Documents social dumping 98 results

"The eastern enlargement of the European Union has prompted heated debates about social dumping related to labour standards and industrial relations. Capital mobility is seen as a crucial social dumping mechanism. The article uses time-series-cross-section data for the years 1999–2008 to analyse the determinants of capital flows (FDI) to European countries. It compares German and US FDI in the automotive and chemical industry. The article shows that FDI is influenced by labour standards (in particular protection against dismissals) and industrial relations factors and can be a social dumping mechanism. There are, however, differences according to the industries and the home countries of the investors. US companies try to avoid coordinated collective bargaining, while German companies consider government intervention in collective bargaining negative. The degree of unionization shows no effect on attractiveness for FDI."

"Road freight transport (haulage by truck) within the European Union has been totally deregulated and fully open to competition without any quotas or restrictions since July 1, 1998. This has raised problems, namely due to delay in harmonizing the different EU Member States' tax and labor legislation, roadside check arrangements, and sanctions for companies that violate regulations or the law. Unscrupulous companies have been using this legal vacuum to falsely outsource their activities, intensify the use of subcontracting, and dodge national tax laws and labor and welfare regulations. The result is worsened working conditions in a sector where entry barriers are low. Worker turnover is by definition high in this activity. Truck drivers are semi-skilled and have become interchangeable on the European Union market. They can readily be replaced by drivers from Eastern Europe (Poland, Romania, Bulgaria) who are much less costly in terms of wages and social protection. The spread of these practices has caused concern among labor organizations in Europe. The trucking transport sector is a textbook case for analyzing how the EU is working to counter the unintended effects of deregulation in this sector of the economy."