On 25 September 2009, a new database has been launched by the Social Partners of the European Construction Industry which is aimed to facilitate the access to information regarding the mobility of workers in the construction industry. The website could prove to be a very practical and useful tool for those RICS members who intend to carry out construction works on a temporary basis in another European Member State.

It is a well known fact that, in the construction industry, in contrast to other industrial sectors, it is the workers that move around rather than the products. Construction industry is certainly one of the main industries characterised by labour-intensiveness and high rate of mobility of workforce.

In this context, the "Posting of Workers" Directive (96/71/EC) constitutes a central piece of European legislation, aimed at regulating the movement of workers posted from one EU country to another.
The EU Directive guarantees the rights and working conditions throughout the European Union and contains provisions to avoid any form of “social dumping” where national service providers can take advantage because of lower labour standards in other states.

The informational tool co-financed by the European Commission focuses on those legal provisions and regulations which affect construction activities, with the aim of helping firms and workers identify the national legal and conventional provisions which have to be respected when employees are posted to work in another Member State.

RICS members can take advantage of this initiative by being informed on the specific working conditions defined in the Directive and applied in the host country, for example, on minimum wage, working and rest time, health and safety rules, etc.
Link to the database: www.posting-workers.eu

For more information, please contact Zsolt Toth, EU Public Affairs Officer, on ztoth@rics.org