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11215 results in International economics

Page 288 of 561

  • 10 - AEC and ASEAN+1 FTAs: Progress, Challenges and Future

  • from III - Regional Economic Integration: A Multi-stage Approach
  • Edited by Basu Das Sanchita, Masahiro Kawai
  • Book:
    Trade Regionalism in the Asia-Pacific
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    05 July 2016
    Print publication:
    11 April 2016, pp 185-212

  • Summary

    INTRODUCTION

    The Asia-Pacific region is seeing growing economic integration through market-driven production networks, and through plurilateral and bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and the emerging mega-trade blocs of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Both economic and political factors are driving the proliferation of FTAs in East Asia. The former is the push for economic growth and employment through improved economic competitiveness, access to markets and investments, and the strengthening of regional production networks and supply chains. The latter is to promote regional resilience and traditional and non-traditional security through closer cooperation.

    Bilateral FTAs are proliferating among East Asian and non-East Asian countries. Plurilateral FTAs have also mushroomed, such as the ASEAN+1 FTAs. This proliferation is driven by the following developments: the stalled World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round and need for alternative paths to trade and investment liberalization; the shock of the Asian Financial Crisis (AFC) in the late 1990s impelling countries in the region to work more closely together; the desire to partially imitate North American and European regional economic integration; the fear of being left out of preferential deals and its resulting domino effect; and the desire to have a stronger East Asian voice and presence in the international fora. Questions that arise from such proliferation include: Will they be effective in liberalizing trade and investment flows? Will they undermine the WTO and the multilateral trading system? Will the various stakeholders, particularly the business community, find them useful and helpful? Will they create a “noodle bowl” phenomenon that actually fragments markets and add to business costs?

    ASEAN has been playing a central role in FTA formation in the region. The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) entered into force in 1993, ASEAN Framework Agreement of Services (AFAS) in 1995, and ASEAN Investment Area (AIA) in 1997 and was succeeded by the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2007, ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) in 2010, and ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA) in 2012. The development of FTA networks with ASEAN';s Dialogue Partners has been an integral part of the AEC.

  • 13 - The TTIP, Mega-regionalism and Asia

  • from IV - Old and Emerging Approaches to Asia-Pacific Regional Integration
  • Edited by Basu Das Sanchita, Masahiro Kawai
  • Book:
    Trade Regionalism in the Asia-Pacific
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    05 July 2016
    Print publication:
    11 April 2016, pp 256-272

  • Summary

    INTRODUCTION

    The United States and the European Union (EU) launched negotiations for a possible Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) in July 2013. The goal of the TTIP is to create a modern, comprehensive free-trade area that would unite the two largest economic areas in the world. Thus far, the TTIP has undergone eleven negotiating rounds, the seventh having been held from 19–23 October 2015. As the United States and the EU are among the most open economies in the world, the negotiations are focusing on what might be characterized as “high-hanging” fruit, that is, politically difficult issues such as sensitive agricultural products, the financial sector, product standards, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS — included issues related to animal welfare), the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), and government procurement. Coupled with the usual political baggage associated with transatlantic relations and election-year politics in the United States, the scope and depth of the arrangement has generated extensive debates particularly in Europe. When the TTIP was launched, United States Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman expressed hope that it would be completed “on one tank of gas”. The long and winding road of trade negotiations has already required quite a bit of refuelling. Will it reach its destination?

    There are reasons to be optimistic about the accord. The United States and European countries have been key leaders in post-World War II economic governance and in promoting liberalization of global trade and investment. They have been active in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and World Trade Organization (WTO) in trying to bring down tariffs and non-tariff barriers (NTBs) globally, and their respective political and economic institutions related to trade are among the most advanced in the world. There is good reason to believe that the ultimate benefits of the accord could be relatively large, despite the fact that their economies are already relatively open. Moreover, rapid growth in Asia and the “mega-regionalism” in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly the recently concluded Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), have created strong incentives for the EU to avoid being isolated from Asia- Pacific markets and regional rule-making that may well emerge as global rules.

