Brussels, 30/11/2012 (Agence Europe) -The Cypriot Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers will try one last time at the meeting of labour and social affairs ministers in Brussels on Thursday 6 and Friday 7 November to inject fresh impetus into the debate on the issue of posted workers. However, as the informal Council of April made clear (see EUROPE 10603), the member states are divided on two technical points in the European Commission's proposal (March 2012): the question of national monitoring measures of firms which use posted workers and the principle of joint and several liability (which affords the opportunity to sue the sub-contractor and the main employer) in the event of infringement.
Context. Posted workers form 0.4% of the work force within the EU. As the Presidency points out, even though a directive has been in existence since 1996 to regulate this kind of temporary employment, “in practice, the existing rules on posted workers are often incorrectly applied or nor enforced in the host member state”. At the same time, abuses are frequent, such as “letter-box companies”, “just to benefit from more favourable social security obligations or lower levels of labour protection”.
Bones of contention. The Commission's proposal seeking to strengthen the existing directive (96/71/EC) was welcomed by most member states, which are aware of the need to enhance administrative cooperation, systems for exchanging information and to redefine what a posted worker actually is. Some on-going progress has been achieved over the last months, but the Council is coming up against two problems (articles 9 and 12). Member states have been unable to come to agreement on the need for a definitive list setting out the administrative control measures that can be carried out by national labour inspection agencies, as the Commission has proposed, rather than an open-ended list that can be added to by states. The second area of discord relates to provisions on joint and several liability. This is a point which adds “significant value” to revision of the directive, according to both the Commission and the Council, but the difficulty lies in the fact that this principle does not exist in all member states and some ministers are reluctant to see it brought in.
Next debate in Council. The Presidency is proposing to organise next week's debate around three questions. Firstly, what measures of administrative control do the member states deem fundamental or is there a way out of the present impasse on the type of list to be employed? Secondly, are ministers ready to accept the “gradual and/or voluntary introduction” of the principle of joint and several liability? And thirdly, if there continues to be no progress on this principle, should it be replaced with the less onerous notion of due diligence on the part of companies?
European Globalisation Adjustment Fund. After the debate on posted workers, ministers will broach the thorny issue of the future of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) in the next multiannual financial framework. Here, no progress is possible. As the Presidency acknowledges, “a noteworthy number of member states continues, as a matter of principle, to be opposed to the continuation of the EGF”. One of the ways out mentioned by some delegations is to transfer the areas of responsibility of the EGF to the European Social Fund. However, alongside those opposed in principle, the other member states remain divided on more concrete issues, such as whether or not farmers, the self-employed and part-time workers should be included and the level of joint EGF funding (from 50% to 65%). (JK/transl.fl)