Goedkeuring gemeenschappelijk standpunt Raad over uitzendwerk (en)

The Employment and Social Affairs Committee approved the Council Common Position on temporary work, without amending it, on Tuesday. The Common Position takes up the vast majority of Parliament's first-reading amendments, including those on equality of treatment of temporary workers with those of the employer company.

Parliament's first-reading amendments (raport by Ieke van den Burg, PES, NL) sought in particular equal treatment in the "essential conditions" of work and employment, i.e. working hours, overtime, breaks, pay, etc (Article 3 of the Common Position).

The 2002 proposal for a directive, tabled in the context of the Lisbon jobs and growth strategy, established the principle of non-descrimination between temporary workers and those of the employer company, for temporary workers hired for more than six weeks. An exception to this principle was provided for in the case of collective agreements.

MEPs won an undertaking that equal treatment must apply from the first day. Furthermore, any exceptions to this principle will be limited, and must be governed by agreements between the social partners, collective negotiations or agreements reached by the social partners at national level.

EP amendments on health, safety and hygiene at work were not deemed "essential conditions", but these are already governed by Council Directive 91/383/EEC of 25 June 1991, stressed rapporteur Harlem Désir (PES, FR).

In adopting this report, the Employment and Social Affairs Committee expressed the wish that this six-year old proposal for a directive should enter into force without further delay.

Amendments may nonetheless be tabled at the plenary session.

The report was adopted with 31 votes in favour, 1 against and 3 abstentions.Procedure : Co-decision, second reading – Plenary vote: October II

06/10/2008

In the chair : Jan ANDERSSON (PES, SE)