## Facts

- Laval un Partneri Ltd, a Latvian construction company, posted workers from Latvia to Sweden for a construction project.
- Swedish trade unions, including the Swedish Building Workers’ Union and the Swedish Electricians’ Union, initiated industrial action such as a blockade after Laval declined to sign a collective agreement on working conditions and minimum wages.
- The collective agreement sought by the unions went beyond Sweden's statutory minimum requirements for posted workers.
- The industrial action prevented Laval from completing the building project, ultimately leading to the company’s insolvency.

## Issues

1. Whether industrial action by Swedish trade unions, aiming to impose conditions beyond national law, constituted a restriction on the freedom to provide services under Article 49 TFEU.
2. Whether the right to collective action as a fundamental right could justify such restrictions in light of Community law.
3. Whether the proportionality principle limited the extent to which trade union actions may restrict cross-border service provision.

## Decision

- The ECJ found that the trade unions’ industrial action amounted to a restriction on the freedom to provide services protected by Article 49 TFEU.
- The right to collective action, including the right to strike, was acknowledged as fundamental, but its exercise must comply with the principles of Community law.
- The imposition of collective bargaining terms exceeding statutory requirements was considered disproportionate and thus not justified under EU law.
- The industrial action was declared incompatible with Article 49 TFEU because it hindered the free movement of services.

## Legal Principles

- The principle of proportionality is critical in balancing the right to collective action with the free movement of services within the EU.
- Member States may protect posted workers, but only to the extent set by national law and without unlawfully restricting service provision.
- Collective action imposing terms beyond what national law requires constitutes a restriction on the free movement of services.
- National regulations and trade union activity must respect Article 49 TFEU and may not unjustifiably obstruct the provision of cross-border services.

## Conclusion

The ECJ’s judgment in Laval un Partneri clarified that industrial action imposing requirements beyond national minimums on foreign service providers is a disproportionate restriction on the free movement of services, setting an important precedent on the limits of collective action within the EU internal market.


Laval un Partneri Ltd v Svenska Byggnadsarbetareförbundet (Case C-341/05) [2007] ECR I-11767