Support for the reduction of secondment term

Next week, the European Union’s Social Affairs Ministers will be discussing a compromise proposal on the revision of the rules on secondment. French-German amendments will also be discussed. These include, among other things, a shortening of the secondment period to 12 months. “At the urging of our party, Belgium too will support those amendments,” the N-VA says.

For many years now, the N-VA has been pushing for a thorough review of the regulations governing the secondment or temporary employment of employees in a different European Member State. The current rules allow social contributions to continue to be paid in the country of origin for two years, opening the door to unfair competition. “As a result, thousands of jobs have been lost in recent years in vulnerable sectors such as construction and transport,” the N-VA laments. “This is why we have long argued for a significant shortening of the secondment term. This is intended to ensure that the number of secondments for purely financial reasons is drastically reduced. In the past, however, our coalition partners have blown hot and cold in this matter. I am therefore very pleased that they are now fully in support of a restriction on secondment terms.”

Leading group

In addition to Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Austria will also endorse the French-German proposals. “We will have to wait and see whether other Member States will join the European leading group, but with our actions we hope in any case to create a momentum for finally taking the necessary steps towards a more social and fairer Europe,” the N-VA concludes.