UNION RIGHTS : UNIONS 'DISAPPOINTED' WITH ECJ RULING, COMMISSION SATISFIED.

• Position: European Court of Justice - Brief article

In the wake of the EU Court of Justice decisions in the Viking (Finland) and Laval (Sweden) cases, which raised the issue of alleged wage-dumping by an Estonian firm and a Latvian company, respectively, the European Commission has welcomed the case law as "very qualified" and "balanced". The Commission's spokesman noted that the rulings reconcile the principles of collective action by unions and freedom to provide services, leaving the assessment of the situation to the national courts.

However, on the trade union side there is disappointment. The Laval decision "contains positive features such as upholding in Community law the right to strike as a fundamental right and a union's right to take industrial action against social dumping," acknowledged John Monks, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). It...