Workers in the construction sector often find themselves in serious difficulties.  It's all over the news: Accidents at work, unpaid wages, unpaid overtime, unpaid social security contributions. The list of irregularities is endless, especially for migrant workers who come to Europe and often don't speak the language of the country they're going to work in. One of the biggest risk factors for these workers is the long and complex subcontracting chains found on many construction sites, with several hundreds of companies being involved in one construction project. Often, workers do not even know who their boss is. In the end, this means that no one will take responsibility if - and when - something bad happens. 

In construction, subcontracting can be a major factor of exploitation, fraud, and other labour abuses, especially in a cross-border context.

If done in an appropriate way, subcontracting should not necessarily be a problem. Trouble starts when subcontracting is simply used to reduce costs and to escape legal responsibilities. Often, companies use subcontracting chains to disguise employment relationships, avoid tax and social security payments, avoid joint and several liability, and hide from controls by labour inspection bodies. These subcontractors repeatedly vanish without paying the workers their wage due after months of working.

It is time to put an end to this. We need our construction workers!

It is time for the new European Commission to act and introduce new rules to limit subcontracting, to ban agencies in posting and to ensure that no public money goes to the exploitation of workers.

Ahead of the European elections, we ask you to join your voice to ours and help us protect workers’ rights! Sign and share our petition! Use #limitsubcontracting when sharing and discussing this petition on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.