Latvia calls on the EU to clarify labour rules
By Lisbeth Kirk
The Latvian government has decided to consult the European Commission over a conflict involving cheap Latvian labour in a construction project in Sweden.
The conflict started when a Latvian company won a tender to build a school on the island of Waxholm outside Stockholm using Latvian labour - which is cheaper compared to Swedish labour.
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The Swedish trade union, Byggnads, an affiliate of the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) has blocked the construction work demanding that the Latvians are paid according to Swedish standards.
Following a cabinet meeting on Tuesday (7 December), the Latvian minister of Justice Solvita Abolina said the row would now be brought to the attention of the European Commission.
Only a clarification of the rules in general would be requested, according to Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter.
Demanding a Swedish collective agreement to cover the construction would be in breach of the free movement of capital and labour in the EU, according to the Latvians.
The Swedes claim they are in line with EU regulation, because their demand for a collective agreement is the same for all nationalities.
They are protesting against what they see as social dumping and competition for the lowest level of salary and working conditions.