  • 16 - The Implications of Mega-regional Trade Agreements on the World Trade Organization

  • from V - Asia-Pacific Regional Integration: Towards Convergence?
  • Edited by Basu Das Sanchita, Masahiro Kawai
  • Book:
    Trade Regionalism in the Asia-Pacific
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    05 July 2016
    Print publication:
    11 April 2016, pp 323-340

  • Summary

    INTRODUCTION

    Mega-regional trade agreements are the most recent manifestation of regionalism since its revival in the 1980s. In the past five years, there has been much discussion about the effects of these so-called mega-regionals on the global economy, the most important of which are: the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). An additional preferential initiative currently under consideration, although not yet under negotiation, is the Free Trade Agreement of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), encompassing the full membership of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). According to the World Economic Forum, megaregional trade agreements are defined as:

    … deep integration partnerships in the form of RTAs [regional trade agreements] between countries or regions with a major share of world trade and FDI [foreign direct investment] and in which two or more of the parties are in a paramount driver position, or serve as hubs, in global value chains (i.e. the US, the EU, Japan, China) (Meléndez-Ortiz 2014, p. 13).

    Thus, their size is what differentiates the RCEP, TPP, and TTIP from other Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) and makes their study unique and pertinent. As detailed in Table 16.1, the successful negotiation of the RCEP, TPP, or TTIP would create a vast integrated market across several countries, commanding a substantial portion of the world's trade and gross domestic product (GDP). Moreover, their officially proposed completion date of 2015 indicates the high level of priority that their members have accorded these prospective agreements. As we have seen with the TPP, however, a 2015 completion date may well prove elusive. The purpose of such integration in these mega-regionals is to provide increased market access, regulatory compatibility, and a “rules basket” to iron out variations in business and investment climates (Meléndez-Ortiz 2014, p. 13). Simply put, mega-regionals are large PTAs designed to facilitate trade liberalization among its members.

    Yet, PTAs — including mega-regionals — are problematic “two-faced” arrangements because they offer free trade only to members and protection against non-members, as Jagdish Bhagwati reminds us (Bhagwati 2008, pp. 16–17).

  • 9 - RCEP: An Indian Perspective

  • from II - The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement
  • Edited by Basu Das Sanchita, Masahiro Kawai
  • Book:
    Trade Regionalism in the Asia-Pacific
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    05 July 2016
    Print publication:
    11 April 2016, pp 167-182

  • Summary

    INTRODUCTION

    Nearly two decades after announcing its Look East Policy (LEP), India is poised to play a much greater role in the Asia-Pacific than it had probably envisaged at that point in time. After several years of lukewarm ties with most countries of the region since the beginning of the Cold War, India's strategic economic links with the region have increased sharply. This is reflected in its presence in regional institutional mechanisms like the East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and several other bilateral trade and economic cooperation agreements in the region. Notwithstanding these, it is still not as deeply entrenched in the economic domain of the Asia-Pacific as it could possibly be. A major factor behind the relatively low integration is India's hesitation to decisively abandon a defensive and inward-looking trade agenda. The hesitation has been a compelling determinant of its relatively lesser interface with a region that has long taken a more liberal approach to trade and investment than India and followed strongly outward-oriented policies.

    The reputation of being a hesitant economic liberalizer and difficult trade negotiator is firmly affixed on India as it negotiates the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) — its largest trade and economic deal with the Asia-Pacific region so far. The gradual maturing of negotiations at the RCEP has been accompanied by significant domestic changes in India, the most notable being a change in government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) having a pronounced right-of-centre political and economic ideology replacing the more left-of-centre Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). There are wide expectations from the new government in pursuing a more aggressive course of market-based economic reforms than its predecessor. Such expectations extend to India adopting a forward-looking and constructive approach in its external trade negotiations, including the RCEP.

    This chapter examines the context of India's participation at the RCEP, including its active Free Trade Agreement (FTA) policy and the questions about the benefits of these FTAs. It illustrates the economic and strategic significance of the RCEP for India, particularly the gains accruable from its greater presence in global value chains and a larger strategic role in the region.

  • 6 - RCEP Prospect and Challenges: Political Economy of East Asian Integration

  • from II - The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement
  • Edited by Basu Das Sanchita, Masahiro Kawai
  • Book:
    Trade Regionalism in the Asia-Pacific
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    05 July 2016
    Print publication:
    11 April 2016, pp 105-121

  • Summary

    INTRODUCTION

    Over the last twenty years, regional integration initiatives have been significantly developed: not only in terms of number, which has tripled since early 1990s, but also in terms of integration topics discussed and the number of countries involved in the agreements. Significant development can be observed in East Asia and the Pacific, where countries have been actively forming trade agreements within and outside the region. Recently, the process of integration in East Asia has been conducted under the ASEAN-initiated Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). At the same time, there is also another regional initiative involving some East Asian countries together with countries across the Pacific, called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement which is led by the United States.

