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      The International Labour Organization (ILO), in cooperation with the European Labour Authority (ELA), has trained 18 Ukrainian labour inspectors in open-source intelligence to strengthen their ability to detect labour exploitation and violations using publicly available online information.1

      Hosted by ELA in Slovakia, this training supports a more proactive, intelligence-led approach to labour inspection in Ukraine, while helping align enforcement practices with EU standards. At the same time, the initiative deepens collaboration with labour inspectorates across EU member states and supports Ukraine in bringing its labour policies and enforcement mechanisms in line with EU norms as part of the country’s broader recovery.

      WHY THIS MATTERS

      European labour inspection is increasingly data- and intelligence-driven, using open-source intelligence and other tools to detect and enforce rules for (mobile) workers. With initiatives like this training, that experience is now crossing borders and extending to cooperation with Ukraine – and that raises the bar for compliance.

      Using open-source intelligence, authorities can mine job ads, websites, social media, reviews, and registries to target high-risk sectors, companies, and recruitment practices before they ever visit a worksite. With ELA’s cross-border role, this approach extends to risks and fraud schemes involving workers moving between Ukraine and the EU, making it harder to “hide” behind borders or complex structures.

      For businesses connected to European – and now Ukrainian – labour markets, whether directly or through supply chains, platforms, or intermediaries, this translates into tighter scrutiny and higher compliance expectations, particularly if vulnerable or displaced workers are involved. Your digital footprint is now part of the evidence base: what you publish online, and what others post about you, can directly trigger inspections and enforcement.

      More about this initiative

      This week, ELA hosted a three‑day training in Bratislava, Slovakia, focused on strengthening labour inspection capacities in Ukraine through open-source intelligence.

      The training was organised by the ILO and brought together 18 labour inspectors from Ukraine’s State Labour Service. It introduced practical, intelligence-led methods, enabling inspectors to:

      • analyse publicly available information (websites, social media, job portals, online registries, forums),

      • detect risks of undeclared work, unsafe conditions, and labour exploitation,

      • identify violations and suspicious intermediaries, and

      • support evidence-based labour inspections through structured  open-source intelligence workflows.

      Participants left with ready-to-use tools and workflows they can apply directly in their daily work, reinforcing a shift from reactive to proactive, data‑driven enforcement.

      For ELA, hosting and contributing to this initiative is closely tied to its mandate.

      • It reinforces cross-border cooperation between EU institutions and Ukraine’s State Labour Service.

      • It helps build enforcement capacities that reflect how risks and fraud schemes increasingly operate across borders, often extending beyond the EU’s territory.

      • Stronger inspection capacity in Ukraine contributes to better protection of workers across borders, supports fair competition, and helps address exploitation risks that may affect both Ukrainian and EU labour markets.

      KPMG INSIGHTS

      This training reflects how labour inspection in Europe work today – and how this data‑driven, intelligence‑led, and increasingly cross‑border approach is now being transferred to Ukraine.

      With ELA in the lead, labour inspection is no longer just a national affair. Data sharing coordinated checks and cross-border follow-up are already happening and will only intensify. What you do in one country can be scrutinised by another.

      Inspectors use data on A1 certificates, posting notifications, business registries, online job ads, websites, and social media to identify high-risk sectors, chains, and employers before they set foot on site.

      The European reports on posted workers2 show that Ukrainian nationals are now a major group among mobile non-EU workers in the EU. If your business relies on workforce mobility in Europe – and involves non-EU workers – whether directly or via supply chains, agencies, or platforms, then expect stricter, smarter, and more connected inspections. Your data and digital footprint (what you file, what you post, what others post about you) can already trigger cross‑border enforcement – and this will only become more systematic.

      For support in managing these mobility‑related risks and aligning your people, posting and compliance frameworks, reach out to your KPMG contact. 

      ENDNOTES:

      1  International Labour Organization, “ILO strengthens labour inspections in Ukraine through Open Source Intelligence training,” published on 31 March 2026.

      2  European Commission, “Posting of workers: Report on A1 Portable Documents issued in 2024,” October 2025, pp. 37, 45; European Commission, “Posting of workers: Collection of data from the prior declaration tools, Reference year 2023,” May 2025, pp. 12-14, 29. 

      Contacts

      Daida Hadzic
      Daida Hadzic

      Director, Washington National Tax – Global Mobility Services

      KPMG in the U.S.

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