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Collective bargaining only way to fair play for the self-employed


The recent success of Irish trade unions in re-establishing the rights of self employed workers to collectively bargain is particularly important in the journalism, cultural and entertainment industries where freelance journalists, artists, session musicians and actors and other self employed workers have to act collectively — otherwise there is no chance to reach fair agreements with powerful organised groups such as


broadcasters and advertisers. The success is a vindication for trade unions in


Ireland who have long called for the right of all workers, including self employed workers, to have their right to organise and collectively bargain through a trade union recognised and promoted. The legislation will be used by trade unions throughout the EU to demonstrate that EU Competition Rules cannot be used to justify prohibitions on self-employed workers bargaining collectively, a point made very clearly by the International Labour Organisation when they considered the case raised by the Irish Congress Trade Unions in 2016. The enactment of the legislation throws the spotlight on the EU Commission. The EU Commission is the ‘Guardian of the EU Treaties’ but in this case it was the trade unions who proved to be a more effective guardian of the EU treaties. This lack of action was probably more disappointing than surprising. Despite the previous ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, in the Albany case, that the social policy objectives of the Treaty are to be given equal weight with all other Treaty objectives. The Treaty provisions explicitly stipulate the objective of promoting social dialogue and collective bargaining between employers and workers. The Court could not be clearer “It is beyond question that certain restrictions of competition are inherent in collective agreements between organisations representing employers and workers. However, the social policy objectives pursued by


such agreements would be seriously undermined if management and labour were subject to Article 85 (1) of the Treaty when seeking jointly to adopt measures to improve conditions of work and


Esther Lynch: spotlight on the EU Commission


employment. It therefore follows from an interpretation of the provisions of the Treaty as a whole which is both effective and consistent that agreements concluded in the context of collective negotiations between management and labour in pursuit of such objectives must, by virtue of their nature and purpose, be regarded as falling outside the scope of Article 85 (1) of the Treaty.” One essential function of European trade unions


is to take wages and working conditions out of competition. We need a level playing field of rights not the battle field that competition on wages and conditions will create. The EU Commission needs to live up to its responsibilities and provide better guidance to Member States so that they do not put restrictions on the rights of self employed workers in the name of EU Competition Rules.


Esther Lynch is Confederal Secretary with the European Trade Union Confederation


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