« Services Emploi » European cross-border consortium (France - Switzerland)
2017
Cross-border cooperation is a partnership between private or public players, separated by a State border, whose actions have repercussions at regional and local level on either side of the border. Within the European area, 360° mobility across the border, the projects and policies that accompany this mobility in territories close to the border, and the progressive cross-border integration that this cooperation builds and gives rise to cross-border territories, characterise different experiences. To illustrate the results of more than 20 years of cooperation within the Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière (MOT), 20 unique experiments conducted by MOT members for the benefit of the inhabitants of cross-border territories have been highlighted in various fields: here we look at employment with the example of the « Services Emploi » project of the Groupement Transfrontalier Européen (GTE), an initiative of French-Swiss salaried cross-border workers.
The differences that exist between national labour markets in Europe can represent an opportunity for cross-border workers, enabling them to find a better-paid job or one that does not exist in their own country. In March 2016, the European Commission counted 2 million people who cross a border every day to get to their place of work. Support is essential to encourage them to seize these opportunities.
Created in 1963, the Groupement transfrontalier européen aims to represent and defend cross-border workers on both sides of the border. The Groupement transfrontalier européen is an information and defence association for cross-border workers. An independent association, the Groupement transfrontalier européen is run by a president, vice-presidents, a steering committee and an administrative committee. All its members are voluntary border workers. They are supported by salaried staff (23 people in 2006), including five lawyers specialising in international law and three social workers.
Through their association, cross-border commuters can find all the information they need about their specific status, as well as legal, tax and social assistance on both a collective and individual level. The Groupement transfrontalier européen had almost 30,000 members in 2010. Group members benefit from reception, legal, employment, tax and social services. They also receive the Frontalier magazine, a monthly newsletter: Front@ligne, and various publications. Membership also gives access to the entire website. For example, members can consult job offers in Switzerland and submit their CVs.
At the heart of the Franco-Swiss cross-border region, the GTE has set up an « employment service » for people looking for work. As part of this service, it offers individual, personalised appointments. During these interviews, people are given information on the state of the job market, job-hunting methods, the Swiss work culture and the status of cross-border commuters. The employment service also organises information sessions on the cross-border job market. Its website lists job vacancies and allows applicants to submit their CVs.