News

On 20 November 2013, European Parliament Employment Committee Coordinators discussed with Commissioner Andor the state-of-play over Social Partner Agreements. Social Partner Agreements must be transposed into law in line with Treaty provisions. During their last meeting, the EMPL Coordinators debated with Commissioner responsible Andor, the legal transposition of three agreements signed by employees’ and employers’ organisations at EU level - in the hairdressing, inland waterways and sea fisheries sectors.

Article 155 TFEU stipulates that "Agreements concluded at Union level shall be implemented [...] by a Council decision on a proposal from the Commission". Before presenting its legislative proposal, the Commission carries out an assessment of the representative status of the signatory parties, their mandate and the legality of each clause of the agreement in relation to existing Union law.

Commissioner László Andor explained to the EMPL coordinators that the Commission would prepare impact assessments on the agreements - which will be available in 2014 for the hairdressing sector and end of 2013 for the inland waterways sector - before deciding whether to put forward a legislative proposal.

Employment and Social Affairs Committee Chair, Pervenche Berès (S&D, FR) highlighted the lack of political will to implement those agreements: “Impact assessments could have been launched earlier, since two years had elapsed since the agreements were signed”.

The Chair considered that the Commission neither sufficiently promotes health and safety at work nor that it takes social dialogue seriously. The Commission's additional costs and benefits analysis of social partners' agreements infringes social partners' prerogatives.

Pervenche Berès also underlined that since the Commission had neither contested the representativeness of social partners nor the legal basis of the agreements, she failed to see why it delayed complying with its Treaty obligations.

Oliver Roethig, UNI Europa Regional Secretary said: “The European trade union movement will not stand idle in the face of this unprecedented attack on social dialogue. The EU Commission must rethink its position on REFIT and take its Treaty role seriously. Social dialogue achievements cannot be dismissed in the name of political expedience!”

Background information

• European Framework Agreement on Health and Safety in the Hairdressing Sector

On 26 April 2012, the trade unions UNI Europa Hair & Beauty and the hairdressing employers, Coiffure EU, together representing more than one million hairdressing workers across the EU, reached a new agreement on clear guidance for hairdressers to work in a healthy and safe environment. It addresses, in particular, specific risks such as the use of materials, products and tools to protect the skin and respiratory tract and the need for sufficient space and ventilation in salons where chemical substances are transferred or mixed. Hairdressing is the most high risk profession for occupational skin diseases. In some countries, up to 70% of hairdressers suffer from work-related skin damage. Almost 40% of hairdressers report musculoskeletal complaints.