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“First win” boost for workers’ rights in Europe
22 February 2006
The European Parliament has voted in favour of a compromise directive on services, giving labour, health and safety and the environment the recognition fought for by unions.
MEPs voted on 16 February to adopt a services directive to open up Europe’s market to cross-border competition, known as the Bolkestein directive, and all 33 of its amendments. Among these is the removal of the “country of origin” principle, allowing companies to apply the regulations of their own state to services in EU countries. Instead, companies would have to respect the labour, health and safety, as well as environmental standards of the host country.
ITF General Secretary David Cockroft said: "It's a positive result, and a first win for the campaign led by the European trade union movement and concerned MEPs. Our fears that jobs, health and safety, working conditions and the environment would be jeopardised by a rush to the bottom have been heard and acted on.
"The European trade union movement, including the European Transport Workers' Federation, lobbied hard to explain not just the dangers, but also the injustice, of the country of origin principle, which could allow jobs and conditions in countries with strong social standards to be threatened by the application of laws of other countries with weaker worker protection.”
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