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Document 92003E003561
WRITTEN QUESTION E-3561/03 by Jan Andersson (PSE) to the Commission. Parasubordinated workers and social dumping.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-3561/03 by Jan Andersson (PSE) to the Commission. Parasubordinated workers and social dumping.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-3561/03 by Jan Andersson (PSE) to the Commission. Parasubordinated workers and social dumping.
OJ C 78E, 27.3.2004, p. 590–590
(ES, DA, DE, EL, EN, FR, IT, NL, PT, FI, SV)
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27.3.2004 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
CE 78/590 |
(2004/C 78 E/0623)
WRITTEN QUESTION E-3561/03
by Jan Andersson (PSE) to the Commission
(1 December 2003)
Subject: ‘Parasubordinated’ workers and social dumping
A problem which has arisen within the Swedish labour market over the past few years, mainly in the construction sector, is that workers from the candidate countries are working for pay and under working conditions far interior to those offered by Swedish collective agreements. These workers, from Poland and elsewhere, are able to evade the existing regulations by being given the status of self-employed workers, in spite of the fact that they should to all intents and purposes be regarded as employees. Behind this arrangement is often a kind of hiring firm which acts as an agency supplying the services of the foreign workers to the Swedish contractors, and helps them to obtain the ‘F tax certificates’ and other required documentation. The hiring firms in these cases should clearly be regarded as employers, but they act on the basis that they are merely an agency for services carried out by self-employed workers.
If this practice increases in extent, it will lead to widespread social dumping. The situation is surely not unique to Sweden.
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1. |
What is the Commission's view of this situation? |
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2. |
Does the Commission propose to take any measures with a view to dealing with this problem? |
Answer given by Ms Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission
(22 January 2004)
It is not clear from the Honourable Member's question whether the circumstances described fall within the scope of Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1996 concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services (1).
In the case of postings within the meaning of this Directive, the definition of a worker is that which applies in the law of the Member State on the territory of which the worker is posted, according to Article 2(2).
If, however, these are placements with the objective of having the workers habitually perform their work in Sweden, the ratione personae scope of the working and employment conditions is, in general, also determined by Swedish law.
In view of this, it is up to the host Member State to ensure that the category of persons mentioned by the Honourable Member is covered by its worker protection legislation.