Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 248: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on the recent ruling with regard to a case in Lower Saxony, Germany, by the European Court of Justice, outlawing minimum wage conditions in public tender contracts. [15128/08]

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 249: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on whether the EU directive on the posting of workers, as referenced in the recent European Court of Justice ruling on a case in Lower Saxony, Germany, could have a negative impact on the protection of the minimum wage here. [15129/08]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 248 and 249 together.

On 3 April 2008, the European Court of Justice issued a judgement in a case between Mr Dirk Rüffert, a company liquidator, and Land Niedersachsen, a public authority in Germany. The background to this case is that a public construction contract was awarded to a German company called Objekt und Bauregie, of which Mr Dirk Rüffert is the liquidator, by the public authority. The German company undertook to abide by relevant collective agreements and to ensure that sub-contractors did likewise. The company engaged a Polish sub-contractor called 'PKZ Pracownie Konserwacji Zabytów sp. zoo' that was subsequently found to be in breach of a collective agreement relating to public sector construction contracts. The works contract was terminated following a criminal investigation and legal proceedings commenced between the public authority and Mr Rüffert to determine whether the German company was required to pay a contractual penalty amounting to €849,343 for breach of its undertaking concerning rates of pay.

The Regional Court held that a contractual penalty of €84,934 applied, but this was appealed to the Higher Regional Court, which referred certain issues to the European Court of Justice. The European Court of Justice found that the rate of pay provided for in the collective agreement relating to public sector construction contracts was not fixed in accordance with the procedures laid down in the Posted Workers Directive. The Posted Workers Directive requires a Member State to ensure that a worker posted to its territory from an undertaking in another Member State is guaranteed the terms and conditions of employment, in respect of certain matters, that employees are guaranteed under the law of that Member State.

The judgement, which issued on 3 April last, is currently being considered by Member States. It appears that the judgement is quite case-specific and hinged on the failure of the German authorities to give universal application status to the collective agreement, even though procedures for doing so existed. I am satisfied that the transposition of the Posted Workers Directive in Ireland — through the Protection of Employees (Part-time Work) Act 2001 — is robust in its protection of the employment rights, including minimum wage requirements, of posted workers in Ireland.