    These two proposals are expected to advance the regional trade architecture through the consolidation of various existing agreements among countries in the region. Many questions, however, have been raised in the wake of these recent initiatives: What drives countries in the region to pursue greater integration? How effective are current proposals to tackle the various issues related to international trade and investment? How do those initiatives affect each other and what is the likelihood that they would be compatible with each other? What are some possible directions for these mega-integrations?

    This chapter is an attempt to address these questions. It draws upon lessons from the current state of the RCEP negotiations, taking into account other initiatives in the region such as the TPP and the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). In order to put these discussions into context, we will briefly take a look at the evolution of economic integration in the region and discuss the drivers behind its current progress. We will then talk about challenges surrounding region-wide integration, as well as some suggestions to move the process forward.

    A GLANCE AT THE INTEGRATION PROCESS IN EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

    Formal regional integration, in the form of trade agreements, is relatively new among East Asian countries. A similar situation can also be observed, to some extent, across the Pacific Ocean. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Free Trade Area (AFTA) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) were the only visible trade arrangements in the region in the early 1990s.

  • Chapter 2 - Human Dignity of Workers and Competition

  • from Part I - Contributions
  • Edited by Jan Buelens, Marc Rigaux
  • Book:
    From Social Competition to Social Dumping
    Published by:
    Intersentia
    Published online:
    21 September 2018
    Print publication:
    14 March 2016, pp 21-32

  • Summary

    POINT OF DEPARTURE: THE WORKER TREATED AS AN OBJECT

    In a market economy, labour is a commodity. The economic existence of the worker depends on the development of the markets. This is obvious for selfemployed workers, but employees are in a comparable situation: if the employer gets into economic difficulties, the wage earner becomes redundant and can be dismissed. As an unemployed person, he can find a new job only under the conditions determined by the market. Despite the fact that the employee is a bearer of rights vis-à-vis the employer during the employment relationship, it is misleading to call him a “citizen” of the enterprise. An individual who can be “expatriated” at any moment is no “citizen” – and the employer can always take economic decisions that make the employee redundant. In reality, the worker is treated as an object. This is in contradiction to human dignity.

    MITIGATING THE SITUATION

    The fact of a person being a commodity can be more obvious or less obvious, more felt or less felt. Four factors play a role in this field.

    THE INDISPENSABLE WORKER

    It may happen that the worker cannot be replaced because of his special qualifications or his experience in the enterprise. To dismiss such a worker would create considerable problems in the working process. There is a good chance that such workers will remain in the position they desire and that their dignity is respected, especially in cases of highly qualified persons. This is a market-created protection against dismissal. Protection against dismissal is not just one element of an employee's situation: it is the fundamental condition for the exercise of all other labour law rights.

    PROTECTION BY LABOUR LAW

    There are a lot of legal rules protecting the worker: health and safety, fundamental rights in the workplace, minimum wages, stability of real earnings, protection against dismissal. A large part consists of judge-made law, the content of which varies from country to country. These legal rules reduce the degree to which a worker is treated as a commodity. In some legal orders the employer is not allowed to examine the private life of an applicant and genetic screening is forbidden as well; the “commodity” must not be inspected in an “exaggerated” way.

  • Preface

    • By Marc Rigaux, Emeritus Professor of Labour Law, University of Antwerp, Jan Buelens, Professor of Labour Law, University of Antwerp
  • Edited by Jan Buelens, Marc Rigaux
  • Book:
    From Social Competition to Social Dumping
    Published by:
    Intersentia
    Published online:
    21 September 2018
    Print publication:
    14 March 2016, pp v-vi

  • Summary

    “From Social Competition to Social Dumping” is the title of the collection of papers written on the occasion of the symposium which took place in Antwerp on 20 and 21 November 2014. In this book the phenomenon of social dumping is looked at in the wider context of the liberalized social competition as steered by the European Union. Special attention is paid to the harrowing dumping practices in the road transport sector. Therefore this publication contains a number of testimonies by people who actively fight social dumping. Some of the authors also examine the phenomenon of social dumping in relation to compliance with every worker's fundamental right to respect for his/her dignity as a human being. In this respect, the underlying question is whether, by tolerating legislation that allows human dignity to be violated by social dumping, the European and national legislators do not infringe on the primary fundamental right…

