No EU deal on transport: Polish labour minister

A meeting of the European Union labour ministers focused on planned new rules for so-called posted workers, under which workers from abroad will be paid the same as their domestic counterparts.

The plan is backed fiercely by France but is just as fiercely opposed by Poland and its neighbours.

Polish Labour Minister Elżbieta Rafalska said France and Spain opposed Poland's suggestions of separate rules for transport sector workers and longer transition periods.

Hungary's European Minister Szabolcs Takács said: "This is not an attempt at a compromise, but the step by step forcing of the interests of one group at the cost of another".

Rafalska has in the past suggested that the transport sector should be excluded from the planned changes after Polish hauliers complained the new rules would make them uncompetitive in foreign markets.

Under current rules, posted workers are paid at least the minimum wage of the country they work in, but all social welfare and other pay deductions are paid according to rules of their home country.

If the planned changes go ahead, workers sent to another European Union country for an extended period will get paid the same as their local counterparts and will pay into the host country's social security system.

Of two million posted workers, a quarter are Polish, Rafalska has said. (vb)

Source: PAP