Brussels, 21/01/2009
The ETUC has long supported the free movement of labour within the European Union to the extent of opposing transitional restrictions following the accession of the new Member States in 2004 and 2007. Despite the recession, ETUC will stand up for equal access to labour markets and the principle of equal treatment for all workers.
John Monks, ETUC General Secretary, declared: 'The free movement of labour is a fundamental belief that we will always fight for. But we are not being helped by recent decisions of the European Court of Justice which have licensed employers to use posted workers to undercut collective agreements. This trend needs urgent correction in introducing a social progress protocol in the next treaty to be concluded and a strengthening of the Posted Workers Directive.’
Furthermore, John Monks emphasised that ‘such moves are not to curb free movement but to support it. They are to prevent huge undercutting which, if it continues, represents probably the biggest threat to the single market and community relations. They are designed to defeat the nationalists, protectionists and racists who are massing against the single market and free movement of labour. They are essential to Europe’s future'.