On today's judgement of the European Court of Justice against the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg (Case C-319/06), Sahra Wagenknecht, member of the European Parliament and the executive of the party THE LEFT, declares:

The chain of judgements hostile to employees won't cease. Today the European Court of Justice for the fourth time within very few months has made a scandalous decision in favour of European companies and at the expense of employees. Following the opinion of the ECJ, Luxemburg's labour laws is in contradiction to the posted workers directive and the freedom to provide services and must be changed. He, who sends employees to Luxemburg, according to the ECJ, is not obliged to keep Luxemburg's labour code that provides for an automatic adaptation of wages to the cost of living, the obligation to maintain collective bargaining wages as well as progressive stipulations concerning paid holidays, time contracts, lease or part-time work etc.

This is not only an attack against the government of Luxemburg that is denied the right to protect all employees working in Luxemburg. It is a massive attack against the working and living conditions of the people in the whole of Europe! As already in the cases of Laval, Viking Line and Rüffert, the ECJ has given preeminence to the basic freedoms of entrepreneurs over fundamental rights and social standards. Once more the ECJ has declared illegal the attempt to push through equal living conditions for all employees at one place. This is nothing more but a licence for social dumping.

It is judgements of this kind that shake the trust of the people in the European Union. And this trust won't be restored by cheap hypocrisy either: Of course, the announcement of today's judgement was postponed on purpose by one month in order not to supply any additional arguments to the opponents of the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland. Yet, luckily, a majority of the Irish population has not let itself be confused and given a resounding slap in the face to the EU. The people now need to link on to the success of the Irish referendum. Supported by social movements and trade unions, they will fight for a fundamental re-orientation of the EU. The dictate of capital interests must be broken and a social and peaceful Europe shall be founded anew, which will no longer have to fear any popular referendum.