Brussels, 05/02/2013 (Agence Europe) -The first meeting organised by the European Commission's Employment Committee, held in Brussels on 1 February in adjustments to pay in the EU27, a “Pay Forum,” did not achieve the desired results. Although the Commission highlighted the substantial participation of national and European delegations of employers and trade unions (the social partners), some participants slammed the meeting as pointless, saying they would not come again.
The meeting in Brussels aimed to offer debate among EU and national players, including the European Central Bank and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on changes in pay in recent years compared with productivity, and the implications in terms of domestic demand and jobs in the various EU member states and the EU as a whole. The debate was based on an employment package published by the European Commission in April 2012 and the Commission's recent report on pay changes during the crisis.
Liliane Volozinskis, employment and social affairs director at UEAPME (the trade and small business association) told EUROPE on Tuesday 5 February: “Last Friday's 'Wage Forum' was not satisfactory in terms of format, setting and content, and we do not want to repeat this exercise”. Similar comments were made by CEEP (the European public enterprise association): “We are not convinced that this format should become a new structure”.
The reasons for this disappointment were explained for this newsletter by the general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, Bernadette Ségol, who said the agenda and topics of discussion had been set unilaterally, the question of pay had been separated off from profits and monetary policy, the social partners' autonomy had come under attack and there had been growing pressure against the “sacrosanct” principle of collective bargaining as the only way of setting pay levels. (JK/transl.fl)