On Wednesday 22 October in Brussels, the European social partners expressed their expectations in terms of defending the European social model, working conditions and boosting European competitiveness, at a new Tripartite Social Summit.
On the eve of the meeting of European leaders, the heads of the European employers’ confederation BusinessEurope, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the confederation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEUnited) and the confederation of services of general interest (SGIEurope) informed the President of the European Council, António Costa, and the Vice-President of the Commission, Roxana Mînzatu, of their expectations in the areas of both simplifying rules and reducing administrative burdens for companies and improving working conditions for trade unions.
While housing will be on the agenda of the European Council and the Commission is due to present its European Affordable Housing Plan in mid-December, the European social partners have also set out certain conditions for the future ‘package’ on quality jobs.
Presented at the end of the year, it will open up avenues of consultation for these same social partners, and these responses will lead to possible new legislative initiatives.
On this point, Markus Beyrer, Director General of BusinessEurope, had already warned the Commission against taking any initiative in the field of artificial intelligence that would hinder its development, and has called on it to be very “prudent”. Artificial intelligence has the potential to maintain Europe’s workforce and support competitiveness, he said.
“On AI, we are in the middle of the discussion. But what is clear (...) is we need to be very careful that whatever we do is not hindering the deployment of AI in companies. For the simple reason that, if we look at the rest of the world, we are fewer. We are probably not more eager to work than many other parts of the world. So it is more important for Europe to have the deployment of AI in order to maintain the productivity”.
Fifty new simplification proposals. The European business representative also claimed that all existing legislation should be scrutinised with a view to further simplification, if necessary.
“We made 68 proposals so far, 30 on digitalisation and we will make 50 more soon”, he added.
In the social field, one text in particular poses a problem for companies: the directive on equal pay. This text could be improved in its implementation, said Mr Beyrer, even though BusinessEurope “fully supports the objectives” of this directive.
For Esther Lynch, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the consultation on the future legal act on quality jobs should provide an opportunity to listen to the concerns and recognise the needs of workers. On Wednesday, the ETUC reported on the needs already identified in the field of disability insurance, psychosocial risks and teleworking, as well as in anticipating transitions and combating new forms of exploitation at work, particularly in subcontracting and labour intermediation.
The most “important thing for us is that the Commission recognises the problems and that a solution at EU level will make it possible to improve things”.
At the Summit, the ETUC also called for a new wave of investment “to stimulate demand, support just transitions and strengthen Europe’s industrial base”.
It presented a “joint foresight by European institutions and social partners with focus on jobs, economic sectors and regions to anticipate changes and guide policy”, as well as a “European pact for investments in innovation, technology, workers and just transitions as the way to increase productivity”.
“Europe has what it takes to lead the way, both in the strategic industries of today and in the technologies of tomorrow”, said Roxana Mînzatu.
“But one thing is clear, our competitiveness is first and foremost about our people. It is about putting workers at the heart of our productivity. By adopting new technology, by training and upskilling our workers and by improving working conditions. This will be the aim of our Quality Jobs Act”.
Quality jobs, “means, yes, security, supporting workers, protecting jobs, and industries that are vital to our strategic autonomy on this continent. Strong social dialogue and wider collective bargaining coverage will also be key pillars of our approach”.
Link to the ETUC document: https://aeur.eu/f/j3i (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)