Brussels, 07/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - A case similar to others, such as the Vaxholm case, that have created quite a stir recently is causing indignation. Finnish shipowner, Viking Line, wants to register its ship under the Estonian flag, with the stated aim of hiring a crew that would be subject to Estonian labour law, considered to be more profitable than the Finnish conditions which it has applied to date. The shipowner has even initiated legal action against the Finnish Seamen's Union (FSU) and the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), says Mr Wurtz. He also says that the European Court of Justice has been called on to rule in the case. According to Viking, the trade unions have prevented it, by threatening collective action, from proceeding with changing its flag and therefore have infringed its freedom of establishment in Europe. “The affair underlines the danger of the principle according to which an enterprise can set up its headquarters in the country that appears to be the most advantageous and then does business in the rest of the Community, thus bringing down the mechanisms which protect salaried workers in other member States. This logic would be strengthened if the Bolkestein directive is adopted,” states Mr Wurtz in a press release. The GUE/NGL group has decided, therefore, to use every means available to it to give the widest possible exposure to this affair so that a stop is put to such unacceptable practices in Europe: it “calls on all parliamentarians, social actors and trade unions to make heard their refusal of this liberal drift in Europe,” and “will work towards the development of a European social model that will benefit salaried workers in all countries of the Union.” In conclusion, Mr Wurtz calls for a stop to be put to companies shopping around for cheap labour.