Est. 4min 12-07-2006 (updated: 28-05-2012 ) eyowwm.jpg Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Languages: Français | DeutschPrint Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram All the ten new member states have officially supported stronger workers’ mobility in the EU. However, a closer look shows a more complex picture marked by fears of brain drain and youth drain Czech Republic: According to a survey conducted by Výzkumný ústav práce a sociálních vecí, the Czech Research Institute for Labour and Social Affairs, in the years 2000-2003, 15.4% of respondents in productive age were willing to move to a foreign country. The most popular destinations were the UK and Ireland (37.6%), Germany (32.1%) and Austria (14.7%). No data on the actual number of people working abroad is available. It is generally believed, however, that the figures were significantly lower than for those willing to migrate. According to the latest census, which was carried out in 2001, approximately 25,000 people worked in the EU member countries. It is generally believed that this figure has seen only insignificant changes since the country’s EU entry. According to the 2001 census, 42% of all Czechs working in Germany were commuting, the figure for Austria was 32%. Hungary: Hungarian workers’ willingness to move abroad has not changed after the accession. The number of those going abroad to take a job is just 1 – 2 %. When asked by EURACTIV.hu, the Ministry of Employment and Labour said that the number of Hungarian employees in EU countries is around 50,000 to 60,000. Despite restrictions on the access of workers from the CEE states, Austria and Germany are popular among Hungarian workers. Increasing interest is shown for the UK. There are only estimates about cross-border commuters to neighbouring countries, but their overall number is too low to cause tensions on the labour market. Hungary itself faces the problem of a high number of illegal workers commuting from Romania, as well as of Slovaks commuting to northern Hungary who are ready to work for lower wages than local workers. Poland: According to different estimates, something between 500,000 and 2 million Poles have left the country in search of better work opportunities abroad. The exact statistics are not available, as the Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS), the National Bank of Poland (NBP) and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy have only recently established a special working group to develop a methodology for analysing the processes of labour migration. Short-distance cross-border mobility becomes more and more popular, particularly to the neighbouring new EU member states. Figures are still relatively low. 1,500 Poles work legally in Slovakia; 13,000 in the Czech Republic. The situation is different in Germany, where many people work illegally, which makes it impossible to estimate the numbers. This problem has existed for many years and is not connected to EU membership. Slovakia: According to official estimates, 170,000 – 200,000 Slovaks work abroad, mostly in the Czech Republic, in Hungary, the UK and Ireland. Some countries, such as Germany or Italy, are popular for seasonal jobs in the agriculture and tourism sectors. After the EU entry, the number of Slovaks commuting to work abroad has increased. Nearly 6,000 workers commute to Hungary on a daily basis. Around 70,000 Slovaks work in the Czech Republic, approximately one fourth of them commute. Possibilities of working in Austria are limited by the restrictions on free movement of labour. Read more with Euractiv Social summit fails to break working time stalemate In a meeting preceding the Informal Council of employment and social affairs ministers in Helsinki, the European social partners have confirmed their deep divide over the Working Time Directive. Subscribe now to our newsletter EU Elections Decoded Email Address * Politics Newsletters PositionsEURACTIV's partner portals examined the public opinion on labour mobility as well as the respective governments' positions. Czech Republic: The public discussion on labour mobility is rather limited. As a result of the relatively low cross-border mobility of the Czech labour force, the interest of the public and the media focuses more on foreigners coming to work in the country. Political actors from both sides of the spectrum have a very liberal stance on cross-border mobility. The number of workers potentially willing to work in a different member state is marginal and consequently cannot lead to destabilisation of European labour markets. Surveys are supportive to such statements. The mobility of workers is officially supported, e.g. in the National Action Plan for Employment (which includes measures to tackle poor performance of the housing market and to support transport), or in the 2005 Strategy for Economic growth. However, these documents are not binding. In the end it will depend on political will whether measures are adopted or not. Hungary: Labour mobility and its effects are small, thus public interest in the question is also small. The issue rarely occurs in public. Discussions tend to be campaign-like, bound to concrete cases (professions). Again, attention focuses more on foreigners coming to Hungary, as is the case of Slovaks in the Northern regions. Repeatedly, the Hungarian government has stressed that free movement of persons, including workers, is