Brussels, 18/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - A proposal to include seafarers within the scope of five EU labour law directives was presented by the European Commission on Monday 18 November. The current situation is a kind of “anomaly” that the Commission had already identified in its “Fitness Check” on three directives related to worker information and consultation last July (see EUROPE 10987). Exemptions effectively leave it up to each member state to apply the directives to seafarers or not.
The amendments proposed today would give seafarers the same information and consultation rights in all 28 EU member states as those enjoyed by the majority of workers. The right to information and consultation is a particularly relevant issue in cases of collective redundancies and transfers of undertakings. Seafarers and other workers in the maritime sector would also have the right to participate in European Works Councils. This proposal would therefore amend the employer insolvency directive, European works councils directive, information and consultation directive, collective redundancies directive, and transfer of undertakings directive.
In a press release, Laszlo Andor, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion said that “this proposal would improve the living and working conditions of seafarers and so help to attract more young people to work in the maritime sector” and “would also create a level playing field in Europe's maritime sector, since all shipping and fisheries companies within the EU would have the same obligations”. According to Commission estimates, “about 345,455 EU seafarers who work on ships worldwide and about 157,561 EU fishermen who work within the fishing sector” would be affected by the changes. (JK/transl.fl)