In 1991 the European Commission published its first version of the Directive. Such social dumping was and remains unacceptable to the trade unions and would also question the rationale of the European internal market. In 1993 the Commission reduced the disputed time to one month. After fierce lobbying by the trade union movement and by many employer organisations, the Directive finally approved does not envisage even a single day of work for low pay on the building sites of a high-pay country. In installation work the Directive permits eight days of work at the lower wages and salaries of the sender country.
Successful influence is based on the expertise gained through hard work.
It is nowhere nearly enough merely to visit Brussels a few times and let the authorities know your views. The EU decision-making processes are usually long, and often last for several years. One has to maintain an independent touch on matters and not allow one's train of thought to be seduced by the big machinery. Hellsten feels that social dumping is a definite threat, especially in agriculture, in the construction industry, in forestry work and in the hotel and catering business. The Directive will be an effective weapon in the fight against social dumping but it will not suffice alone to forestall the threat.