Cross-border cooperation of trade unions Burgenland Western Hungary 1
Cross-border region Burgenland Western Hungary Burgenland Western Hungary Area 3.966 km 2 11.329 km 2 Inhabitants 285.000 1.056.000 Employees 99.000 480.000 Largest city Eisenstadt (13.000) Győr (131.000) 2
Differences: Labour market Burgenland Western Hungary Average wage 1.900 700 Unemployment rate (Eurostat) Unemployment rate of the youth (15-24) 4,7% (4,5%) 7% (10,8%) 16,4% 28% Unemployed 6.446 32.000 3
Initial position / problems of crossborder workers Wage difference 1:3 1:5 There are around 15-20.000 Hungarian employees in Burgenland on yearly base They do not know the Austrian legal background Their German language skills are weak They get paid up to 40% less for the same activity than those from Burgenland They often work in areas which require lower qualification than they have 4
Challenges after opening the labour market on 1 May 2011 Wage dumping and crowding out Undermining of labour- and social law standards Skills shortage / braindrain Dequalification Hop-on, hop-off jobs Unemployment of the youth 5
IGR Zukunft im Grenzraum IGR Future in the Border Region Funding program ETC European Territorial Cooperation(Target 3) Austria - Hungary Project executing organisation Lead-Partner: ÖGB Burgenland PP: MSZOSZ Western Transdanubia Time framework 1 January 2008 til 31 December 2014 Financing ERDF, BMASK, Hungary 6
Aims of the projecti. - Information and consultation for employees in their native language - The project serves as monitoringbody for identifying labour market problems - Securing social minimum standard of employees - Reaching regular and constant employment relationships 7
Aims of the projectii. - Measures for reducing skills shortage - Cross-border education measures - Building of sustainable cooperation-and coordination networks - Elimination of prejudices 8
Project activities INFORMATION - Legal consultation for Hungarian employees in Burgenland - Information events - Bilingual publications - Information data bases 9
Legal consultation for Hungarianemployees in Burgenland in their native language Number of consultations: altogether appr. 33.000 (since 2004) Effects of the bilingual legal consultation: -Contributes to reaching regular wage-and labour-conditions for Hungarian employees -Reduces wage dumping and crowding out -Involvementof the IGR-Project in decision-making proceduresrelated to the labour market (involved in the issuing of work permits, integrated in several bodies) 10
Legal consultation in Burgenland in Hungarian language - Consultation in questions of labour law, social law, legal rulesof taxation andthe employment of foreigners - Personal consultation at 5 locations 8 times a week - Consultation on the phone /in written form - Concerned sectors: catering, agriculture, building/wood industry, traffic, metal, commerce - On-site consultation in companies (insolvency, works council elections, etc.) 11
Information events - Sector specific o transportation of goods, o agriculture, o construction, etc. - Global issues o family benefits, o health insurance, retirement pension insurance, o potential effects of the economic crisis on my employment relationship, etc. - Consultation 12
Infoforum: Inter-governmental family benefits 13
Infoforum: Inter-governmental family benefits 14
Morning pint for professional drivers 15
www.igr.at 16
Project activities: NETWORKING institutional networksbetween authorities / institutions/ social partners of both countries cross border sectoral cooperations cross border cooperation of work councils 17
Networking Coordination meetings of all labour market related authorities 18
Project measures: TRAINING / QUALIFICATION Training and qualification for -Multiplicators -Employees -Employee-representatives 19
MAIN FOCUSES - Cross-border worker protection - Atypical employment relationships - Youth - Health and care 20
Main focus Cross-border worker protection Time framework: 2 years(started at the beginning of 2010) Institutions involved Burgenland: Labour InspectorateBurgenland, Austrian Social Insurance for work related Accidents and Diseases, Agriculture and Forestry Inspectorat, Labour Inspectorat of Traffic Sector Western Hungary: Hungarian Labour Inspectorate 21
Main focus Cross-border worker protection Goals of this main focus - building a sustainable network of cooperations - campaigns for consultation and information ofhungarian and Austrian employees - providing employee protection in cross-border issues 22
Main focus Worker protection Message All authorities and institutions of Burgenland and Western Hungary which are concerned in employee protection care about employee protection and maintain cross border cooperations. 23
Commuter-survey 2008/2009/2010 Recording of commuterflows at the 16 border stations between Burgenland and Hungary from 4:00 til 8:00 in the morning 24
Sozialmarie 2010 Social innovation award of the privat trust Unruhe Out of 220 filed projects from Austria and its neighbours IGR-project became one of the BEST 15 and won a prize for social innovation! 25