  • Chapter 1 - The Right to Human Dignity at Stake

  • from Part I - Contributions
    • By Marc Rigaux, Emeritus Professor of Labour Law, University of Antwerp
  • Edited by Jan Buelens, Marc Rigaux
  • Book:
    From Social Competition to Social Dumping
    Published by:
    Intersentia
    Published online:
    21 September 2018
    Print publication:
    14 March 2016, pp 3-20

  • Summary

    INTRODUCTION – A COMPLEX SOCIAL ISSUE SHAPED AND PROVOKED BY EUROPEAN LAW

    As a result of the neoliberal philosophy and politics which inspired its conception and implementation, the economic unification of Europe has claimed a lot of victims. What is more, this neoliberalism continues to animate, without any inhibition whatsoever, the political, legislative and judicial initiatives of the European institutions. There can be no doubt that neoliberalism is the Union's official ideology. The realization of the single market has come about without any adjusting or accompanying economic and social policies. The effects of the establishment of the single market on social and human relations go far beyond the economic and commercial domains its authors had in mind. In fact, the single market has led to changes in European society that are so far-reaching that they could very well be qualified as mutations. They can be found at three levels: the primary economic level, the social level, and finally the general or societal level. At the primary economic level the establishment of the single market has given rise to increased, extensive and oft en harsh competition between the various economic actors, prompting the creation of bigger companies and frequently damaging the local economies and SMEs. Th us, the unification has produced a torrent of restructuring operations, in many cases resulting in a loss of jobs or in delocalization and transfers of jobs. The competitive violence to which European undertakings have been subjected has been reinforced by the Union's and the Member States’ accession to the Free Trade Treaty that established the WTO. This accession has led to the globalization, in fact and in law, of certain markets, thus pushing the economic pressure on European entrepreneurs and employers to the limit. The Europeanization and globalization have come about without any major accompanying economic policies, resulting in the creation of an environment that is adverse to the reinforcement of the industry in Europe. Indeed, by choosing a largely monetary-oriented economic approach the European institutions have been contributing to the destabilization and weakening of the European economic actors… sometimes entailing a considerable increase in unemployment. The bank crisis has had a catalysing effect and has only reinforced the lack of adjusting economic policies.

  • Chapter 6 - Limiting the Role of Public Authorities in the Deployment of Services. The Tense Relationship between Labour Market Rights and Respect for Dignity at Work, Limiting the Role of Public Authorities in the Deployment of Services

  • from Part I - Contributions
  • Edited by Jan Buelens, Marc Rigaux
  • Book:
    From Social Competition to Social Dumping
    Published by:
    Intersentia
    Published online:
    21 September 2018
    Print publication:
    14 March 2016, pp 99-106

  • Summary

    SOCIAL SERVICES IN GENERAL

    Public authorities are in charge of a number of services which influence a large number of aspects of the everyday lives of citizens: from transport to energy, water and gas supply, from childcare to food security control. In this brief report, I will discuss social services, more specifically services provided directly to persons. In the Italian legal system, social services are defined according to a teleological approach: they aim at removing and overcoming needs and difficulties that each person is faced with in the course of life (see Article 128 Act 112/1998 on the transfer of administrative functions and duties from the State to the regions and local authorities).

    It is a broad sector, including at least four subsectors. For my reflections here I will take some examples from “services to persons”: homecare and residential care services. “These services complement and support the role of families in caring for the youngest and oldest members of society in particular”, and “persons with long-term health or disability problems”.

    Note that the research unit I coordinate focuses on the quality of employment of workers in this sector and not the quality of services offered (even if, of course, the quality of the former influences the quality of the latter).

    In Italy, the organization of services – in particular social services – can be either public or private.

