EPSU welcomes vote on services directive in EP’s EMPL Committee but is worried about developments in the ECON Committee
EPSU welcomes vote on services directive in EP’s EMPL Committee but is worried about developments in the ECON Committee
The European Parliament’s EMPL Committee voted on Anne Van Lancker’s Opinion on 12 July. The Committee agreed to:
- exempt SGI (+ postal services, private security services, temporary employment agencies’ services, all financial services, all transport services, and audiovisual services): to check against exact wording of the exemption
- exempt of labour law/collective bargaining
- reject of the country of origin principle
- delete of reference to the posted workers’ directive that restricts the right of MS to control and supervise the application of the directive
- delete of article 23 (reimbursement of healthcare costs).
However, the positive result in the EMPL Committee has seemed to harden EPP/liberal positions in the ECON Committee. The EPP/liberal MEPs want to withdraw all their constructive amendments in order to "rebalance" the EMPL Committee Opinion (see attached letter from the Committee’s rapporteur, Ms Sahra Wagenknecht MEP (GUE) explaining the situation).
It is very important that the EMPL Committee’s position - a first step in the right direction - is reinforced by other Committees in the run up to the vote in the IMCO Committee (scheduled for 12/13 September) and the plenary vote (24 October). The ECON Committee vote is expected on 6 September, and their positions on SGI are particularly important. EPSU has asked affiliates to contact national MEPs in the ECON Committee (http://wwwdb.europarl.eu.int/ep6/owa/p_meps.short_list) and stress the need to build on the EMPL Committee vote and support a major overhaul of the Commission’s text and the full exclusion of public services (SGI/SGEI) from the directive.
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