Yesterday, after long and difficult negotiations between political groups in the European Parliament, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs voted on the Enforcement Directive concerning the posting of workers. MEPs backed provisions that will help labour inspectorates in assessing the legality of posting without changing the definition of a posted worker.

 

However, at the same time, provisions giving Member States complete freedom in applying control measures for companies to post workers were adopted by a majority. So was the mechanism of joint and several liability, which is too-far reaching and says that not only the subcontractor but also the company behind it can be held liable for any due entitlements or social security contributions.

 

Members confirmed that posting will be carried out according to the current legal basis. EPP Group Members managed to reject many dangerous amendments including the limitation of posting to 6 months, the requirement to have a minimum of 50% turnover in the country of origin of the service provider and the requirement of the employment of a worker prior to posting.

 

Danuta Jazłowiecka MEP, Rapporteur on the Enforcement Directive on the posting of workers, said: I am afraid however, that with the adopted wording of Art. 9, Member States will still be able to introduce protectionist control measures without limitation, which in turn may lead to a reduction of posting. In addition, the obligation to introduce joint and several liability in all sectors and in the whole subcontracting chain creates a situation of discrimination towards companies posting workers and towards local workers.

 

Csaba Őry MEP, EPP Group Coordinator in the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, added: The EPP Group generally welcomes the results of today's vote. It is of the utmost importance that the possibility of the posting of workers remains a reality in the Single Market even though in several Member States there are intentions to have limitations on it. Today, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs decided that the implementation of the rules on posting needs to be improved. This is inevitable in order to improve the functioning of the Single Market and to enhance mobility to maintain the current level of jobs or even create more jobs at national and EU level.

 

The Employment and Social Committee decided to grant the Rapporteur the mandate for the negotiations with the Council.

 

Danuta Jazłowiecka MEP concluded: During the negotiations, I will try to do my best to reach an agreement which will on one side guarantee workers’ rights and on the other enable companies to make the best use of the Single Market.

 

Every year, around one million workers in the EU are posted to work in another Member State. The countries that post the most workers are Poland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and Portugal. The major receiving countries are Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy.

 

Source: www.eppgroup.eu, © EPP Group in the European Parliament