NEWSLETTER EUROPEAN LABOUR LAW NETWORK. 1 National Law: Legislation

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1 NEWSLETTER EUROPEAN LABOUR LAW NETWORK EUROPEAN NETWORK OF LABOUR LAW EXPERTS VOL.3, NO.10, OCTOBER 2014 Content 1 National Law: Legislation 2 National Law: Court Rulings 3 National Law: Miscellaneous 4 EU Law: Legislative Developments 5 ECJ: Court Rulings 6 ECJ: Pending Cases 7 EU Law: Miscellaneous 8 Imprint 1 National Law: Legislation Austria An amendment of the Austrian Working Time Act for Hospitals (Krankenanstalten-Arbeitszeitgesetz, K-AZG) has been proposed and is now being debated in Parliament. The act currently allows doctors to work up to 72 hours per week. In February 2014, the European Commission informed the Austrian Government that it considered the Act a violation of the Working Time Directive 2003/88/EC and insisted on amendments. Read more. Belgium In Belgium, the new political agreement of the new Federal Government contains guidelines on labour policy. Possible new measures are for instance the modernization of the system of port labour, which has been criticized by the European Commission. Read more. Cyprus On 11 July 2014, a new Act came into force in Cyprus. The Law on the Minimum Guaranteed Minimum Income and Generally on Social Provisions of 2014 secures an income of EUR 480 per month and introduces a new system of social welfare. Read more. Finland The Finish Government has submitted a proposal to Parliament on amendments to the act on the Contractor s Obligations and Liability When Work is Contracted Out and to the Posted Workers Act. Read more. Germany The Petitions Committee of the German Parliament is committed to legislative action to fight against the abuse of contracts for work (Werkverträge). Read more. Netherlands The Cabinet has announced measures to facilitate transitions into employment. Read more.

2 PAGE 2 Romania The legal regime of hiring and posting foreign employees has been comprehensively amended by the entry into force of Government Ordinance No. 25/2014, published in the Romanian Official Journal No. 640 of 30 August Read more. Slovakia The Government adopted a draft amendment to the Labour Code. The proposed amendment of the Labour Code also included an important intervention in the legal regulation of the termination of employment by the employer. Read more. 2 National Law: Court Rulings Austria A decision was issued by the Austrian Supreme Court dealing with the liability of the user undertaking towards temporary workers. Read more. Cyprus The Supreme Court has ruled that a 2011 law suspending the payment of pensions to public servants who are holding paid office or other paid positions is unconstitutional. A recent publication shows a sharp rise in part-time work since the onset of the crisis. Read more. Finland The Labour Court has confirmed the payment guarantee for employee representatives and an agreement has been reached between the social partners and the Government to raise the general retirement age. Read more. France Case law dealt with a number of issues: criteria of co-employment, payment of additional hours due to part-time employees by the employer, the characterisation of travel time as working time and the prohibition of dismissal during pregnancy. Read more. Netherlands The labour court ruled that a payroll contract cannot be considered an employment contract with the given payroll company. Read more.

3 PAGE 3 3 National Law: Miscellaneous Estonia An employee register has had a first positive impact people, who did not earn an income in the year prior to the establishment of the register, were officially registered. Read more. 4 EU Law: Legislative Developments Commission report on expenditure In its REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL on the use made in 2012 by the institutions of Council Regulations No 495/77, last amended by Regulation No 1945/2006 (on standby duty), No 858/2004 (on particularly arduous working conditions) and No 300/76, last amended by Regulation No 1873/2006 (on shift work), the Commission reports to the Council on number of officials and other servants in each category receiving the allowances referred to in the respective Regulations and the total related expenditure. Read more. EU Member States urged to implement new ILO Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention The European Commission would like the EU's Council of Ministers to urge the EU Member States to ratify the new Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention of the ILO. The Protocol, together with a complementary Recommendation, was adopted in June at the International Labour Conference. Member States ratifying the ILO Convention must develop a national policy and plan of action to suppress and prevent forced labour, in consultation with the social partners. Read more.

4 PAGE 4 5 ECJ: Court Rulings ECHR Case 73571/10 on Freedom of Expression and Labour Obligations (Matúz v. Hungary) The applicant is a television journalist who was employed by the State television company. At the material time, he also was chairman of the Trade Union of Public Service Broadcasters. Following the appointment of a new cultural director, the applicant had contacted the television company s president, since he had perceived the new director s conduct in modifying and cutting certain contents of his TV show as censorship. He had received no response to his complaint. Later, the applicant published a book, which contained an full versions of from different censured interviews and in-house letter exchanges between the cultural director and the editor-in-chief concerning the suggested changes in the programme. Read more. ECJ Case C-252/13 on maternity leave (Commission v the Netherlands) The Commission started proceedings against the Netherlands, stating that the Netherlands allegedly did not establish sufficiently clearly that, if female workers returning after the end of the period of maternity leave are confronted with less favourable employment conditions, this is contrary to the prohibition on discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood. However, the ECJ had to dismiss the action, because not all of the formalities of Article 258 EU Treaty (ex 226 EC) were complied with. Read more. ECHR Case 48408/12 (Tymoshenko v Ukraine) The case concerned the ban on a strike by AeroSvit Airlines cabin crew. In September 2011 Aerosvit cabin crew decided to embark on industrial action seeking resolution of a labour dispute with the management of Aerosvit over a number of issues, including salaries, allowances and safety. The relevant authorities were notified of the decision to hold a strike. Following a claim lodged by Aerosvit in October 2011, the domestic courts banned the strike on the ground that it would be unlawful. The courts relied on the Transport Act, which prohibits strikes at transport enterprises if they affect the transportation of passengers and on the Resolution of Labour Disputes Act, which prohibits strikes if they are likely to endanger human life or health. Relying on Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the Convention, the applicants complained about that. Read more.

