Brussels, 17/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - Called upon for the first time to interpret the scope of the directive on temporary agency work (2008/104/EC), the judges of the Court of Justice of the EU returned a verdict, on Tuesday 17 March, which delighted the unions as it gives the member states and social partners considerable leeway to regulate temporary agency work.
In this case (C-533/13), the Court was asked three preliminary questions (EUROPE 11151). However, in its negative response to the first of these, the Court rendered the other two questions null and void, leading to a short and clear verdict. They found that this European directive does not allow the national jurisdictions to judge whether national bans or restrictions in force concerning the use of temporary workers are justified by reasons of general interest or not. The obligation upon the member states is therefore limited simply to carrying out a re-examination of the legal framework in force in this area. The European Trade Unions Confederation (ETUC), said “this ruling gives legal certainty”, as it clearly establishes that the “Court guaranteed the right of the social partners to regulate the use of temporary agency work in collective agreements”. (Jan Kordys)