欧州議会 on 下請連鎖の労働条件

昨日(3月26日)、欧州議会が下請連鎖の労働条件について検討するよう求める決議を採択しました。

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/047-52631-082-03-13-908-20090325IPR52630-23-03-2009-2009-false/default_en.htm

これについては、即日欧州労連が歓迎する声明を発表していて、そっちの方がわかりやすいので、そっちを引用しますね。

http://www.etuc.org/a/6013

>The European Parliament confirmed the urgent need for more social responsibility in subcontracting chains. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) strongly supports the resolution adopted by the European Parliament today. ETUC welcomes in particular the call on the European Commission to take urgent action at EU level, including to draft a legal instrument introducing joint and several liability to deal with the cross-border dimensions of subcontracting.

下請連鎖が国境を越えてつながっていくと、どの会社にどういう責任があるのか曖昧になってくるわけで、元請と下請の責任分配あるいは共同責任の法的仕組みが問題になってくるわけです。

Subcontracting has experienced a boom in recent decades that has benefited a great number of enterprises; however, it also means that labour is externalised to subcontractors and employment agencies. Subcontracting is increasingly misused by main contractors to circumvent their legal and financial obligations with the aim of reducing labour costs. Evidence points out that a great number of social fraud cases exist in long and complex chains of subcontracting.

労組の立場からすると、下請連鎖が労働コストの削減の目的に濫用されていることが問題であるわけです。この文章からすると、派遣会社も下請とともに労働の外部化になるんですね。

As mobility of workers and services in the EU increases, the issue of subcontracting becomes even more problematic: companies that are interconnected in the same subcontracting chain are subject to different rules, depending on the country where they are established. ETUC strongly supports the idea of having clear rules in terms of social responsibility of undertakings in subcontracting chains that cover the whole chain. This can only be achieved by introducing an instrument on joint and several liability at European level.

下請連鎖における責任分配の法制が国によって異なるのはまずいので、ＥＵレベルできちんとしたルールを作れ、と。

ETUC Confederal Secretary Catelene Passchier stated: ‘This issue is very important as one element of a package to ensure that the internal market for services is developing in a context of social responsibility. Providing for clear rules that prevent unfair competition on wages, working conditions, taxes and social security is not only in the interest of workers, but also of companies and especially of small and medium-sized enterprises who are currently suffering from such unfair competition. We urge the Commission now to take the necessary action’.

これは労働者のためだけではなく、賃金労働条件税制社会保障の不公正競争に泣く中小企業のためでもあるんだよ、と。