Stakeholder consultation by the Rapporteur Mr Alain HUTCHINSON (BE/PES -ECOS) - Montesquieu Instituut

The Committee of the Regions is drafting an opinion based on the attached proposal for a Council regulation on “the exercise of the right to take collective action within the context of the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services” COM (2012) 130 final and the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on “the enforcement of Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services” COM (2012) 131 final.

The right to take collective action for the protection of workers is one of the preconditions for collective bargaining and is recognized in various international agreements. The Court of Justice of the EU has also, acknowledged that the protection of workers can justify restrictions on the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Treaty.

But despite this, uncertainties remain, specifically on the extent to which existing EU rules allow trade unions to protect workers’ rights in cross-border situations. The European Commission has proposed the abovementioned Directive and Regulation in an attempt to clarify the rules applying to posting situations and to clarify the relation between the protection of workers' rights and the freedom to provide services.

Issues related to the posting of workers and the right to collective bargaining are highly relevant to the Committee of the Regions which is why it has decided to draw up an opinion on posting of workers package (COM(2012) 130 and 131.

The Rapporteur on the Opinion, Mr Alain HUTCHINSON (BE/PES), Member of the ECOS Commission of the CoR and Member of the Brussels-Capital Regional Parliament, together with his expert Mr Jean-Jacques PARIS would be happy to meet with representatives of local and regional associations and other stakeholders for a consultation and an exchange of views on this opinion.

The consultation will take place on:

Wednesday 5 September, 9.30 - 12.00

At the premises of the Committee of the Regions

(Rue Belliard 99-101, B-1040 Brussels)

Room JDE 70

The Rapporteur would be very keen to hear your views during the meeting. After a short introduction by the rapporteur, stakeholders will be invited to react to the questions raised by the rapporteur in the questionnaire.

In addition, if you have any position papers relevant to the subject, you are welcome to send them to us by e-mail to the addresses below.

The meeting will be held in French with simultaneous interpretation allowing you to speak also in English. Please note that the mother tongue of the rapporteur is French.

For practical reasons, you are kindly asked to confirm your participation before Tuesday 4 September at 15.00 by registering on the following link.

For more information, please contact our team:

• • 

  For the ECOS Commission: Mr Ronström Robert Tel: +32 2 282 2192
• • 

  For Relations with stakeholders: Mr. Peter Verlinden, Tel: +32 2 282 2170

Please note that the CoR will not provide paper copies of the documents for the meeting, in an effort to reduce paper waste.