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European Court of Justice hearing “a welcome step” says ITF
10 January 2007
A hearing in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) today, debating unions’ right to take collective action in the face of European free movement provisions, has been described as “a welcome step” by the ITF.
The case arose after the Finnish Seamen’s Union, backed by the ITF, threatened to take industrial action over plans by ferry owner Viking Line Abp to reflag its Finnish vessel, the Rosella, to Estonia and to replace the crew with cheaper workers from that country.
The case was referred by the court of appeal in London, UK, to the ECJ in November 2005. Fifteen states and the European Commission have since made submissions in the case.
ITF General Secretary David Cockroft commented: “The number of submissions shows how many states have recognised just how deep the impact of this case could be, and we applaud the court’s determination to settle it.”
“What’s at issue here could hardly be more fundamental. The right to defend your job against the right of a business to do what it takes to up its profits - a Europe for the powerful or a Europe for its citizens.
“This is not about new entrants, or labour costs. It is about the rights and basic beliefs that most of us have always believed underpinned the European Union,” he concluded.
The ECJ has been asked to decide the relationship within the legal order of the European Community rules on free movement - as protected in Title III of the European Community Treaty - and the fundamental rights of workers to take collective action - as protected in Title XI of the European Community Treaty.
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