Posting of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, current challenges, and future prospects

Focus group for Serbia

25.10.2023

The focus group meeting for Serbia as part of the Posting prospect project was held on October 25, 2023. Union representatives from four selected companies participated in the meeting, FIAT Automobili Srbija – STELLANTES Kragujevac, APTIV Leskovac, WACKER NEUSON Kragujevac and HI LEX Sremska Mitrovica, president of the Autonomous Trade Union of metal workers of Serbia, experts in this field who deal with the issue of protection of posted workers in Slovenia, Germany and from Serbia, representatives of regional projects and platforms that monitor labor relations and migration.

            At the Meeting, information was exchanged in the field of posting workers from Serbia, as well as employment of foreign workers in Serbia. Workers go to work based on the Law on Conditions for Temporary Assignment to Work Abroad, based on the International Agreement concluded in 1989 with FR Germany, mainly in the construction sector, through temporary employment agencies or in some other arrangements. There is increased talk about the true exodus of the workforce, so that the Serbian labor market lacks: medical staff, drivers, qualified construction workers. Although at the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic there was a certain standstill, these processes accelerated and in recent years the outflow of labor continued, mainly young and qualified, but also unqualified and older workers.

            Workers from the selected four companies are sent to work in Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. These are multinational companies that send workers to their plants in these countries. Their posting is not in accordance with the revised Directive 2018/957, and it is not in line with the Law on Temporary Posting of Workers to Work Abroad. They earn the minimum wage in the host country, which is not enough considering inflation and significantly higher living costs than they would have in Serbia. In addition, they often deal with jobs that do not work in Serbian plants but are actually about filling the lack of labor force. There are also complaints about the intensity of work – for example, in Hungary they only had a 20-minute break, and in Serbia it was 30 minutes, APTIV workers in Romania also complained about overtime. The problem of overtime is present everywhere. To somewhat compensate for overtime through payments, companies decide to pay per diems or bonuses before being sent to the country of destination or after returning to Serbia. To earn as much as possible, workers are ready to work double shifts, which negatively affects their health and productivity at work, and injuries are common.

            The problem of wages and unpaid overtime was also identified by experts dealing with the problems of posted workers in Slovenia and Germany. Slovenia is a transit country to which most of the workforce from the Western Balkans flows and who then go on as posted workers through Slovenian companies, most often to Germany and Austria. These workers are mainly engaged in the transport sector, electro-metal industry and construction. Unpaid wages are often a problem – some German companies that make huge profits are behind in paying several salaries to foreign workers. The problem is the required documents, often falsified PD A1 forms, as well as the lack of a Van der Elst visa, which is mandatory for workers from third countries who are sent to work in Germany. In general, workers do not know their rights and bear the greatest consequences – entry ban or deportation due to not having visas, as well as medical expenses if they are not health insured.

            During the pandemic caused by COVID, workers who had short term job contracts had the most problems. There were problems with the quarantine, accommodation of more people, including infected workers, absenteeism, or reduction of wages. There were also frauds in which both employers and workers were involved – issuance of false permits, false confirmations of PCR tests, and the biggest consequences were once again borne by the workers.

The representatives from Serbia also assessed the provisions of the Law on the Employment of Foreigners, the amendments of which were adopted in August of this year, unfavorably. It was pointed out that the Law, contradicts the Strategy on Migration Management and only increases social dumping. Foreign workers, mostly from Asia, are employed under worse conditions, have lower wages, and there is a lot of undeclared work. Contrary to economic laws, although there is a lack of labor force in Serbia, wages are kept at a low level, so that workers from Serbia leave for better working conditions and salaries  in WE countries, and foreign workers come to Serbia who, due to the bad economic situation in their countries, agree to lower wages.

            In response to the question about “the future development of the posting process and what are the expectations regarding jobs involving posted workers”, it was emphasized that the processes of movement of workers will continue, because the labor force is lacking, both due to the aging of the population, and due to emigration. Companies are trying to adapt, but the processes are so fast that it is actually very difficult to plan the workforce.

Labor law protection has moved towards the protection of foreign posted workers, which is a challenge for trade unions. Unions are advocating for the creation of trade union networks in providing support to posted workers and migrants, for networks and legal advice centers that do not last only during the implementation of projects but are sustainable and stable. Therefore, positive examples and good practice, as well as the exchange of experiences, are particularly important.