International Transport Workers' Federation and another v Viking Line ABP and another Case C-438/05 ECJ

European Union | industrial action | free movement of services

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has held that the right to take industrial action can override the free movement of services in some circumstances, for example when the action is necessary to counter a serious threat to jobs or working conditions.

Viking Line APB attempted to have a Finnish ferry reflagged to Estonia, so that it could employ a cheaper Estonian crew. The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITWF) and the Finnish Seamen's Union (FSU), faced with the possible threat to Finnish seamen's jobs, proposed industrial action to try to prevent the reflagging.