Keeping Jobs Fair: Ending Subcontract Abuse

The European Parliament’s resolution on subcontracting chains and intermediaries aims to protect workers’ rights and strengthen fair competition in the EU. It highlights that:

• Labour exploitation is a serious problem in high‑risk sectors such as construction, agriculture, hospitality, domestic work, transport, logistics, meat and food processing, cleaning and care. Workers in these sectors often face unsafe conditions, low wages, undeclared work, and modern‑slavery‑like practices.

• Subcontracting chains can be long and complex, making it hard to identify who is responsible for workers’ rights. This opacity increases the risk of fraud, exploitation, health and safety violations, and unfair competition for small and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs).

• Data show the scale of the problem: 86 % of the most harmful criminal networks use legal business structures, and one in four posted workers are third‑country nationals who are especially vulnerable to abuse.

• The resolution calls for a comprehensive EU strategy that:

• Clarifies how member states can limit subcontracting levels and impose joint liability for the whole chain.

• Encourages direct employment where possible and requires main contractors to perform a defined part of the work themselves.

• Strengthens transparency and accountability in supply chains, including better data collection and public registers of licensed labour intermediaries.

• Enhances labour inspections, especially in high‑risk sectors, and ensures at least one inspector per 10 000 workers.

• Supports social partners and collective bargaining to protect workers’ rights.

• Introduces digital tools such as the European Social Security Pass to simplify cross‑border enforcement of social security rights.

• Tightens public procurement rules to exclude companies that violate labour, social or environmental laws.

• Aligns sanctions with the severity of violations, linking them to company size or turnover, and improves mechanisms to recover unpaid wages and social contributions.

• Promotes cross‑border cooperation among the European Labour Authority, Europol, national authorities and social partners to tackle criminal networks and fraudulent labour intermediaries.

• The resolution urges the Commission and member states to implement these measures, improve enforcement, and ensure that the EU’s single market remains competitive while protecting workers from exploitation and abuse.