Workers posted temporarily to another EU country must get equal pay for equal work in the same place, under revised rules voted by Parliament on Tuesday.

The revised rules, approved by 456 votes to 147, with 49 abstentions, aim to ensure better protection for posted workers and fair competition for companies.

Under the agreed text, all of the host country’s remuneration rules must apply to posted workers. In addition to legal provisions, member states may apply large, representative regional or sectoral collective agreements. So far, this has been done only in the construction sector.

Posted workers are employees sent by his or her employer to perform a service in another EU state on a temporary basis. In 2016, there were 2.3 million posted workers in the EU. Posting increased by 69% between 2010 and 2016.

Travel, board and accommodation costs will have to be paid by the employer and not deducted from workers’ salaries. Employers will also have to ensure that the accommodation conditions for posted workers are decent, and in line with national rules.

The duration of the posting has been set at a maximum of 12 months, with a possible extension of six months. Thereafter, the worker would still be able to stay on and work in the member state to which he or she is posted, but beyond this, working conditions would be subject to the host country’s labour rules.

In the event of a fraudulent posting, member states should cooperate to ensure that posted workers are protected, at least, by the conditions of the Posting of Workers Directive.

The new elements of the revised directive will apply to the transport sector once the sector-specific legislation, included in the Mobility Package, enters into force.  Until then, the 1996 version of the directive remains applicable.

Member states will have two years to transpose the rules into their national laws, by when they also have to be in effect.