VLADIMIR SPIDLA, the EU commissioner for employment, is to visit Ireland as part of a charm offensive to secure the support of the trade union movement for the Lisbon treaty, writes Mark Tighe.
Spidla's visit forms part of a plan by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to convince trade unions that did not support last year's Lisbon referendum that ratification will not have a negative effect on labour standards. A number of unions opposed Lisbon following a series of European Court of Justice (ECJ) rulings, such as the Laval and Viking cases on the right to strike.
The government has proposed a "solemn declaration on workers' rights" which would reaffirm the commitment of all member states to the "high importance of workers' conditions". This, together with other guarantees proposed by the government, will be discussed at a European Council meeting this week.
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According to briefing documents on the second referendum released under the Freedom of Information Act, the Department of Enterprise believes there is "an emerging consensus" among EU governments despite "strident trade union arguments" that the solution to the problem of workers' rights does not require a revision of the Lisbon treaty.
Instead, according to the department, countries are agreed that an existing 1996 directive on the Posting of Workers can be "substantially improved" by member states. Further implementation of this directive would eliminate "some of the kind of problems that prompted the kind of cases to be referred to the ECJ".
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Unions said they would welcome further legislation that would clarify the employment standards of employees of non-Irish companies based here.
Spidla will visit Ireland next month. The commission is carrying out an analysis on work mobility in Europe in the aftermath of the ECJ rulings to develop "concrete initiatives".
Spidla's spokeswoman said the commission was "well aware" of the concerns of Irish unions. "We don't agree that the Lisbon treaty would weaken workers' rights," she said. "On the contrary, it marks a real improvement, in particular because it enshrines the social charter. Negotiations around the so-called 'Irish guarantees', including workers' rights, are ongoing."
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Jimmy Kelly, the regional secretary of Unite, which told members to reject the treaty, said he had heard nothing to change his union's stance.
As Irish unemployment has doubled since the referendum, he believes a second Lisbon vote is more likely to be passed. "People are fearful and believe we should firm up our EU membership with Lisbon II, as having the euro means we don't face as much difficulty as countries like Iceland," he said.