UNIEuropa

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UNI-Europa

• Regional branch of Union Network International
• Created by the merger in 2000 of
• White-collar employees in private services
• Post and Telecom
• Media and Entertainment
• Graphical Workers
• 7 million members, 320 unions, 50 countries

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(No Transcript)
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Context of the services directive

• Limited cross-border trade in services in EU 1/5
  intra-EU trade gt panacea for unemployment
• Amassed ECJ case law on barriers to trade
• 2002 Commission clear that collective agreements
  can be considered a barrier
• Poor control of posting of workers directive
• Increasing outsourcing/use of atypical contracts
• Union attempts to respond on company level
  Vaxholm, Viking Line, Irish Ferries

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Services directive where did we start?

• Original proposal January 2004
• Covered all economic services, except
• Telecommunications
• Financial services
• Most transport services
• Some of public sector mostly public
  administration
• Deregulation of establishment requirements
• Country of origin principle

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Services directive What was the problem?

• Overlap with labour law and collective agreements
  (posting of workers directive, temporary
  employment agencies) article 24
• Services of general interest (healthcare, public
  utilities, postal services, etc)
• Country of origin principle
• Other sectoral concerns private security,
  audiovisual services, gambling services

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EPs response

• Debate in the EP 2 years in the committee
• Committee vote in November 2005
• ? Trade union mobilisation intensifies
• ? Demonstration in Strasbourg 14 February 2006
• Vote in EP 16 February 2006

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What did MEPs say?

• Exclusion of labour law and social security
  rules, and deletion of article 24 on controlling
  posted workers
• Country of origin principle replaced by right to
  provide services
• Exclusion of SGI but not SGEI, private security
  services, temporary employment agencies'
  services, all financial services, all transport
  services (including ports), health and social
  services and audiovisual services

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Guiding the compromise through the Commission and
Council

• Austrian Presidency ? EP compromise
• Commissions revised proposal (April 2006)
• Council reaches political agreement May 2006
• Additions to appease screening process and
  reconsideration of implementation of the posting
  of workers directive

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Where are we now?

• Second reading the legislation
• Word play? Excluding labour law
• Future of SGEIs and social services
• Adoption of services directive before end of
  2006
• Vaxholm/Viking Line cases due for hearing in
  autumn/end 2006
• Green Paper on labour law tackling bogus
  self-employment