The EU may force labour exporters to pay local union wages
THREE years ago, the STX France shipyard in Saint-Nazaire was on the brink of closing down. Then it landed contracts to build a fleet of giant ships for the cruise lines Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises. Thousands of locals expected to be hired. But many were disappointed: between a quarter and a third of the jobs went to Poles, Hungarians and others from central and eastern Europe. While French workers command high wages under the country’s sectoral labour agreements, these “posted workers”—contracted in their home countries to work in another European Union country—need only receive the local minimum, under EU law.
That may be about to change…
The Economist | 9th July 2016
Susannah Savage 
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