The Seasonal Workers Directive

This contribution analyses the regime of the Seasonal Workers Directive (SWD) in order to determine whether it grants adequate safeguards to seasonal workers. Zoeteweij defends the argument, however, that the Directive itself and the (state of) implementation by the EU Member States only confirms the legal subordination of unskilled or low-skilled labour migrants on the European labour market, and that the observed reluctance on the side of the Member States with regard to the transposition of the Directive serves to underpin this argument. The focus of the contribution is on the progress in the implementation of the Directive; special attention is given to the implementation in Italy and Spain. Finally, the contribution concludes by taking stock of the changes in the legal position of seasonal workers, and by formulating a prognosis of what can be expected of the Directive.