Case Analysis: International Transport Workers' Federation V. Viking Line ABP
- IJLLR Journal
- Dec 13, 2025
- 2 min read
Ayush Toshnival, Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad, Symbiosis International University (Deemed University)
Dhruv Agarwal, Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad, Symbiosis International University (Deemed University)
1. Introduction
European Union (EU) law represents a unique legal order that was born out of the project of European integration, whose first objective was to establish an internal market on the basis of the four freedoms - freedom of movement of goods, services, capital and persons. Over time, EU law has evolved into a constitutional system that covers not only economic activity, but also increasingly interacts with fundamental rights and social protection. Such dual character has frequently given rise to tensions between the economic and social dimension of the Union, for instance, in the labour law domain, where national traditions interact with EU principles.
The Viking case (International Transport Workers' Federation v Viking Line ABP, C-438/05) is paradigmatic in this regard, as it puts into focus the clash between the freedom of establishment under Articles 49 and 54 TFEU and the fundamental right to strike as guaranteed in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and international labour instruments. When the owners of a ship tried to reflag the vessel to Estonia in order to get cheaper labour costs, trade unions in both countries opposed it, and threatened collective action to stop what was seen as social dumping. This case therefore posed key questions relating to the relationship between economic freedoms and social rights and the horizontal application of EU law in conflicts between private entities.
2. Brief Description of the Case
The Viking case, formally known as International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITWF) and Finnish Seamen’s Union (FSU) v Viking Line ABP, deals with the intersection between the European Union’s fundamental economic freedoms and the equally fundamental social right of workers to take collective action, that is including strike action.
