Cross-border network helps EU workers abroad claim wages and benefits

Published on 28 October 2026 - 11:00 GMT+1

“They desperately need information, correct information, because, to a certain extent, they’re left to fend for themselves,” says Marko Tanasić, Fair Labour Mobility EU Counsellor, ZSSS Union. He is one of the counsellors from eight countries handing out leaflets at a motorway rest stop near Ljubljana, talking to drivers about their working conditions, rest time and pay.

Millions of Europeans work abroad, and some are not given the salary and benefits they are entitled to. Slovenian trucker Goran Jovanovic, Long-Distance Truck Driver, says many drivers “aren’t paid according to a collective bargaining agreement, as they should be”, and are instead paid by fixed days and per kilometre driven.

The Fair Labour Mobility EU project has a budget of 1.2 million euros this year, 90% of it from the EU, and helped nearly 3,000 workers claim their labour and social rights between 2024 and 2025. The cases range from unpaid social security contributions and work accidents to unacceptable accommodation and underpayment, often across several countries.

The European Commission has just launched its Fair Labour Mobility Package, a proposal with three key goals: faster recognition of qualifications across borders, a digital wallet to store and share social security documents, and a larger role for the European Labour Authority to beat fraud.