Brussels, 22/05/2006 (Agence Europe) - On the initiative of the Commissioner in charge of social policy, Vladimir Spidla, the Commission is expected to adopt a communication on 24 May, on the “promotion of decent work for all”, in which it proposes orientations for EU action and policies for attaining this goal. According to the Commissioner, this communication will call for enhanced cooperation between the European institutions, Member States and all actors involved in the drawing up of ILO standards and conclusions at the UN Summit in September 2005 and the international commission's recommendations on the social dimension in globalisation. The Communication includes a working document as an annex, which outlines reference texts for implementing action in favour of decent work (ILO conventions, UN declarations, Millennium Development Objectives) and examples highlighting such action. The Commission will draw up a follow-up balance sheet to this communication before summer 2008.
The decent work agenda is based on an integrated approach that includes productive and freely-chosen work, the right to work (including fundamental standards at work), social protection, social dialogue and the taking into account of related aspects. The Commission notes that it also contains fundamental social rights. The latter also explains that the agenda also aims to develop values and principles of governance that link economic competitiveness and social justice, which is at the centre of the European model. The Commission considers that promoting decent work requires a coherent and global approach. Based on figures provided by the ILO “World Employment Trends” for 2006, the Commission points out that half of all workers in the world have an income of less than USD 2 per day and half the world's population has no social protection what so ever. The Commission affirms that in order to help eradicate poverty they now need to: create an environment that is investment-friendly and one that creates local jobs; improve governance and social dialogue; establish a legal and regulatory framework that protects workers and guarantees gender equality; develop viable systems of social protection, life-long education and training; ensure legal security for companies and reduce corruption and establish rules on fair trade.