The posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services
ECOS-V/032
The posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services
THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
- notes that the phenomenon of posting workers in the EU has grown in recent years: emphasises also that the number of posted workers varies greatly both in terms of Member States of origin and of host Member State of the posting;
- considers, in light of the above, that there is now a need to adopt a Community instrument on the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services, that both harmonises enforcement of its implementation and addresses the fundamental issues that have arisen from the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which have led to a restrictive interpretation of Directive 96/71/EC;
- regrets that the European Commission's current proposal does not review or rework Directive 96/71/EC and is thus not able to deal with all of the substantive issues raised by case-law, especially those related to the extension of collective agreements, the extension of the "core set" of applicable rules, use of a host country's more favourable provisions and respect for fundamental social rights such as the right to strike;
- proposes to ensure greater social responsibility on the part of employers and sub-contractors by introducing a provision limiting the number of sub-contracting levels;
- welcomes the European Commission's withdrawal on 11 September 2012 of the proposal for a regulation (Monti II) on reconciling the right to strike with the economic freedoms of the European Union on the basis of the flexibility clause, in the context of the completion of the internal market (Article 352 TFEU);
- notes that the phenomenon of posting workers in the EU has grown in recent years: emphasises also that the number of posted workers varies greatly both in terms of Member States of origin and of host Member State of the posting;
- considers, in light of the above, that there is now a need to adopt a Community instrument on the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services, that both harmonises enforcement of its implementation and addresses the fundamental issues that have arisen from the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which have led to a restrictive interpretation of Directive 96/71/EC;
- regrets that the European Commission's current proposal does not review or rework Directive 96/71/EC and is thus not able to deal with all of the substantive issues raised by case-law, especially those related to the extension of collective agreements, the extension of the "core set" of applicable rules, use of a host country's more favourable provisions and respect for fundamental social rights such as the right to strike;
- proposes to ensure greater social responsibility on the part of employers and sub-contractors by introducing a provision limiting the number of sub-contracting levels;
- welcomes the European Commission's withdrawal on 11 September 2012 of the proposal for a regulation (Monti II) on reconciling the right to strike with the economic freedoms of the European Union on the basis of the flexibility clause, in the context of the completion of the internal market (Article 352 TFEU);
