The European
\nParliament has decided to start negotiations with member state governments on
\nthe posted workers directive, after on Monday the EU labour ministers reached
\nan agreement on revising this piece of legislation. Talks may start in
\nNovember, but the process is not likely to be easy. Things are moving in the
\nright direction, but the devil is in the details, noted Elisabeth
\nMorin-Chartier and Agnes Jongerius, the two EU Parliament’s rapporteurs on the
\nfile. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
A posted worker
\nis an employee temporarily tasked by their employer to provide services in
\nanother EU member state. In 2015 there were nearly 2 million seconded workers,
\nparticularly in sectors like constructions, education, healthcare, social
\nservices and business services. Under the 1996 Directive, companies could send
\ntheir employees to work abroad for a specific period, and pay the same social
\ncontribution amounts as they did in their home countries. The eastward
\nenlargement of the Union has enabled companies in the region to take massive
\nadvantage of these rules.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The reform of
\nposting regulations is aimed at better protecting workers from salary and
\nsocial dumping. To this end, the member states agreed on Monday, postings
\nshould be limited to 12 months, with 6-month extensions permitted in
\nexceptional cases only. The road transport sector is the only one exempt from
\nthe new provisions until a new law is endorsed specifically for this sector.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The labour
\nministers of Poland and Hungary have voted against the deal, and so have Latvia
\nand Lithuania, while Britain, Ireland and Croatia abstained. Romania, which has
\na lot of workers posted abroad, has voted in favour of the proposed reform.
\nAccording to many commentators, it was just a matter of time until the strong
\nwestern economies moved against what they see as a trick helping some employers
\nto exploit the workforce from the former communist bloc. More specifically,
\nsome companies hire workers from the eastern EU member countries, pay them the
\nminimum wages valid in their home country, throw in something extra to cover
\nthe expenses abroad, and post them. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Other
\ncommentators, however, see the recent decision of the EU labour ministers as a
\nbattle that Romania stands to lose from. They claim Romania’s position on the
\nmatter is in fact a compromise with France, whose president, Emmanuel Macron,
\nis the one who insisted that current rules should be changed. In fact, many
\nFrench and other western workers often complain that easterners take their jobs
\naway, and several West-European leaders want posted workers to be paid the same
\nsalaries as the local employees. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The European Parliament is ready to negotiate with the Member States on the posted workers directive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":49586,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[32714],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-75279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-posted-workers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n