After his installation as president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker promised to strengthen the social dimension of the EU. The Commission has now published a first draft version of the so-called ‘European Pillar of Social Rights’ (EPSR) that is used for a broad consultation. The EPSR has three sections: ‘equal opportunities and access to labour markets’, ‘fair working conditions’, and ‘adequate and sustainable social protection’. The objectives are more than ambitious: it aims at re-establishing a ‘social triple A’ for Europe. It is also designed to help overcome the crisis and renew convergence within the Euro area. Despite these aspirations, the EPSR is not intended to be enshrined in law, e.g. as part of the European Treaties. Instead of amending the ‘social acquis’, the EPSR should ‘complement’ the legal status quo. The website Social Europe published a critical assessment of the EPSR. In parallel, the European Commission presented a targeted revision of the rules on posting of workers, as set out in the 2016 Commission work programme. The aim of the proposal is to facilitate the provision of services across borders within a climate of fair competition and respect for the rights of posted workers, who are employed in one Member State and sent to work temporarily in another by their employer. More specifically, the initiative aims at ensuring fair wage conditions and a level playing field between posting and local companies in the host country.
English (whole dossier Social Pillar): http://ec.europa.eu/social/main …
English (whole dossier Posting): http://ec.europa.eu/social/main …
Comments: https://www.socialeurope.eu/2016/03/european-pillar-social-rights ...
https://www.etuc.org/press/posted-workers-revision …
For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) cbn-aias@uva.nl or the communications officer at the ETUI, Willy De Backer wdebacker@etui.org. For previous issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit http://www.etui.org/E-Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter. Since June 2013 readers can consult our archive and search through all articles in our database at www.cbnarchive.eu. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net.
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