The European Parliaments’ Employment & Social Affairs committee voted and adopted the report on the Posting of Workers Directive that is practical not applicable and could create a barrier to free movement of services
The posting of workers and the right to provide services cross-border in the EU can be problematic in some sectors, which are generally not from the industries represented by Ceemet, and these problems need to be tackled. But curtailing the very principles of the internal market, to satisfy a political agenda, is not the way to move the union – or growth and jobs – forward. With the current proposal, the only jobs being created are in administration instead of innovation.
And although there are setbacks some achievements were realised. Let’s look at the four following areas:
1. Duration
The maximum duration of a posting of 24 months is too short for manufacturing, e.g. for secondments of highly specialised experts in long-term projects. However, the possibility of extending the period of 24 month is a suggestion Ceemet made as well, giving some counterbalance to the set period.
2. Remuneration and application of non-universally applicable collective agreements
Companies will have to consider a plethora of collective agreements at local, regional, provincial and / or national level before posting a worker. This is not just massive administrative burden, but impossible to do for small and medium companies in particular.
3. Subcontracting
It is advantageous for the companies that they are not generally obliged (Member States decide individually) to inform their subcontractors in writing about terms and conditions of employment/remuneration. However, the practical consequences of such an obligation would lead to changing working conditions each time the subcontractor sends his worker to another country. For the posted worker it means legal uncertainty with regard to their remuneration, for the company it represents an additional administrative burden.
4. Sector-specific regulation for the international transport sector
Ceemet warned in the past for a process whereby European legislation is revised to deal with problems identified only in a very small number of sectors in the economy. The fact that sector-specific legislation is mentioned, supports the assumption that Ceemet was right by saying that problems should be solved where they occur.
In a world where industry is being exposed to global competition and skills mismatch, the current proposal creates additional complexity which eventually will hamper intelligence and best practice exchange between smaller companies and member states.