The European Parliament’s Plenary session has adopted the agreement on the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive on seafarers reached in trialogue with the Council of the EU and the social partners last May.
Following this adoption, seafarers will soon be included in directives on information and consultation of employees in the EU, on the establishment of European Works’ Councils for the purposes of informing and consulting employees, on collective redundancies, and on the safeguarding of employees’ rights in the event of a transfer of undertakings.
In October last year, the Social Partners for Maritime Transport, the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) and the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA), managed to reach an agreement that aimed at amending the Commission’s original proposal on several points.
The joint ECSA/ETF agreement was presented both to the European Parliament and the Council of the EU and the agreement was fully taken onboard in the subsequent positions adopted by both EU institutions.