Vaxholm/Laval case: its implementations for trade unions

Purpose – The purpose of this editorial is to examine the implementations of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling in December 2007 on the Laval case in Sweden for trade unions. Design/methodology/approach – The editorial outlines the ECJ decision and then examines the response of the European Trade Union Confederation and the social partners and governments in Sweden and Denmark. Findings – The ECJ upholds in European Union (EU) law the right to strike as a fundamental right and the right of a union to undertake industrial action against wage dumping. The judgement, however, restraints these rights to ensuring that foreign service providers are complying with the minimum employment standards as laid down in the host country legislation. Trade unions in the host county cannot undertake industrial action to force a foreign service provider to provide better terms and conditions of employment than that provided by the laws of the host country. The judgement implies that trade unions cannot in host countries by means of collective action, demand more than the legal minimum rate of pay from a company coming from a different EU member state. Originality/value – The editorial offers insights into EU law and its implementations for preventing wage dumping between EU member states.