one of the four basic freedoms of EU. The government tries to keep the issue high on the political agenda and to maintain public discussion on eventual positive and negative effects. Poland: A lot of Poles resent the fact that so many people leave their country to work elsewhere. On the other hand they see the importance of chances for young people to find well paid work. The main public concern is that migration constitutes a threat to the unity of the family, when one person leaves Poland to work abroad and the rest of the family stays in Poland. There are whole towns and villages where as a general rule children are being brought up by their grandparents. Mobility of the father is often followed by the chain migration of women. The growing problem of alcoholism among fathers also plays an important role in the discussion. For young people, labour migration means a chance for a better start in the life and escape from the unemployment. Therefore, they tend to have more positive attitudes on labour mobility. According to the polls the main critical group are old people with conservative attitudes. The government in Warsaw is an exception in that Polish authorities do not officially support labour migration. They point to problems caused by the departure of the most active, often highly qualified people, and to already existing labour shortages in certain sectors, such as the healthcare professions. The Polish government tries to minimise labour emigration by reducing taxes and costs of employment and by creating incentives for business activity. Slovakia: Official communication stresses the positive effects of labour migration. Slovaks also tend to have a positive stance. According to Eurostat more than 60% think that long-distance mobility is a good thing. However, in many cases it is seen as a matter of necessity and a result of high unemployment and low wages on the local market. Many migrants, especially young people, are ready to take work that is way below their qualification level. The former government of Mikuláš Dzurinda, who left office on 4 July 2006, officially supported labour mobility. A "Report on the current social and economic situation in the Slovak regions", adopted by the Dzurinda government in March 2006, stated that "labour mobility plays the key role in the fight against regional living standard differences. The Slovak government will take the necessary steps and implement a policy focused on the increase of mobility, both internal and international, and especially in the border regions." Cross-border labour mobility is considered one of the main ways of solving the problem of high unemployment. The new government is not expected to radically change this policy. However, some adaptations and more discussion on possible negative effects may be expected, as the government is formed by parties with their power bases in the poorer regions, which are more vulnerable to youth drain and brain drain. BackgroundA study published by the Commission in February found that Europeans have a rather positive stance towards long-distance workers’ mobility – 46% think that it is a good thing for the individual (11% think it is bad), 49% see it as beneficial for the labour market (19% believe the opposite) and 57% think that it is good for European integration (10% disagree strongly). However, positions in the individual countries vary. Among the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, Slovakia is the only one where a majority of more than 60% thinks that long-distance mobility is a good thing for the individual. Czechs, Hungarians and Poles are more sceptical with around 45% positive about mobility in Hungary and the Czech Republic, and less than 40% so in Poland. The same report shows that the willingness of moving to a different country is influenced not only by the attitude towards mobility as such. Economic and social conditions such as unemployment and general living conditions play an important role also. More than 50% of Poles and more than 35% of Slovaks, but less than 30% of Czechs and Hungarians are ready to move to a different EU country if they become unemployed. A look at the bigger picture which was carried out with the help of EURACTIV’s partners EURACTIV.cz, EURACTIV.hu, EURACTIV.pl and EURACTIV.sk reveals more complexity. While governments of all four CEE countries officially demanded the opening of the labour markets in the EU15 at an early time, their positions are more differentiated when risks like brain drain and youth drain are taken into account. Further ReadingEU official documents European Year of Workers' Mobility(portal) [FR] [FR] [DE] Commission: Communication"Free movement of workers - achieving the full benefits and potential"(COM(2002)694; 11 December 2002) [FR] [FR] [DE] Commission: Report on theFunctioning of the Transitional Arrangements set out in the 2003 Accession Treaty(COM(2006) 48 final; 8.02.2006) [FR] [FR] [DE] Commission: Memo"Free movement of workers to and from the new Member States - how will it work in practice?"(pdf; November 2003) [FR] [FR] [DE] Governments Czech Republic (Statistical office):Basic final results of the Population and Housing Census 2001(2002) Think tanks & Academia Výzkumný ústav práce a sociálních vecí (Czech Research Institute for Labour and Social Affairs):Migration and its influence on the labour market in the Czech Republic(Milada Horákova - Prague, October 2003) [Powerpoint]
