On 24 September, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and Belgian trade unions held a rally in Brussels under the slogan “Enough is enough! Fix or Sink EU Inc. – Stand up for Quality Jobs!” Representatives of workers and trade unions from across Europe gathered outside the headquarters of the European Commission and the Council of the European Union.
The rally took place on the same day that the EU Competitiveness Council was discussing the so-called EU Inc. or 28th legal regime. The European Commission (EC) presents the initiative as an opportunity to simplify the rules governing companies and create a common set of rules for businesses across the European Union. Under the Commission’s proposal, EU Inc. would be an optional legal form operating alongside national corporate law systems.
Why are trade unions concerned?
Trade unions do not reject the need to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens for businesses. However, they stress that simplification must not become a way of weakening workers’ protection.
ETUC points out that the current EC proposal does not contain sufficiently clear legal safeguards to prevent companies from circumventing national labour law, collective agreements, or requirements concerning workers’ information and consultation. In the view of trade unions, this could create opportunities for companies to choose a legal framework that is more favourable to them and compete on the basis of lower labour standards.
Put simply, the question is: if a company can choose a different corporate legal framework applicable across the EU, who will ensure that workers’ rights in that company remain equally strong?
This is particularly important when it comes to:
- workers’ rights to information and consultation;
- workers’ representation within companies;
- workers’ representation at board level;
- collective bargaining and collective agreements;
- guarantees concerning wages and working conditions;
- compliance with social security and other rules protecting workers.
ETUC stresses that these safeguards must not merely be mentioned as general principles in the legislation but must be clearly established in law.
Competitiveness must not mean lower wages and weaker rights
Trade unions emphasise that this debate is taking place against a broader European economic backdrop. In many countries, workers are facing rising living costs, job losses, company closures and restructuring.
Therefore, trade unions are calling on the European institutions to strengthen competitiveness not by reducing workers’ protection, but by investing in quality and safe jobs, fair wages, workers’ skills and strong collective bargaining.
ETUC also calls for safeguards to ensure that the new rules cannot be used for so-called “regime shopping” – where a company chooses a more favourable legal framework in another jurisdiction than the one in which its actual operations and workforce are located.
Lithuanian trade union representatives also take part in the rally
Lithuanian representatives also joined the international trade union protest in Brussels. The rally was attended by Jurga Subačiūtė-Žemaitienė, Vice-President of the Lithuanian Industry Trade Union Federation (LPPSF), and Tatjana Babrauskienė, Head of International Affairs at the Lithuanian Education and Science Trade Union.
For Lithuanian trade unions, it is important that decisions concerning the rules governing companies in Europe are not taken without assessing their potential impact on workers. European economic competitiveness must go hand in hand with respect for workers’ rights, social dialogue and collective bargaining.
Trade unions are also calling on the European institutions to strengthen the Quality Jobs Act, which, in their view, should ensure high labour standards and strong protection of workers’ rights across the EU.