CELEX: 51979PC0131
Language: en
Date: 1979-03-21
Title: AMENDMENT TO THE PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON THE APPROXIMATION OF THE LAWS OF THE MEMBER STATES CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEES IN THE EVENT OF THE INSOLVENCY OF THEIR EMPLOYER (presented by the Commission to the Council pursuant to the second paragraph of Article 149 of the EEC Treaty)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (79) 131
Vol. 1979/0066
 ---pagebreak--- Disclaimer
Conformément au règlement (CEE, Euratom) n° 354/83 du Conseil du 1er février 1983
concernant l'ouverture au public des archives historiques de la Communauté économique
européenne et de la Communauté européenne de l'énergie atomique (JO L 43 du 15.2.1983,
p. 1), tel que modifié par le règlement (CE, Euratom) n° 1700/2003 du 22 septembre 2003
(JO L 243 du 27.9.2003, p. 1), ce dossier est ouvert au public. Le cas échéant, les documents
classifiés présents dans ce dossier ont été déclassifiés conformément à l'article 5 dudit
règlement.
In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983
concerning the opening to the public of the historical archives of the European Economic
Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ L 43, 15.2.1983, p. 1), as
amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1700/2003 of 22 September 2003 (OJ L 243,
27.9.2003, p. 1), this file is open to the public. Where necessary, classified documents in this
file have been declassified in conformity with Article 5 of the aforementioned regulation.
In Übereinstimmung mit der Verordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr. 354/83 des Rates vom 1.
Februar 1983 über die Freigabe der historischen Archive der Europäischen
Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft und der Europäischen Atomgemeinschaft (ABI. L 43 vom 15.2.1983,
S. 1), geändert durch die Verordnung (EG, Euratom) Nr. 1700/2003 vom 22. September 2003
(ABI. L 243 vom 27.9.2003, S. 1), ist diese Datei der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. Soweit
erforderlich, wurden die Verschlusssachen in dieser Datei in Übereinstimmung mit Artikel 5
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 ---pagebreak---  COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                   COM(79)131 final
                                                   Brussels . 21 March 1979
               AMENDMENT TO THE PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
                    ON THE APPROXIMATION OF THE LAWS OF THE
                    MEMBER STATES CONCERNING THE PROTECTION
                       OF EMPLOYEES IN THE EVENT OF      THE
                         INSOLVENCY      OF THEIR EMPLOYER
             ( presented by the Commission to the Council pursuant
          to the second paragraph of Article 149 of the EEC Treaty )
                              A.
                              • . ■       ■         \
                                     V -             \
                                    . V" 1 . ' ^     ^
C0MC79 ) 131 final
 ---pagebreak--- INTRODUCTION
1 . On April 1978 the Commission forwarded a proposal for a Council directive
     on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerninng the
     Protection of Employees in the Event of the Insolvency of their Employer
     ( 1 ).
2 . The Economical and Social Committee delivered its opinion on this direc­
     tive on 29 November 1978 ..( Doc , CES 1135 / 78 ).
     The Committee approves the aim of the proposed directive , namely that
     workers should be better protected in the event of the insolvency of
     their employers , independently of existing national, bankruptcy legis­
     lation . In the Committee 's view insolvencies of employers have a particu­
     larly severe effect on workers , who lose not only their jobs but also
     frequently lose their entitlement to payment of outstanding wages , which
     they already earned .
     The Committee considers that the financial protection for workers propo­
     sed in the draft directive is in the interests not only of workers'
     but also of employers and the economy as a whole .
     The Committee also points out that in most Member States in which mea­
     sures similar to those proposed have already been taken , funds are pro­
     vided solely by the employers .                                      •
     Moreover the Committee points out that Member States - also have the pos­
     sibility of financing measures out of official funds ; that employers
     must contribute to the financing and ,- possibly employees may also con­
     tribute . The Commi ssion has adopted this standpoint .
                 4
  1 ) O.J. No C 135 / 2 of 9.6.1978
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 2 -
Furthermore the Committee believes that it should be left to Member
States to choose the form' in which employees can apply for their out­
standing claims .                                            *
The European Parliament delivered its opinion on 17 January . 1979 .
Although the European Parliament supports the initiative of the .
Commission , it proposes a number of amendments , which aim at providing
a comprehensive protection of employees in case of insolvency of their
employer in the widest possible sense . Therefore the European Parliament
                           V             . - ,      • ' •
has pronounced itself in favour of taking into account all claims of
employees , it being indifferent whether they arise before the pnset or
after the employer 's insolvency .                '                  >
The Commission however considers that account should be taken of the
fact that the proposed income safeguards necessitate considerable fi­
nancial burdens , which must be kept witjin quantifiable limits . This
applies in particular to those Member States which have up to now
not applied a system of this kind .
 Furthermore under Article 8 of the proposed directive Member States
may at any time introduce or apply measures which are more favourable
than those contained in the proposed directive .
 For the same reasons , the Commission does not feel able to approve the
 amendments proposed in the abovementioned opinion of the European Par­
 liament to Article 4 ( a ) ( increase in the minimum period of liability
 from three to six months ).
The proposed amendment concerning the beginning of Article 5 ( cooperation
 between governments and representatives of both sides of industry in
 determining the guarantee institutions' structures financing and methods
 of operation ) has been retained . –
 The European Parliament also pronounced itself in favour of the prin­
 ciple that the guarantee institutions should be financed solely by con­
 tributions from employers . The Commission however feels that each Member
 States should be free to make financing arrangements that are appropriate
 ---pagebreak--- to its own economic and socio-political system . In two Member States
a financial contribution is also made by employees to the full sa­
tisfaction of all concerned .
The European Parliament proposed an adjunct which allows the insti­
tution to make advance payments from the onset of insolvency of the
employer . This proposal has been taken in consideration in Ar­
ticle   5 c).
Finally the Resolution of the European Parliament proposes that the
report on the application of the directive mentioned in Article 10
should also be submitted to Parliament . The Commission is in favour
of this proposal and Article 10 is consequently amended .
 ---pagebreak---                                1
      AMENDMENTS TO THE PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
concerning the protection of employees in the event of the insol­
vency of thfeir employer                           - . '
              «r
Article 3    of the proposal shall be replaced by the following text :
Member States shall adopt the necessary measures so that guarantee insti -,
tutions ensure payment of the unfulfilled claims of employees arising be­
fore the onset of the employer 's insolvency .
These claims comprise :
a ) unchanged
b ) unchanged               ^
Article 5 of the proposal shall be replaced by the following text : .
Member States shall , in cooperation with employers and labour representati­
ves , adopt the measures necessary to ensure the setting up , financing and
method of operation of the institutions are based on the following princi­
ples :
a ) unchanged                         - ,
b ) Employers must contribute towards the financing of the institutions ,
    the public authorities and , possibly , employees may also contribute .
c ) Payment shall be made on the application of the employee entitled to
    claim . The institutions may make an advance payment . Applications
    shall be admissible from the onset of insolvency and must be made within
    a period of six months thereafter .
d ) unchanged
e ) unchanged                     . ~        "             '
Arti cle 10   shall be replaced by the following text :
Within 18 months following the expiry of the 18-month     period laid down
in Article 9 , Member States shall forward all relevant information to the
Commission in order to enable it to draw up a report on the application
of this directive for submission to the Council and the European Parliament .
           \