Migrant workers entitled to local conditions
national |
worker & community struggles and protests |
news report 
Wednesday May 23, 2007 14:19
by Stuart
European Court of Justice upholds workers rights
The European Court of Justice has today passed opinions in two cases on the rights of migrant workers. Both are relevant to Ireland as one of the leaders in migrant exploitation and one of only three EU states refusing to protect agency workers.
In one case the Latvian construction company Laval provided employees for work in Sweden below Swedish market rates, a scheme of exploitation supported in person by Charlie MCreevy. Advocate-General Mengozzi stated that trade unions "motivated by objectives which are in the public interest" had the right to oblige firms supplying workers from other EU countries to apply domestic pay rates. This upholds the position of Polish and other migrant agency workers in Musgrave Group http://www.indymedia.ie/article/82223 taking action for equal conditions.
In the other case Advocate General Maduro upheld the right of a union to take action to "dissuade" relocation to a lower-wage environment, but relocation (the "right of establishment") by an employer is also upheld. This is the position in Irish Ferries, relocated to the Bahamas and paying (in some cases) Philipino rates.
Comments (2 of 2)
Jump To Comment: 1 2SIPTU has welcomed two non-binding rulings from the European Court of Justice which were marginally in favour of trade unions campaigning against the use of lower paid labour, often from the new member states of Eastern Europe.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/523/eu.html
More on original issue
http://www.eubusiness.com/Latvia/041222164857.ao3jtwcp/
The phrase "non-binding ruling" on RTE is misleading. These are opinions requested by the court from the senior advocates on the probable binding ruling later this year. They serve to advise employers and unions of the most practical settlement terms of current disputes. Any employer currently employing migrant agency workers on less favourable terms than locally agreed rates would be wise to regularise their conditions. The opinions also advise that industrial action for equal terms is legal.
Ireland has a particularly poor record on European legislation, having been prosecuted for failure to implement environmental legislation and reprimanded for failure to implement protection of employees Directives. These are aspirations to which the Irish government has verbally committed, without subsequent action.
There is currently an employment equality case brought by Impact / Department of Finance employees costed at just under 30,000 euro per head before litigation, which Ireland has been advised it will lose, but is nevertheless fighting at taxpayers' expense. The Irish government has already lost this case before the Rights Commissioner, Janet Hughes. http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2006/01/17/story60...4.asp
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