On 28 May 2025, the final conference of the JUSTMIG project brought together a vibrant mix of researchers, social partners, public institutions, and civil society actors to reflect on some of the most urgent labour market challenges facing Europe today.

A common thread across discussions was the growing trend of hiring migrant workers on fixed-term or outsourced contracts—even in positions that are de facto permanent.

This pattern is reshaping employment conditions, especially in sectors like care, retail, and manufacturing, and is accelerating the spread of precarious work and weakening labour protections.

Participants also examined how these developments complicate the role of industrial relations institutions and trade unions, who are struggling to uphold fair standards in an increasingly fragmented and unequal labour landscape.

Valuable contributions to these vital discussions came also from CELSI researchers - lead researcher of the project Tibor T. Meszmann and CELSI’s Scientific Director Martin Kahanec, offering international and regional insights into the impact of temporary labour migration.

• Tibor T. Meszmann, opened and closed the event, acted as a discussant, and co-authored two papers on industrial relations and migrant labour in Central Europe.
• Martin Kahanec, co-authored a paper on migrant care work in the EU and moderated and discussed several sessions exploring national responses to these evolving challenges.

The conference wrapped up a multi-year collaboration under the JUSTMIG project, funded by the European Union (project no. 101126535), aimed at promoting socially just work across Europe.

🔗 Learn more about the JUSTMIG project — including background reports and policy briefs from 6 EU countries and 3 EU candidate countries that are major sources of migrant labour — at: https://celsi.sk/en/justmig/

#JUSTMIG #JustWork #MigrantWorkers #TemporaryMigrants #SociallyJustWork