In a judgment published today (aff. C-396/13 - Sähköalojen ammattiliitto), the European Court of Justice (ECJ) gave its interpretation of Article 3.1 of Directive 96/71 on Posting of Workers Directive which says that the posted worker must be guaranteed the minimum rate of pay of the host country. In this case, the dispute opposed 186 Polish posted workers to their employer who did not pay the applicable minimum rate according to the Finnish collective agreement in their specific sector.
Commenting on the EJC ruling, Veronica Nilsson, Confederal Secretary of the European trade Union Confederation (ETUC) said:
“This ruling represents a first change of direction compared to the Laval (2007) jurisprudence. Relying on the Laval jurisprudence, the Advocate General’s opinion regarded the equal pay principle for all workers as an obstacle to the freedom to provide services as well as an unjustified protection of national labour market. Thus, the Advocate General considered that only the lowest rate of pay within the pay scale, must apply to posted workers. The Court has widely disregarded this opinion and considered that the posted worker must be paid at least at the same level as a national worker for the same task. So, the equal pay principle has trumped social dumping and competition at all costs. We welcome this judgment which was indispensable for the dignity of posted workers”.
