Brussels, 01/12/2003 (Agence Europe) - On 26 November, the Commission approved a Communication entitled "Improving the quality of employment - assessing recent progress". The report looks at the measures taken by Member States to improve the quality of employment, such as changes to taxation, welfare benefit systems and pensions with the aim of making work pay, creating a culture of lifelong learning, encouraging companies to invest in training, prove childcare facilities and facilities for dependent adults and boosting anti-discrimination legislation.
The Communication notes, however, that for the EU as a whole, the picture remains patchy and much work remains to be done. The proportion of elderly in the workforce in the EU, for example, has not met the 50% target. Young people are twice as affected by unemployment as adults and in some Member States, young people are finding it more and more difficult to find work providing reasonable career prospects. ! Citizens of other countries and the disabled are at a clear disadvantage on the labour market, with women still being unable to access work because of the lack of childcare facilities. The gap in men and women's pay continues and the EU is lagging further behind the US in terms of productivity.
The Communication highlights differences between Member States with Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Austria scoring well in terms of employment quality, as opposed to Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal.