They are still debating on the Mobility Package for Road Transport Workers.

The picture is getting clearer concerning the regulation relevant for Hungarian posted workers, but according to road transport companies for instance, road transporting should not be regarded as posting, the president of ÉVOSZ (National Association of Constructing Industry Entrepreneurs) has pointed out the fact, that 2/3 of Hungarian workers active in the constructing industry are not considered as posted workers but sole entrepreneurs – as written in the latest edition of ’World Economy’.

A trade-off has been made during the modification of the EU regulation affecting posted workers, which has been approved by the European Parliament – evaluated by the president of the National Confederation of Workers’ Councils.

Imre Palkovics replied to ’World Economy’:

if from the posting period one and a half years have passed the employer is obliged to give the same wages and benefits for its workers as normally applied in the host country.

Infringements will be easier to control, which have propagated in the last years. It was typical, that shell companies, which in reality have no operation in CEE region, recruited cheap labour for Western-European jobs often not giving the deserved benefits and making employees work for more than eight hours.

For Central-Eastern-European companies cheaper labour, than in Western-Europe means a competitive advantage, with which the capital disadvantage can be eliminated.

Posted workers make 1-2% of all European employees. Imre Palkovics marked: before in case of Wester-European assignments Hungarian construction companies choose this type of employment, but nowadays they rather expand their capacity at home. This new EU regulation does not apply for road transport section, there is another provision in progress. Therefore transporters active in Western-Europe are still not obliged to provide the same wages, benefits or first-class accommodation for their workers, which would have required high expenses.

According to the new regulation the goal of the European Parliament is

to provide higher protection for posted workers, who in the future are deserved to ensure the same wages and working conditions as what local employees get and to provide fair competition for companies.

Employers are at present not obliged to pay their posted workers more than the minimum wage given in the host country. Member States should incorporate and apply the regulations within two years in their legislation.

György Szabó, the president of the Organisation of Hungarian Road Hauliers (MKFE) said to ‘World Economy’: the principle of same wages for the same job could be acceptable in a homogeneous economy, but the European Union is absolutely not like that.

The MKFE agrees with Ádám Kósa MEP, who considered the agreement to be a bad compromise. According to Szabó this is a way to undermine the competitiveness of Central-Eastern-European companies:

since years there is an expelling incentive against road transport companies, until now they were trying to make their operation impossible via Member State regulations.

With for instance different administrative and notifying obligations, requirements for the foreign representation of introducing minimum wage regulation. The standpoint of MKFE is that these measures are violating those basic principles of the EU, which favour the free movement of goods, services and labour.

For transport companies the so called Mobility Package is relevant, the regulation is still under debate. Since the beginning of professional discussions the MKFE says, that road transport should not be considered as posting since it is not about emigration of workers but about the continuous work on the territory of another Member State – like for instance in case employment in the construction industry – but simply the driver is forced to cross borders given the type of his job.

1st June 2018