Brussels, 08/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - The issue of social dumping continues to divide the European Parliament, the fault line lying largely between the MEPs from the Eastern European countries and those from the west as was again demonstrated on Thursday 7 July in the plenary session debate on application of minimum wage law in the transport sector. The former group wants the freedoms inherent in the internal market to be respected while the latter group is calling for an end to social dumping.
Germany and France brought the debate to a head with their recently adopted laws seeking, inter alia, to impose a national minimum wage for international hauliers operating within their borders. The Commission recently sent a letter of formal notice to Germany and opened infringement proceedings against France (EUROPE 11574). Germany has been on the Commission's radar for more than a year (EUROPE 11317). In substance, the Commission feels the two countries have put in place excessive administrative procedures that could impede the free movement of goods and services and, generally, the effective operation of the internal market.
And that precisely is what was criticised by the MEPs who spoke against the provisions of French and German law. Most were not so much against the principle of a minimum wage as against the non-customs protectionist measures, such as the requirement under the French law for international hauliers to have a permanent representative on French soil. “If all the other countries did the same as France, I can assure you that European transport would no longer exist”, Richard Sulik (ECR, Slovakia) retorted to Anne Sander (EPP, France). He wondered how Paris would react if Slovakia imposed similar measures.
Sander said that current minimum wage rules are clearly set out in the posted workers directive. The national minimum wage must be applied to all categories of international hauliers and to cabotage activities in order to ensure fair competition. In her view, harmonised social conditions were absolutely required. Jutta Steinruck (S&D, Germany) said that France and Germany had no other option than to act at national level since the European Commission is taking no action against unfair social practices.
Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc was present during the debate and came in for repeated criticism for her lack of action. “This is a complex issue”, she argued. The Commission has to ensure that the principle of free competition is respected while, at the same time, making sure that the social dimension is not neglected. In 2017, the Commission will bring forward a communication on the road haulage sector. “We want to put the human being at the heart of road policy”, she said.
In March, the Commission re-opened the thorny matter of the posted workers directive so as to introduce targeted revisions (EUROPE 11507). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)