Home

SPLIN – Fair working conditons: exploring the contribution of cooperation initiatives between Social Partners and Labour Inspection authorities

SPLIN is a European research project dealing with the role of social partner institutions in inspecting and enforcing labour standards. The two-year EU project investigates innovative and successful measures to safeguard fair working conditions involving social partners and social partner institutions in two sectors, the construction industry and international maritime shipping. The empirical study is carried out in four different countries in close cooperation with the respective social partnership institutions.

On the one hand, SPLIN deals with different approaches in Austria, Spain and Poland in the construction industry: what are social partners’ and social partner institutions’ potential contributions to co-enforce labour standards, to prevent and tackle infringements? How does cooperation and coordination with labour inspectorates work? What are their foundations, objectives and working methods? What are similarities and differences in different national contexts?

On the other hand, SPLIN discusses the working methods and inspection activities of trade unions in international shipping in Spain, Poland and Finland. The International Transport Workers‘ Federation (ITF) developed common transnational labour standards and implements them in cooperation with national trade unions. What are the specificities of labour inspection and enforcement of labour standards in the three countries? What is the cooperation with other institutes, national authorities and the ITF like?

After the empirical research phase, SPLIN plans regional and transnational workshops to explore the transferability of the measures, initiatives and working methods to other sectors, regions or countries.

FORBA is in charge of SPLIN’s project management. Research partners are Notus (ESP), University of Jyväskyla (FI) and Institute for Public Affairs (PL). Associated partners are the Construction Workers‘ Holiday and Clearance Fund (BUAK, AT), the BUDOWLANI trade union (PL) and the Fundacion Laboral de la Construcción des Principado de Asturias (flc, ESP).