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Degrees of Inclusion: Free Movement of Labour and the Unionization of Migrant Workers in the European Union
Author(s) -
Thomas Adrien
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
jcms: journal of common market studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.54
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1468-5965
pISSN - 0021-9886
DOI - 10.1111/jcms.12284
Subject(s) - free movement , migrant workers , inclusion (mineral) , trade union , rhetoric , state (computer science) , european union , member state , inclusion–exclusion principle , political science , labour economics , free state , movement (music) , business , member states , economics , economic growth , sociology , international trade , law , gender studies , economic history , linguistics , philosophy , algorithm , politics , computer science , aesthetics
This article discusses the shifting boundaries of inclusion and exclusion of migrant workers in trade unions. Drawing on the example of Luxembourg, an EU Member State with a long history of international migrations, the article examines the relationship between free movement of labour and the unionization of migrant workers before analysing the degree to which migrant workers’ access to social rights is accompanied by their access to effective decision‐making rights in trade unions. Trade unions have used European regulations on the free movement of labour as a legal infrastructure to develop services for migrant workers. At the same time, the free movement of labour and equality of treatment have come to permeate trade union strategies and rhetoric. However, with regard to the inclusion of migrant workers in decision‐making processes and access to leadership positions, numerous obstacles to effective participation by migrant workers persist.