5 PAGE 5 ECJ Case C-221/13 (Giustizia) This request for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of the Framework Agreement on part-time work concluded on 6 June 1997 ( the Framework Agreement ) which is annexed to Council Directive 97/81/EC of 15 December 1997 concerning the Framework Agreement on part-time work concluded by UNICE, CEEP and the ETUC (OJ 1998 L 14, p. 9).The request has been made in proceedings between Ms Mascellani and the Ministero della Giustizia (Ministry of Justice) concerning a decision ordering the conversion of her part-time employment relationship into a full-time employment relationship. Read more. ECJ case C-549-/13 on free movement of services and posting (Bundesdruckerei) In this case, a German court issued a preliminary question concerning the interpretation of Article 56 TFEU and Article 3(1) of Directive 96/71/EC. Stadt Dortmund had laid down in their tendering specifications relating to a public service contract the obligation to guarantee payment of a minimum wage to the employees of subcontractors of tenderers, provided for by legislation of the Land to which the public contracting authority belongs, even in the case where the subcontractor concerned is established in another Member State and all of the services relating to the performance of the contract concerned are to be carried out in that other Member State. Read more. ECJ Judgment in case C-328/13 (Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund) Case initiated by the Austrian Trade Union (Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund), against the Austrian employers association for bus, aviation and marine companies. In this case, the Austrian Supreme Court decided to refer the following questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling: 1. Is the wording of Article 3(3) of Directive [2001/23], according to which the terms and conditions agreed in any collective agreement and applicable to the transferor must continue to be observed on the same terms until the date of termination or expiry of the collective agreement, to be interpreted as also covering terms and conditions laid down by a collective agreement which have continuing effect indefinitely under national law, despite the termination of the collective agreement, until another collective agreement takes effect or the employees concerned have concluded new individual agreements? Read more.

6 PAGE 6 6 ECJ: Pending Cases ECJ Case C-515/13 on the application of Directive 2000/78/EC (Ingeniørforeningen i Danmark) In this case, the Danish Østre Landsret referred a preliminary question to the ECJ concerning the interpretation of the prohibition of direct discrimination on grounds of age contained in Articles 2 and 6 of Directive 2000/78/EC. Read more. ECJ Case C 396/13 (Sähköalojen ammattiliitto ry v Elektrobudowa Spółka Akcyjna) In this case, a Finnish court requested a preliminary ruling. The facts of the case were summarized in the opinion of Advocate-General Wahl: An undertaking established in Poland posts workers to Finland in order to carry out work at the construction site of a nuclear power plant. Under collective agreements of universal applicability in the relevant sector in Finland, the workers are entitled to certain rights, including a minimum wage that consists of several different elements. The workers subsequently assign the pay claims arising from those collective agreements to a Finnish trade union. The trade union then brings proceedings against the employer seeking to enforce those rights. Two issues arise. Read more. ECJ Case C-533/13 (Auto- ja Kuljetusalan Työntekijäliitto AKT ry v Öljytuote ry, Shell Aviation Finland Oy) In this case, the Finnish Court Työtuomioistuin referred the following questions to the ECJ: (a) Must Article 4(1) of the Temporary Agency Work Directive 2008/104 be interpreted as laying down a permanent obligation on national authorities, including the courts, to ensure by the means available to them that national provisions or clauses in collective agreements contrary to that provision of the directive are not in force or are not applied? Read more.

7 PAGE 7 7 EU Law: Miscellaneous Second Edition of Master GESAM (Global Economics and Social Affairs Master) Lectures will start on January 12, 2015 and will finish on February 27, 2015 (from Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 6 pm). May 2015: ILO summer week in GENEVA. 450 hours of internship in Italy or Abroad. The deadline for submission of admission applications is 25 November 2014: the period of submission is from the November 7 to November 25. Scholarships are available. For any kind of information: tutor.mastergesam@unive.it IT EN EPSCO Council proposal for a EU platform against undeclared work The EPSCO Council published a proposal on the establishment a Platform to improve cooperation at EU level in order to prevent and deter undeclared work more effectively. The mandatory participation of all member states in the Platform is proposed, although the member states would remain competent to decide on their level of involvement and on the measures to take at national level to give effect to the outcomes of these initiatives. Parliamentary hearing of the Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, Marianne Thyssen, on 1 October 2014 On 1 November 2014, a new EU Commission will be appointed. Members of the European Commission will be subject as a body to a vote of approval by the European Parliament prior to their appointment. Therefore hearings will be held of each Commissionerdesignate before the responsible parliamentary committees. At this moment, the hearings of the commissioners-designate by MEPs in the European Parliament are taking place. The Belgian Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, Marianne Thyssen, was heard on 1 October. Read more.

8 PAGE 8 8 Imprint The Newsletter is a gratuitous service and informs about the latest developments in European and National labour law. Editors: University of Frankfurt Prof. Dr. Bernd Waas Chair for Labour Law and Civil Law Faculty of Law Grüneburgplatz 1 D Frankfurt University of Leiden Prof. Dr. Guus Heerma van Voss Faculty of Law Institute for Public Law Steenschuur 25 NL-2311 ES Leiden Responsible for content: () Prof. Dr. Bernd Waas Chair for Labour Law and Civil Law Faculty of Law Grüneburgplatz 1 D Frankfurt Tel.: +49(0) Fax: +49(0) waas@jur.uni-frankfurt.de Editorial staff: Silvia Wenzel, Legal Assistant, Lawyer, University of Frankfurt, Germany Isabel M. Haamel, LL.M. (Stellenbosch), Lawyer, Germany Visit us at and Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Copyright All rights reserved. Legal disclaimer Imprint