    The competence to regulate social services is divided between the State, the regions and local authorities. Aft er Constitutional Act No 3 of 18 October 2001, the Constitution – see Article 117(m) – declares that “the determination of the basic level of benefits relating to civil and social entitlements has to be guaranteed throughout the national territory”. This means that the State has the exclusive competence to guarantee a basic level of benefits in all its territory. The regions have the exclusive competence to organize assistance and social services (ex Article 117.4). At the same time, all public authorities – the State, the regions, metropolitan cities, provinces and municipalities – shall promote the autonomous initiatives of citizens, both as individuals and as members of associations, relating to activities of general interest, based on the principle of subsidiarity (Article 118.4 Const.).

  • Chapter 7 - Do we Need a New Conflict-of-Laws Rule for Labour in the European Road Transport Sector? Yes We Do

  • from Part I - Contributions
  • Edited by Jan Buelens, Marc Rigaux
  • Book:
    From Social Competition to Social Dumping
    Published by:
    Intersentia
    Published online:
    21 September 2018
    Print publication:
    14 March 2016, pp 107-122

  • Summary

    INTRODUCTION

    In the white book of the Belgian trade unions ABVV and BTB, which came about in collaboration with the University of Antwerp, 25 measures against social dumping in the European road transport sector were presented. One of these measures concerns the adjustment of the current conflict of law rule of Article 8 Rome I Regulation. In this contribution, this measure will be further scrutinized from a labour protection point of view. I will explain why it is necessary to adjust the conflict of law rules to enhance the fight against social dumping in the European road transport sector.

    First, a short assessment of the legal framework will be made, which will be followed by an examination of the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning Article 8 Rome I Regulation. Other mechanisms, such as overriding mandatory rules under Article 9 Rome I Regulation and the Posting of Workers Directive, although relevant for international labour, will not be discussed here as the current focus is on the provision for employment contracts and the specific ABVV-BTB suggestions.

    LEGAL FRAMEWORK

    FREEDOM OF SERVICES AND FREEDOM OF ESTABLISHMENT

    Key for the realization of the internal market are the fundamental freedoms of circulation. In order to ensure these freedoms in the specific and atypical field of international (road) transport, a common transport policy was created. This policy is defined in Title VI of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Based on this Title, many regulations and directives were enacted, mainly with the aim of increasing the liberalization of the road transport sector. At present, the liberalization is almost complete. Restrictions on the freedom of services ex Article 56 TFEU have been removed, apart from a few restrictions relating to cabotage. The freedom of establishment ex Article 49 TFEU is directly applicable to this sector and is specified in Regulation 1071/2009.

    Since labour standards are not harmonized within the Union, it is lucrative for transport companies in low-wage Member States to use the freedom of services to provide cross-border services. Indeed, these low wages and lower labour standards give those companies serious competitive advantages compared to companies located in high-wage Member States.

  • Chapter 11 - The National Legal Battle against Social Exploitation. National Practices of Finnish Labour Inspection

  • from Part II - Testimonies From The Field
  • Edited by Jan Buelens, Marc Rigaux
  • Book:
    From Social Competition to Social Dumping
    Published by:
    Intersentia
    Published online:
    21 September 2018
    Print publication:
    14 March 2016, pp 147-148

  • Summary

    There are several public inspection authorities operating in the field of road transport in Finland. The Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment is the competent authority for market access. It grants for example community licences and driver attestations. Police and Customs are responsible for roadside checks. They also control road safety, cabotage transport and social legislation relating to driving times and rest periods.

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Labour Inspection) oversees labour law as a whole, including the posting of workers and the health and safety provisions. It also carries out company checks to ensure that the social legislation relating to driving times is respected. Apart from that, labour inspectors also oversee the contractor's obligations which apply to all fields of business. As a whole, there are over 370 labour inspectors working in the field. In 2014, they carried out 25,000 work site inspections, over 1,000 of which were focused on the road transport industry in one way or another.

    Labour inspections focus on actions that limit the grey economy and promote longer working careers. The concept of the grey economy also covers aspects of social dumping. Part of the problem of the grey economy is the failure to comply with the rules of the labour market. The grey economy is a serious social phenomenon that can only be successfully prevented if public authorities cooperate with each other. Labour inspections are one part of the comprehensive battle against the grey economy.

    Labour Inspectorates check in particular whether employers only hire employees who have the right to work in Finland, whether the conditions of employment comply with the law and whether subcontractors have carried out their social obligations. Monitoring health and safety regulations is also part of the fight against the grey economy. Indeed, undue financial benefit may be gained if health and safety regulations are deliberately ignored.

