UNIEP Policy day Brussel 12 November 2012

1. UNIEP Policy day Brussel12 November 2012 The European connection: Challanges of the Dutch painter’s industry 2013 Koninklijke FOSAG Paul Raasveld (secretary general affairs)

2. Taxing of employees becomes heavier and heavier Self-employed workers donot contribute to the social infrastructure of our industry Bogus self-employment increases but there are no solid figures Painting companies also incidentally use bogus self-employment in the race for cheap labour

3. The Netherlands: an open economy

4. Growing numbers of self-employed

5. Analyses of the Challenge Our collective labour agreement has lost one third of its workers (2007-2012) The market is not prepared to pay the price level of the CLA Market expectations: do we face a temporary dip or is it structural?

6. We expect it to be permanent Influx of cheap labour goes on: 1) Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia 2) Greece, Spain 3) The level of wages of new EU-members remains lower than our’s: Poland The process of leveling wages in the EU is slower than hoped for; as a result UNIEP-countries will continuously be confronted with cheap labour influx

7. Companies that are able to switch to cheap labour will survive: the 25+ companies and the self-employed themselves Companies working with mainly or even exclusively permanent employees are facing severe difficulties

8. Expectations without special measures The group of painting companies with 1-10 employees will disappear; they are the traditional companies “on every corner of the street”, the biggest group 2012: there are two employees on every self-employed; 2016: one employee on every self-employed painter The erosion of collective provisions makes a drastic intervention inevitable

9. What do FOSAG-members say? 80%: experience more competition on labour costs 86%: experience disadvantages for their companies 59%: react by lowering its prices 30%: react by not renewing temporary labour contracts (and switch to full flexible labour)

10. Who are our competitors? Heaviest competition experienced from: Self-employed painters (76%) EU-workers (48%) (whether employees or self-employed) Companies from other industries (45%), mainly building companies

11. Solutions mentioned by our companies 58%: oblige all painters to work within the Collective Labour Agreement 55%: raise the formal requirements for beginning painting companies (NB: in Holland there are no formal requirements since 1996) But: how realistic are these solutions?

12. The European dimension The 1996 Posting Workers Directive For the painter’s industry (builders): to posting workers the main CLA issues of the country in which they work apply This was a measure to protect foreign workers but theoretically it could also establish a “level playing field” as to labour costs This Directive has been implemented in all member states

13. Practical application of the Posting Workers Directive 2012-2013: political negotiations on the new Directive of Implementation. A directive which describes how EU-member states may implement and enforce the 1996 Directive By example: Belgium’s Limosa-system: foreign self-employed must registrate before they can start working legally These kind of measures may be developed and implemented on the level of the EU-member state

14. Additional discussion This process may also be used to start a discussion on the definition of: 1) employee and 2) self-employed workers What we need are painters in our companies of a new kind : “affordable as self-employed painters” and “trustworthy and craftmanlike as good employees”

15. And UNIEP…? Is UNIEP able to develop a recommendation for the political discussion on the new Directive? On Limosa or the like? If possible, this recommendation may then be used by UNIEP’s members to lobby in their own country

16. Dank voor uw aandacht!