18/03/2026 Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Social dumping and labour exploitation, which at its worst includes forced labour and trafficking in human beings, “represents a grave violation of human dignity and fundamental rights,” warns a draft resolution adopted by PACE's Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development.
Valérie Piller Carrard (Switzerland, SOC), rapporteur, warns that growing integration of national economies has fuelled “a dual labour market where vulnerable workers, often migrant or posted workers and those involved in the informal economy, are subjected to sub-standard working conditions and do not benefit from adequate social protection”.
The committee draws on the standards of the European Social Charter as a “floor of rights” that must not be undercut, and welcomes the political declaration adopted at the High-Level Conference on Social Rights held on 19 March 2026. It urges member states to make better use of the Charter's benchmarks “in combating social dumping and labour exploitation more effectively.”
Among its key recommendations, the committee calls for a significant increase in resources for labour inspectorates and the enhanced involvement of social partners in field inspections, to “mandate compulsory licensing of temporary work agencies”, and to establish “joint liability across the sub-contracting chain.” The committee also encourages member states to replicate “Nordic models of cross-agency co-operation between labour, migration, police and tax authorities, focusing on high-risk and cross-border cases".
The draft resolution further calls on national parliaments to review “legislation to bring it in line with international commitments”, and urges the adoption of a “legally binding international instrument based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights”.
The full Assembly is expected to debate the report at a forthcoming plenary session.