Services Directive Threat Removed!

The threat to the UK's health & safety legislation and standards has effectively been removed from the Services Directive yesterday, as MEPs backed a redrafted directive at a European parliament first reading yesterday; endorsing 211 amendments to the original plan.

The highly damaging and controversial,"country of origin" principle that would have allowed companies to apply their own country's domestic labour and health & safety laws when providing services to other European states, has been removed.

The new services directive also allows member states to exempt whole service sectors, such as healthcare and social services, in the name of "overriding public interest".

The services directive will now be reviewed by the European Commission before being sent to member states in coming months. All the signs are that it will become law.

Commenting on the European Parliament's vote to amend the Services Directive by removing the country of origin principle, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:

"This is a major victory for social Europe delivered primarily by union campaigning across the EU. While we still have some points to press, the Parliament's main left wing and right wing groups have voted to continue the key principle that makes Europe more socially progressive than the US - that we should balance the economic benefits of liberalising trade with the protection of people at work, consumers and the environment. Today's amendments add up to a series of pragmatic changes that should help ensure that the Services Directive does not undermine social Europe."

He also commented on the position of the UK's position, saying:
"I hope that UK ministers will reflect on how they ended up to the right of the European Parliament's main right wing group and now back today's compromise."

In Germany the ramifications of the vote has resulted in Günter Verheugen, the EU's industry commissioner, calling upon the German government to consider introducing a minimum wage in the wake of the vote.

He is quoted in Die Welt as saying: "It is appropriate to consider whether Germany should introduce a minimum wage. That would secure that the services directive does not lead to pressure on German wages".

German vice chancellor Franz Muntefering announced he will introduce a law against wage dumping to counter negative effects of the law, FT Deutschland writes.

However, Polish employers' union lobbyist Magda Kopczynska said "it's better than nothing" but Polish media say that old member states will still have wide powers to block real freedom of movement.

It is interesting that such organisations consider that the UK and other countries health & safety legislation is a barrier to free trade.

Ironically, it is clear that we will need to be vigilant in protecting our health & safety legislation from the very organisation, the EC, that has been responsible for many of the wide-reaching improvement in H&S legilsation in this country.

Souces: FT Europe, Die Welt, E-Politix press release.

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