Seasonal Workers in the Western Balkans: Permanent Challenges and Cooperation Opportunities

Seasonal workers, either formally or informally engaged, comprise a large share of the labour force in the Western Balkans (WB). Seasonal labour brings considerable development benefits including: frequent employment, remittances, enhanced skills, as well as territorial cooperation. Yet, the transition economies of the WB are unable to meet the seasonal working challenges manifested at various levels. These range from a lack of proper governance for seasonal workers’ rights, obligations, and mobility, to greater global challenges, such as migration, climate change, intensive agriculture, etc. In a nutshell, seasonal workers in the WB are at risk of increased vulnerability. European Union (EU) countries, with only 4% of the EU citizen labour force engaged in seasonal labour, find the seasonal workforce from the WB an attractive opportunity for their economies. In 2014, the EU adopted a ‘Directive on Seasonal Workers’ to regulate their activity (Zoeteweij, 2018). However, this directive is controversial in that it transforms people into temporary economic inputs, promoting a void of skills and workforce for the WB economies (Marsden, 2014). This article analyses this complex context by comparing WB countries and examining the possibility for cooperation and regional approaches. It also suggests that state and non-state actors should pay close attention and take up further initiatives to maximize the benefits of seasonal labour mobility, while also improving seasonal labour governance nationally and within the WB region and monitoring the impacts of reform.