    Labour inspectors can only impose administrative measures. If shortcomings are noticed at the workplace, the inspector can issue a written recommendation or an improvement notice. An improvement notice may be issued only in specific situations and it can lead to a binding administrative decision. Particularly when it comes to matters of labour law, written advice is the only way to remedy an illegal situation.

  • Chapter 3 - Social Dumping: A Symptom of the European Construction. An Exploratory Study of Social Dumping in Road Transport

  • from Part I - Contributions
  • Edited by Jan Buelens, Marc Rigaux
  • Book:
    From Social Competition to Social Dumping
    Published by:
    Intersentia
    Published online:
    21 September 2018
    Print publication:
    14 March 2016, pp 33-62

  • Summary

    INTRODUCTION

    In this contribution we will discuss how the European construction leads to social dumping practices. Even though the focus is on the road transport sector, our analysis and some of our proposals also apply to other sectors.

    Because of its very nature the transport sector is one of the key industries of the European internal market and a textbook example for the analysis of the functioning of the European Union.

    Since the beginning of the liberalization process in the 1990s and the ensuing ever-growing competition, the road freight transport sector has undergone several major changes. Th anks to EU regulations, cross-border transport enterprises came into existence. By establishing a company in Eastern Europe, it is easy for road transport operators to use East European lorries and drivers in Belgium, not only to organize international transport but also for domestic transport activities. As a result of the introduction of cabotage rights on 1 July 1998, all businesses within the EU can offer transport services in a host Member State. These changes became even more prominent aft er the enlargement of the EU in three steps, i.e. in 2004, 2007 and 2013, with thirteen new Member States.

    The policy and the legislation of the European Union were and are almost completely imbued with the further development of the liberalization process. No equivalent attention has been paid to social rights or upward social harmonization in the field of employment and working conditions.

    The differences in terms of labour and social market structures in the EU countries are huge. The launch of an internal market and a common transport policy, together with the extension of the EU to the south and the east, in combination with weak enforcement, is the ideal breeding ground for social dumping practices. These practices raise serious questions with regard to the content and effectiveness of the European legislative and enforcement schemes and have consequences for the social rights of both resident and non-resident professional drivers. Moreover, there is the danger that as a result of “social policy regime competition” between Member States, national governments will be put under pressure to lower their employment and social standards in order to cut the high wage costs for companies.

  • Chapter 10 - Fighting the Grey Economy with National Legislation. The Case of Finland

  • from Part II - Testimonies From The Field
  • Edited by Jan Buelens, Marc Rigaux
  • Book:
    From Social Competition to Social Dumping
    Published by:
    Intersentia
    Published online:
    21 September 2018
    Print publication:
    14 March 2016, pp 143-146

  • Summary

    INTRODUCTION

    When the Finnish government embarked on a battle against the grey economy in 2011, commercial goods transport was defined as one of the focus areas. This reflected in Finland's revised Act on Commercial Haulage of Goods by Road (21.7.2006/693), which came into force in two phases in 2013 and 2014. Customer liability was introduced in the first phase.

    Since 25 April 2013, Finnish customers of haulage companies are obliged, before concluding a transport contract, to verify that for example:

  • – the haulier has a current licence for freight transport on public roads or; the right to carry freight without a licence;

  • – when the contract price is liable to VAT, that the haulier is registered for VAT;

  • – in cabotage, that the company carrying out the haulage work has the right to engage in cabotage; and

  • – the haulier is fulfilling his legal obligations as an employer.

    • A particularly low price for transport services may indicate that the haulier is not fulfilling his legal obligations and should give the customer reason to suspect negligence. If in such cases the customer fails to conduct proper checks before signing a haulage contract, he will be breaking the law and may be subject to a fine (32 §). These measures can be considered stricter than general contractor's liability.

    In order to speed up efficient implementation of these measures, Finnish Transport and Logistics SKAL has written and distributed two guidebooks for professional purchasers in cooperation with the Finnish authorities. These guidebooks present practical examples of the revised law and list sources for checking information related to customer liability. For example, the Finnish authorities maintain open-to-all online registers for checking Community licences and VAT information.

    COMMERCIAL GOODS TRANSPORT AND GREY ECONOMY IN FINLAND

    Commercial goods transport on Finnish roads concerns some 9,000 road haulage operators with an annual turnover of over €5 billion. The financial impact of the grey economy is approximately €500 million. It includes, among others, unlicensed commercial goods transport, engaging in illegal cabotage and failing to comply with legal obligations, such as offering appropriate wages, paying taxes and having the required insurance.

