According to POLITICO Europe, the EC is about to formally propose a reform of the posted workers rules on the single market. Posted workers are employees formally employed in one EU state, sent to perform a task in another member state. Mainly trade unions have long pointed out that this enables so-called social dumping practices. In some professions, employees tend to be formally employed in poorer member states, but work in a different member state on a rather permanent basis. However, under the posted workers rules, the employer is allowed to apply some rules of the “sending” state, mainly regarding the social system (although minimum wage requirements of the “receiving” state must be respected). According to French Finance Minister Michel Sapin, these rules are more and more abused and more and more difficult fiscal schemes are used to deny workers their social rights in France. EU Labor and Social Affairs Commissioner Marianne Thyssen is expected to propose changes on 8 March. Posted workers would see their social protection strengthened – they would need to pay in to the “receiving” state´s social scheme if they are posted for more than 24 months (thus eliminating a major motivation to abuse the rules). Although the final text may be significantly different from the leaked draft, trade unions point out that the reform does not go far enough and socialist MEPs reiterate that they have long called for a major overhaul of the posted workers rules.

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