WIREDGOV

The European Commission has requested the United Kingdom to put an end to discriminatory legislation allowing for differential pay of non-UK seafarers linked directly and indirectly to their nationality. The Commission considers the legislation to be in breach of the obligation to treat EU migrant workers in the same way as national workers in employment-related aspects such as pay. The request takes the form of a 'reasoned opinion' under EU infringement procedures. In the absence of a satisfactory response within two months, the Commission may decide to refer the UK to the EU's Court of Justice.

The Race Relations Act explicitly allows for direct and indirect pay discrimination on the basis of nationality of non-UK seafarers hired abroad to work on UK ships, or working on UK ships outside the UK. These provisions continue to apply to non-UK seafarers because even though the Equality Act that recently became applicable prohibits pay discrimination, the UK government has not yet adopted the further provisions that are necessary to extend this prohibition of pay discrimination to seafarers and work on ships.

The Commission therefore considers that the UK infringes EU law on free movement of workers and similar provisions in a number of agreements with non-EU countries that prohibit such discrimination (Article 45 TFEU and Article 7 of the Regulation No 1612/68 on freedom of movement for workers within the Community and similar provisions in 13 agreements that the EU has concluded with non-EU countries, which all prohibit discrimination on the basis of nationality in employment-related aspects including pay). In doing so it relies on the Court of Justice that has clarified that EU law on free movement of workers fully applies in shipping, and applies also to work that takes place outside the territory of the EU, provided that the specific employment relationship has a sufficiently close link with a Member State (Court of Justice ruling: Case 9/88 Lopes da Veiga of 27 September 1989, ECR 1989 P 2989).

Further information

For more information on the infringement procedures:

MEMO/11/45

Free movement of workers:

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=458

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=26&langId=en

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