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EFBWW News

Maintaining the Transposition Deadline of the Revised Posting of Workers Directive

24/04/2020

Joint letter on behalf of EFBWW, ETUC, EFFAT, ETF, IndustriAll and Uni Europa to the European Commission to maintain the 30 July 2020 transposition deadline of the Posting of Workers Directive

The EFBWW as a member of European Trade Union Confederation, and together with EFFAT, ETF, industriAll and UNI Europa, sent a letter to the European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit to maintain the 30 July 2020 transposition deadline of the 2018/957 revised Posting of Workers Directive.

Posted workers find themselves in a particularly vulnerable situation, especially during Covid-19 crisis, and the existing legal framework, recommendations or temporary measures introduced in Member States are not sufficient to protect them.
Many of these workers are experiencing problems accessing social protection and support schemes in and from the host Member State. They risk being stuck without protection or income in a Member State where they are not covered by the national social security system. Some posted workers reportedly struggle to claim unemployment benefits in their home country while still being present on the territory of the host Member States. Moreover, there are health and safety issues related to social distancing, as maximum number of workers and other hygiene precautions are often not observed in workplaces. Frequently there is a lack of adequate accommodation and sanitary conditions and they repeatedly change roommates.

In the light of these problems, it is vital that the revised Directive won’t be postponed as BusinessEurope requested in a letter addressed to the European Commission. The letter suggests Covid-19 could motivate such a postponement, without any further explanations to what element of the revised Directive would constitute a particular obstacle in view of the crisis.

A postponement of its entry into force would send the wrong signal from the European Commission to Member States, employers and workers, at a time when the EU needs to uphold high social standards and the protection of workers. There can be no second-class workers, not even in times of crisis.

Attached you will find the joint letter sent to the European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit to maintain the 30 July 2020 transposition deadline of the 2018/957 revised Posting of Workers Directive and the ETUC note on Posted Workers and the COVID-19 outbreak.