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EUROPEAN REVIEW

ISSUE 29 - Page 3

Revise services directive say unions, employers, ministers

THE EUROPEAN DIRECTIVE ON SERVICES in the Internal Market has been discussed by both the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers since we last mentioned it (Issue 27) with regard to services of general interest. This seemingly innocuous proposal has stirred up a hornets' nest because some of its provisions are seen as undermining the tenets of social protection and workers' rights which go to make up the 'European Social Model'. At a hearing before the Parliament in November the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) stated that the proposal had swung too far in the direction of deregulation. The 'country of origin' principle is seen as particularly dangerous as it could enable a company to offer inferior services at a lower cost in one EU state simply by complying with the regulations in the country where it is based. Services like health could be particularly affected if left to the market. Lack of both clarity and consultation was again complained of by the ETUC. The employers' organisation UNICE also requested a clearer definition of the 'country of origin' principle but was generally more positive about the directive, questioning only if proposed exemptions, such as financial services, would prevent its full implementation.

 

SGI EP Hearing

The hearing on the proposed directive held at the European Parliament in Brussels in November

At the subsequent Council of Ministers (Competitiveness) meeting member states also expressed the need for more clarity particularly on the exempted sectors and the effects on other EU labour legislation such as the Posted Workers directive. Whilst the 'country of origin' principle was accepted as a starting point, some countries voiced concerns. The ETUC made another statement before the meeting in which they said that the directive had been prepared in haste and needed to be 'rebalanced' with a pragmatic approach. 'The ETUC has always adopted a positive stance on the creation of a European internal market, which can lead to more growth, employment and a higher level of welfare,' said ETUC General Secretary John Monks. 'But it has to go hand in hand with social protection and adequate workers' rights and conditions'.

Euro-firms to have euro-unions

German system no bar to investment

IN OCTOBER THE EUROPEAN COMPANY STATUTE, first passed in 2001, came into force. It allows companies to be legally constituted at the European level rather than in the law of one member state. The Nordic financial services firm Nordea has announced that it wants to be one of the first to take this step. Trade unions have responded with plans to similarly re-organise as Nordea Union which will operate in Norway, Denmark and Finland and elsewhere in the EU where the company is present. They plan to use the Employee Involvement directive which accompanied the statute, laying down consultation procedures on working environment, stress, training and strategic development. According to Nils Kruse, vice-president of the Danish union 'We in the trade unions cannot think nationally while the banks are thinking globally. If we do so, we will be bypassed'.

GERMANY HAS LONG HAD A SYSTEM OF co-determination in companies where worker representation on boards and committees has effectively meant that employees have a say in corporate decisions. Now this is under attack from some employers who say that investment by foreign companies is deterred. This was refuted recently in a speech by Reiner Hoffmann, deputy general secretary of the ETUC who pointed to the 30% of co-determination firms owned by non-German investors. He also ranked Germany as third most attractive place for foreign investment in the EU, after the UK and eastern Europe. He gave the European Company Statute the thumbs up because of its insistence on consultation but warned that future EU law could be influenced by 'ideologically motivated attacks being made by various industrial associations and employers' federations'.

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