalist audience familiar with EU policy-making. 

ASSIGNMENT SPECIFICATIONS

The selected expert(s) will be responsible for:

• Producing drafts and final version of the publication in English (max. 20 000 words excluding appendixes). The publication should be composed of an introduction, an executive summary, content analysis section, a set of recommendations, a conclusion and relevant appendixes including a bibliography. It is the responsibility of the expert to have the document proofread.
• Developing a one- or two-pager summarising the essential proposals.
• Demonstrating gathering of peers’ feedback on the work produced before submission of the first draft.

For reference, published versions of previous similar assignments commissioned by SOLIDAR in the framework of this program can be found below:

• Grossi, Liscai, Rainer (2023). Revised EU economic governance: Are the European Commission’s
  proposals socially just and environmentally sustainable? Published by SOLIDAR.
  https://www.solidar.org/publications-page/a-socially-just-and-environmentally-sustainableeu-economic-governance-an-experts-paper/
• McCauley, Pettigrew (2022). Can Europe lead a Just Transition? Published by SOLIDAR.
  https://www.solidar.org/publications-page/can-europe-lead-a-just-transition-thematic-pub/ 

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applications need to be submitted electronically and in English to Carlos ROLDAN
(carlos.roldan@solidar.org) and Julie MARTINAUD (julie.martinaud@solidar.org) no later than
25 May at 23:59 pm CEST.

Proposal
The proposal should include 2 sections:

1. The technical proposal:
   
   1.1. A document that contains the following information:
   • A cover page with title, author(s) and address(es).
   • A short abstract of no more than 400 words.
   • A proposed methodology, background information and a research question (max 1500 words)
   • A proposed timeline.

   1.2. A copy of (each) expert’s resume (max 2 pages) and a letter stating expertise, added value and citing one reference (max 400 words).
   1.3 Proof of similar assignment(s) handled in the past years

2. The financial proposal, including the breakdown of costs (e.g. personnel, travel if any,
   equipment, maintenance, other).

Activities

2 May 2025

25 May 2025

26-28 May 2025

2 June 2025

6 June 2025

July 2025 (date TBD)

By 19 September 2025

By 10 October 2025

By 7 November 2025

Presentation of the results 1-5 December 2025