by René Lavanchy
The European Commission is on a “politically driven agenda” to take on the working classes and drive down their rights, the Unite union’s head of international affairs claimed this week.
Simon Dubbins told a TUC fringe meeting that unions needed to lobby the European Union if they wanted to assert workers’ rights over the free passage of goods and services.
“What has become crystal clear to our Swedish and Danish colleagues is they have also recognised we have to get some changes at European level. This is a politically driven agenda about… setting workers against Europe. It’s the Commission that’s trying to drive that agenda and put these people [workers from Eastern Europe] in competition with us.”
In a composite motion passed this week, Congress called on the Government to change how it interprets the EU’s Posted Workers Directive, which has been blamed for allowing companies to allegedly undercut nationally agreed conditions for construction workers.
Tribune understands that unions have so far failed to persuade the Government and that no change is likely before the general election.
European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, who was endorsed for a second term by a majority of MEPs this week, has promised new regulations to deal with concerns over the directive.
