The European Court in Luxembourg has ruled negatively on a case brought by the European trade unions against the European Commission. The court believes that the European Commission may disregard an agreement between employers and employees. This means that national agreements between social partners are not binding for civil servants within the EU and in other EU countries.
The agreement reached between the social partners concerns the right of government staff to be actively informed by their employer, for example during reorganizations. In the Netherlands, government employees largely have the same rights as those in the private sector. In many other European countries, this is not or barely the case.
The European trade unions sought to establish a minimum package of 'consultation' rights for all 9.8 million civil servants at all national governments in EU countries. They had reached an agreement on this with employers' organizations, but several EU countries rejected it. As a result, so-called binding declarations are only valid in the country where the agreement was made.
The secretary-general of the overarching European trade unions (EPSU), Dutchman Jan Willem Goudriaan, said in a press release from the Dutch trade union federation FNV: 'This is a slap in the face of all civil servants. They deserve the same rights as employees in the private sector. This ruling creates a lot of uncertainty about the possibilities for social partners to conclude legally valid agreements within the EU in the future.'
EPSU is now reviewing the verdict and considering the steps to take.