WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1109/96 by José BARROS MOURA to the Commission. Free movement of workers in Germany
Date: 1996-05-13
Institutions: BARROS MOURA, European Parliament
Subjects: Germany, anti-discriminatory measure, building industry, common position, free movement of workers, head office, jurisdiction, labour law, proposal (EU), termination of a contract













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91996E1109

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1109/96 by José BARROS MOURA to the Commission. Free movement of workers in Germany  


Official Journal C 297 , 08/10/1996 P. 0085 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1109/96 by José Barros Moura (PSE) to the Commission (13 May 1996)Subject: Free movement of workers in GermanyIt was reported in the media on 16 April 1996 that German civil construction companies were cancelling properly concluded work contracts with Portuguese workers exercising the freedom of movement for workers and that the same companies were then meeting their labour requirements by resorting to subcontractors who were recruiting workers in Portugal on wages and conditions lower than those applicable in Germany.What measures will the Commission take to ensure that the free movement of workers is respected and neutralize this evidently fraudulent practice?Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (17 June 1996)The Honourable Member's question mainly concerns the situation of Portuguese workers who move to Germany territory under a contract of employment concluded with their employer established in Germany.These workers exercise the right to freedom of movement within the meaning of Article 48 of the EC Treaty and hence benefit from the ban on any discrimination based on nationality in regard to conditions of work and pay and, notably, provisions concerning dismissal, as provided for in Article 7(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 ((OJ L 257, 19.10.1968. )). In the event of discrimination between a Portuguese worker and a German worker, the former is entitled to exercise his right to non-discrimination in the framework of national law.Things are different when the workers, in this case Portuguese workers, are placed at the disposal of a firm established in Germany by their firm situated in Portugal. In cases in which the contract of employment between the Portuguese workers and the employer is maintained during the posting in Germany, the situation of these workers raises the question as to the law applicable to their contract of employment. Here we have a conflicts of laws between German law and Portuguese law.Currently, the solutions to this problem must be sought in the Rome Convention of 1980 on the law applicable to contractual obligations. However, the Commission wishes to emphasise the existence of a proposal for a Directive concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services ((Doc. COM(93) 225. )), which was recently the subject of a Council common position.Pursuant to this common position, firms which post workers in the framework of the provision of services to the territory of another Member State must respect a certain number of minimum and binding rules of labour law in force in that Member State. These rules include, in particular, those relating to the conditions applicable to the secondment of workers and the minimum wage.