/ world today news/ The trade agreement with the USA worries Europe
The Bulgarian MEP Georgi Pirinski organized a conference in the European Parliament on the topic “Dealing with the challenges of undeclared work“. The discussions brought to the surface unflattering realities hidden behind this notion. There are no official figures on how many people work illegally, but it is understood that 880,000 people in Europe are victims of undeclared work, and 60% of them are women. Abuses of seasonal workers in Sweden, England, etc. were also exposed.
– What provoked your interest in the subject of hidden work in the European Union, Mr. Pirinski?
– After the 2008 crisis, the problem of undeclared work in the EU seriously affected the labor market. Workers in Western European countries felt that there was a dumping of cheap labor from the newly admitted member states. In practice, a huge number of people from these countries, employed in various industries – from construction, agriculture to hairdressers, caregivers, domestic helpers, etc., suffered. Their labor is drastically exploited. Last year, the European Commission (EC) came up with a proposal to create the so-called Platform – this is a form used in the EU for discussions, exchange of ideas and proposals, which later turn into solutions to problems. I was appointed rapporteur on this matter, and my job consists in preparing a draft resolution that will become a joint decision of the EC and the Council of Ministers.
– Is it a surprise that your report on the subject received serious approval in the Social Policy Committee?
– The support I received is really remarkable, because on the subject there are very different approaches to solving the issue. At first, the right advocates the position that there is no need to discuss the problem at the EU level. They believe that it should be decided by each country separately. And my efforts are aimed at creating Europe-wide rules that not only limit undeclared work, but allow people working without contracts to come forward and get normal contracts, pay and protection. At the same time, I proposed to counter the networks that provide cheap labor in the EU. There are such everywhere, not only in Bulgaria, but also in Western Europe. And the people sent to work in a semi-legal way end up in tragic situations – they don’t get their wages, they don’t have a place to live, etc.
That’s how I got a mandate to participate in the so-called trialogue with the European Commission and the Council of Ministers to agree on a common text that will become a solution to the problem.
– Is there a country in the EC that can boast of efficient solutions against gray work?
– We studied examples and schemes already practiced in the Member States. In France, for example, there is a system to legalize the work of domestic helpers through vouchers and subsidies that the state pays. This, on the one hand, makes the work legal, and on the other hand, the relevant workers receive wages and insurances, pay taxes. Thus, there is no dumping of labor, which undermines the work of local workers. A French MP said that this scheme even increased the birth rate in France, as women were relaxed about raising their children and about their careers. I was very impressed that this program turned out to be a decisive factor in the birth of two, three and four children in the family.
– The problems with semi-legal work within the EU remind us that low incomes in Bulgaria send many people to seek livelihood in the West. Why is this issue being ignored by Brussels?
– This is a very important topic for Bulgarians, which unfortunately is not discussed.
The EC has subordinated its recommendations to the member states entirely to the philosophy of budget cuts, reduction of budget deficits, structural reforms, which are most often expressed in freezing salaries and pensions. They recommend greater flexibility in the labor market, and in practice this means easier dismissals and redundancies. Bulgaria is said to have wages that are “very high” and outpace labor productivity.
The very concept of recommendations must be questioned. They should also include issues of social policy, employment, measures to overcome poverty. A sensible balance is needed between maintaining financial stability and overcoming the most pressing problems, including these severely depressed pay levels.
Bulgaria is obliged to justify such a balance to the European institutions. It seems to me that the Bulgarian governments, not only the last one, are indebted to society in this regard.
– Is it true, Mr. Pirinski, that on the occasion of the discussion of the trade agreement with the USA, the American trade unions have stated that they rely heavily on its conclusion in order to pressure the American government to ratify eight conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO), which he stubbornly avoids?
– There is definitely such an expectation. In recent decades, American unions have suffered a sharp decline in influence as a result of strong pressure from the right. The EP’s Foreign Trade Committee made the ratification of these conventions a condition for concluding an agreement. In this sense, the American unions rely on the regulation of their labor market to be at the European, not the American, level. This is one of the key issues in developing the position of the EU and the EP on the agreement – the European standards in the field of labor must be preserved, and not reduced to lower levels.
– Is there opposition between the EC and the Parliament on the terms of the trade agreement?
– Initially, there was very serious pressure from the European Commission, which wanted to participate alone in the negotiations with the American side. He even hid his positions and intentions.
However, the Committee on Foreign Trade has set a clear framework for the negotiating conditions under which the European Parliament would ratify the trade agreement with the US. In this framework, the requirements for more transparency, for the protection of labor rights and personal data, as well as the desire for public services – health care, social security and education systems, etc. are indicated. – to be excluded from the scope of the agreement.
One of the cardinal issues related to this agreement is the arbitration clause for disputes between private companies and individual states. A large number of MEPs are against any form of private arbitration, opening wide the doors for companies to impose their private interests over public ones. The Socialist Group proposed an amendment expressly excluding private arbitration.
The EC is obliged to comply with these conditions. Improving access to the US market is a positive thing that would lead to increased export opportunities. The point is, however, that there are no high tariffs, no import quotas and no quantitative increases in trade between the EU and the US.
Rightfully so, there is also very serious concern in Europe about the introduction of GMOs, exploration and exploitation of shale gas, where it is clear that American practices cannot be adopted.
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