Running low on state-capacity: strengthening EU mobile workers’ rights by outsourcing enforcement? The role of advisory services in Germany

Josephine Assmus

doi:10.5771/2566-7742-2023-1-26

Contents
- Chapter Expand | CollapseAuthorsPage
- Titelei/Inhaltsverzeichnis
- 1–5 The European Integration – limits and borders. Introduction to the special issue Stefan Immerfall, Vincent Gengnagel Stefan Immerfall, Vincent Gengnagel 1–5
- 6–151 Articles 6–151
  - 6–25 Equal treatment in the single market? Labour market opportunities for migrants with a European and a non-European background Martin Heidenreich Martin Heidenreich 6–25
  - 26–49 Running low on state-capacity: strengthening EU mobile workers’ rights by outsourcing enforcement? The role of advisory services in Germany Josephine Assmus Josephine Assmus 26–49
  - 50–73 German capitalism and migrant work in meat. How COVID allowed to break the path-dependent labour exploitation Susanne K. Schmidt, Michael Blauberger Susanne K. Schmidt, Michael Blauberger 50–73
  - 74–95 European Border and Coast Guard standing corps. The establishment of a European border police Isabel Hilpert Isabel Hilpert 74–95
  - 96–112 The (conceptions of) European identity of pupils in the border region of Rhineland-Palatinate Saskia Langer Saskia Langer 96–112
  - 113–126 Blind man’s buff: Losing contact while coping with the arrival situation Léa Bendele Léa Bendele 113–126
  - 127–151 The European Green Deal, its narrative of green politics for the next generation and the EU’s search for a stable telos Johannes Gerken Johannes Gerken 127–151
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Culture, Practice & Europeanization , page 26 - 49

Running low on state-capacity: strengthening EU mobile workers’ rights by outsourcing enforcement? The role of advisory services in Germany

Autoren

Josephine Assmus

DOI
- doi.org/10.5771/2566-7742-2023-1-26
- ISSN online: 2566-7742
Abstract

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the precarious working and living conditions of mobile workers made headlines across Europe. The challenges of securing better working conditions are inherent in the integration of the European single market, which removed market barriers while leaving the enforcement of labour rights to national institutions. At the same time, representing workers’ interests in a cross-border context poses difficulties regarding organisation and access. This paper focuses on the role of civil society actors in the cross-border enforcement process by examining the role of advisory services in Germany. To what extent can these new structures fill existing gaps in the enforcement of labour rights and the representation of the interests of mobile workers? Where do they reach their limits? Empirically, this paper draws on documents, reports and semi-structured expert interviews. The data was analysed using qualitative text analysis. Drawing on the literature on interest representation and the enforcement of EU law, I examine the position of these services in the enforcement process along the lines of the fire-alarm vs. police-patrol dichotomy. I argue that these advisory services function as a “sponsored” fire-alarm, compensating for some of the institutional shortcomings but falling short of structural improvements beyond individualised support.
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