EU: the ECJ secures restrictions over recourse to temporary agency work and nips national disputes on this matter in the bud

On March 17, the ECJ made its first ever ruling on a case over the interpretation of Directive 2008/104, which addresses temporary agency work. At issue is a provision requiring that the Member States reexamine restrictions on the recourse to temporary agency work in order to ensure that they are indeed in the general interest. The ECJ considers that this provision (that only applies to Member States) does not give national courts the right not to apply certain restrictions they may deem as unjustified or disproportionate. The national courts do not therefore offer a legal avenue for those wanting to question the restrictions.
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The ECJ was required to rule on a case brought by a Finnish transport workers union against a company in the sector and an employers’ body over the violation of a clause in their collective agreement that treats recourse to temporary work. The Finnish legal authorities sent the question of prejudice to the ECJ for it to determine if the clause in question actually constituted an unjustified restrction over recourse to temporary work and so was incompatible with article 4 paragraph 1 of the Dire

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