LABOUR MARKET AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF A BROADER CONCEPT OF THE MARKET

The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) defines the internal market in Article 26 as “an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of kgoods, persons, services and capital is ensured”. These four fundamental freedoms form one of the cornerstones of the EU and constitute the basis of the internal market.

The labour market, which is one of the aspects of the free movement of persons within the EU, is thus framed in the broader concept of the internal market. The labour market in general, as well as labour market rights, cannot be separated from other markets that have been established and promoted in current capitalist society. So the labour market is an integral part of a broader concept of the market. This concept is understood as the “selling and buying of commodities”. There are goods and services markets, a capital market, different submarkets and supramarkets, etc. We are living in a (perhaps social) market economy. Actually, the entire society is transforming into a market society. Under the pressure of economic (neo)liberalism, everything is gradually becoming a commodity (or, to be more exact, everything is treated as if it were a commodity). This process is oft en described as a commodification.

When speaking about the labour market(s) within the EU, one has to ask the question whether a single EU labour market really exists. The relationship between the national/regional/local labour markets and the EU labour market, as well as the relationship between these labour markets and the global labour market, is very important and must not be neglected. They interfere with each other, overlap each other and compete against each other.

Another introductory remark has to be made in relation to the terminology that is used in connection with the notion “labour market”. Usually, a distinction is made between the “free” labour market, the “regulated” labour market and the “rigid” labour market. The “rigid” labour market is supposed to be the one that is “over-regulated”. However, it has to be emphasized that the terminology is never value-free. All types of labour markets are regulated and it is not true that a “free” labour market is less regulated.