SECONDED WORKERS (DOSSIER) : DRAFT COMMISSION REPORT: PROBLEMS BEING IRONED OUT.

The posting of workers abroad is one of the most sensitive social issues, lying at the confluence of policies on the Internal Market, employment and services. Europolitics looks into the report being drafted by the European Commission and a series of opinions: social partners, experts on the ground and MEPs.

EU Directive ten years on

Honouring the pledge by Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Vladimir Spidla to the European Parliament, the European Commission is due to adopt a report (1), on application of the Directive on seconded workers. This report is based on three primary sources: the previous report on the implementation of the Directive, published in July 2003, a study of construction and timber sector employee and employers' federations, financed by the Commission, and the opinion of the national expert group which has staged five meeting since 2003. This report has still to be completed following the opinion of the social partners (see article opposite) and above all, undergo "inter-service" consultation between the departments of all 25 Commissioners before being presented by Commissioner Spidla to his colleagues. A publication date of 4 April has been pencilled in. The adoption and content of the report are nevertheless closely linked to the amended draft Services Directive which Commissioner Charlie McCreevy plans to present the same day. As it stands, it contains runs to some 20 points. some merit further attention before the pruning generally associated with this type of exercise. Extracts.

Lack of data

First observation: the very phenomenon of the posting of workers remains difficult to gauge. Incredible as it might seem, ten years after the adoption of the Directive, the Commission still has no comparable figures, country by country, on the number of workers seconded: no Eurostat source and a single study limited to four countries published in 2002 by the Dublin Foundation. Figures remain sparse and dependent on the good will of member states. Certain countries have a system of declaration or registration with social services; others little or nothing. Moreover, references vary. Across all sectors, Spain thus identified just 257 posted workers throughout the country in 2003, Greece about 700 anda France 12,000 (in 2001), whilst Germany counts 105,000 posted workers in the construction sector alone. Regarding litigation associated with the posting ofa workers, there is a complete blank, national statistics drawing no...