  • Chapter 5 - The Tense Relationship Between Labour Market Rights and Respect for Dignity at Work: European Dimension

  • from Part I - Contributions
    • By Barbara Kresal, Professor of Labour Law and Social Security, University of Ljubljana
  • Edited by Jan Buelens, Marc Rigaux
  • Book:
    From Social Competition to Social Dumping
    Published by:
    Intersentia
    Published online:
    21 September 2018
    Print publication:
    14 March 2016, pp 85-98

  • Summary

    LABOUR MARKET AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF A BROADER CONCEPT OF THE MARKET

    The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) defines the internal market in Article 26 as “an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of kgoods, persons, services and capital is ensured”. These four fundamental freedoms form one of the cornerstones of the EU and constitute the basis of the internal market.

    The labour market, which is one of the aspects of the free movement of persons within the EU, is thus framed in the broader concept of the internal market. The labour market in general, as well as labour market rights, cannot be separated from other markets that have been established and promoted in current capitalist society. So the labour market is an integral part of a broader concept of the market. This concept is understood as the “selling and buying of commodities”. There are goods and services markets, a capital market, different submarkets and supramarkets, etc. We are living in a (perhaps social) market economy. Actually, the entire society is transforming into a market society. Under the pressure of economic (neo)liberalism, everything is gradually becoming a commodity (or, to be more exact, everything is treated as if it were a commodity). This process is oft en described as a commodification.

    When speaking about the labour market(s) within the EU, one has to ask the question whether a single EU labour market really exists. The relationship between the national/regional/local labour markets and the EU labour market, as well as the relationship between these labour markets and the global labour market, is very important and must not be neglected. They interfere with each other, overlap each other and compete against each other.

    Another introductory remark has to be made in relation to the terminology that is used in connection with the notion “labour market”. Usually, a distinction is made between the “free” labour market, the “regulated” labour market and the “rigid” labour market. The “rigid” labour market is supposed to be the one that is “over-regulated”. However, it has to be emphasized that the terminology is never value-free. All types of labour markets are regulated and it is not true that a “free” labour market is less regulated.

  • Chapter 4 - The Territorial Application of Labour Law in the EU Internal Market. On Legal Rules and Economic Interests

  • from Part I - Contributions
    • By Herwig Verschueren, Professor of International and European Social Law at the University of Antwerp
  • Edited by Jan Buelens, Marc Rigaux
  • Book:
    From Social Competition to Social Dumping
    Published by:
    Intersentia
    Published online:
    21 September 2018
    Print publication:
    14 March 2016, pp 63-84

  • Summary

    INTRODUCTION

    The European Union distinguishes itself in the first place by its internal market which guarantees the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour (Articles 26–66 TFEU). As regards labour migration, the EU internal market makes it possible for employees to go and work in other Member States or to be posted there by their employers, in the context of the freedom to provide services across the border. The internal market also influences the definition of the territorial scope of national labour law, in particular when there is a crossborder aspect. Moreover, the increasing occurrence of cross-border elements is an unavoidable consequence of the growing European market integration. As a result there can be circumstances in which work carried out on the territory of a certain Member State is not necessarily subject to that Member State's labour law. These restrictions on the application of the host Member State's labour legislation on its own territory undeniably puts pressure on the level of protection in this Member State. In the same vein, these restrictions offer employers from sending Member States the possibility of taking competitive advantage of the differences in employment protection and costs.

    This chapter looks into the question of to what extent European internal market law has influenced the territorial application of labour law. First we will give an outline of the origins of the principle that labour law continues to be a matter of national competence (section 2). Subsequently, we will examine the European rules and case law relevant for the definition of the territorial scope of national labour law (section 3). This includes the legislation on the freedom of movement for workers, the rules of private international law (PIL) as well as the case law of the European Court of Justice (CJEU) regarding the freedom to provide of services. We will pay special attention to the meaning of Posted Workers Directive 96/71 and analyse how this Directive and the case law of the Court of Justice relating to this are at the crossroads of legal rules and economic interests. Finally, we will draw some conclusions on the ensuing competition between workers in the European internal market (section 4).

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