www.2mobility.

eu
E-Bridge to mobility was created after observing the
EU labour market and analysing the needs of Eastern
Europe emigrants (especially those from Bulgaria,
Poland, Romania and Slovakia).
They move from one EU country to another (in
particular the U.K., Germany and Spain) for
educational, financial or social reasons.

Bulletin 14 This project has been funded with support from the
European Commission. This publication reflects the

May/June 2011 views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be
held responsible for any use which may be made of the
information contained therein.

Springtime for workers

from the East
On the 1st of May the German labour market will be
opened up to workers from new member States.
Germany has taken much longer than most other
European countries to open its labour market to workers
from the East, seven years, in fact, mainly due to the fear
of an uncontrolled influx of low-paid workers.

Nowadays, the Germans are count-
ing on professionals from Eastern
Europe, who will fill the gap in the
labour market, mainly in the east of
the country. As much as 70% of Fed-
eral Republic of Germany citizens
expect the full opening of the labour
market for workers from the East to
have negative consequences on their
country and only 16% of Germans
feel positive about migrants from
the east of Europe. Still, a great ma-
jority of German experts are of the
opinion that this fear is unfou nded
and the migration level of workers
from eastern Europe should remain
unchanged. According to the Cen-
tral Office of Statistics, around 400
thousand Poles were employed in
seasonal work in Germany in recent
years. The statistics concerning other
east European countries are similar.
Those who were not able to find a job in German companies, decided to
set up their own businesses, providing services for German employers at
the same time. Therefore, the statistics should not change significantly after
the 1st of May 2011.
Despite much apprehension, the Germans are waiting impatiently for
professionals from eastern Europe. The German labour market is in need
of highly qualified workers, such as engineers and IT specialists. It is esti-
mated that German companies need around 36 thousand engineers and
66 thousand IT specialists. The Germans also have a deficit of more than 30
thousand technicians, including welders, fitters, mechanics, mechatronic
engineers and electricians. Those specialists should have no problems
in finding jobs. Germany, like the whole of Europe, is struggling with the
consequences of an ageing society, and they are ready to employ 80 thou-
sand care workers, as well as 20 thousand doctors and nurses right away.
On the one hand, sceptics are mainly afraid of wage dumping by compa-
nies from eastern Europe, as well as an increase in unfair business practices
by German companies, which are going to employ large number of mi-
grants after the 1st of May. In the majority of German business lines there
are no fixed minimum wages, which could prevent an uncontrolled inflow
of cheap labour from the east or at least guarantee comparable wages for
German citizens and immigrants alike.
On the other hand, the Germans
hope that opening up the labour
market will help to fill the demo-
graphic gap in the east of Germany.
There is huge demand for young,
talented Europeans, who would
like to work on the other side of
the Oder river. The Germans would
rather see them settling in the east-
ern part of the country. This, howev-
er, may differ significantly from the
expectations of eastern Europeans,
who would rather look for their new
place of residence and work in the
western part of Germany. Research
indicates that the great majority of
immigrants entering the Federal
Republic of Germany head for the
west. For example, Polish engineers
have had easier access to job search-
ing in the German market since 2007
and in 2009 employment barriers for
university graduates were removed.
Therefore, after the 1st of May 2011
a mass migration of Europeans from
the east to the other side of the Oder
river in search of a means of earning
a living,is rather unlikely. Those who
will decide to change their place
of work and residence will also mi-
grate to an area where they can earn
more. The wage gap between the
east and the west is so significant
that young Europeans would prefer
to work in west Germany. We may
wonder whether the expectations
of Germans seeking qualified staff
from the east who are looking for
development opportunities will be
fulfilled.
Unemployment in Germany BEFORE YOU LEAVE:
Basic information about job-related
2004 11.7 %
travel can be obtained at EURES
2005 13,0 %
units in Public Labour Offices, which
2006 12,0 %
represent Public Employment Serv-
2007 10,1 %
ices and their partners on the EU
2008 8,7 %
labour market. For example, before
2009 9,1 %
leaving it is worth finding out where
2010 8,6 %
the nearest consulate is and take not
only an ID, but also a passport, which
Source: Bundesagentur fur Arbeit
can be more useful when opening
a bank account. German labour law
defines a working day as being 8
Wages in the west can be as much hours, any overtime worked should
as 15% higher than a national av- be paid time and a half.In Germany
erage salary, while in the former an employee may also refuse to
GDR they can fall to 25% lower. work overtime. Before leaving it is
Thus, expectations on both sides worth to have all documents and
may not reflect the real situation. certificates ,which you may need for
your job search in Germany, translat-
ed. Currently, unemployment ben-
efit is 1200 Euro a month. People,
Those Germans who are expecting
who have worked legally for at least
a sudden inflow of cheap labour may
6 months are entitled to receive it.
be disappointed, as migration is not
likely to increase and it will remain at
300 to 400 thousand people a year.
Even if the number of Europeans
from the former eastern block coun-
tries coming to work in Germany will
grow, it will not happen overnight,
as it is far more likely to be be a long
term process. Eastern Europeans
who were looking for professional
opportunities a few years ago, went
to the British Isles, added to the fact
that since accession to the EU far
more people have learnt English
than German, the linguistic element
has also changed significantly.
The „E-bridge” partners:
 Full benefit is paid after a year of work. Apart from the benefit, workers
are also entitled to sick leave on full pay and maternity leave. Moreover,
parents are also entitled to family credit.
As a result of demographic problems, Germany is in need of for quali-
fied staff in the coming years and the country has concerns for its future.
Therefore, Germans would like to attract the youngest generation of Euro-
peans. An enrolment campaign aimed at thousands of secondary school
students, who are offered not only free education in German schools, ac-
commodation and full-board, but also a scholarship and guaranteed em-
ployment, is to be launched in 2011. Poor knowledge of German is not
an obstacle, since the students would learn the language on the spot.
Brandenburg, Saxony, Mecklenburg or Thuringia are hoping that young
Europeans will choose to settle down there. In these regions the number
of candidates for vocational training has dropped by 50-60% in the last 7
years. It is hoped that young Europeans from eastern Europe will fill this
gap.

Only after a few decades will we find out whether workers from eastern
Europe will have supplied the answer to German demographic problems.
The whole of Europe is struggling with the issue of ageing. It is estimated
that Europe will become the only region in the world with a negative birth
rate of around -0.28 percent and the percentage of retirees will grow from
37 in 2007 to 72 in 2060. In terms of demography Poland is currently a rela-
tively young country, compared to other EU countries, but in the future
the population will age rapidly.

Occupation Berlin Dresden Dusseldorf Erfurt Frankfurt/M Hamburg Munich

secretary 2547 2175 2848 1994 2929 2713 2927

bricklayer 2543 2172 2843 1991 2924 2708 2922

cook 1796 1534 2008 1406 2065 1913 2063

nurse 2474 2516 2766 1937 2845 2635 2843

dental assistant 1815 1550 2030 1421 2088 1933 2086

care worker 2111 1809 2368 1658 2436 2256 2433

electrician 2616 2234 2924 2048 3008 2786 3005

* wage differences in Euro in different areas of business in some German cities.

The „E-bridge” partners: