The primarily aim of the study is to cover the category of third-country nationals who enter and reside in Luxembourg for the purpose of seasonal work within the framework of the Seasonal Workers Directive (2014/36/EU). The study follows the hypothesis that although the Directive offers higher protection standards for seasonal workers, it may have not fully reached its objective.
Even though in Luxembourg the Directive has been transposed by the law of 8 March 2017 amending the amended law of 29 August 2008 on free movement of persons and immigration (Immigration Law), the historical development of the country, the type of migration, geographical location as well as labour market priorities defined by successive governments has created labour market where there is no need to use the provisions provided by the Directive.
Specifics of the labour market in Luxembourg is that it is composed of a high number of cross border workers from France, Belgium and Germany, which represent 46% of the labour force. The economy of Luxembourg is service oriented. Besides that Luxembourg is also a well-known international finance centre, as well as home to several EU institutions, for example, the Court of Justice, the General Accounting Office, the European Investment Bank. Therefor sectors that involve seasonal activities are not considered as priorities. Equally, there have been no efforts made to attract third-country national seasonal workers as the available seasonal vacancies are attractive enough for nationals of other EU countries.