Brussels, 19/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - During the meeting of the Social Troika in Berlin on 18 January, the German, Portuguese and Slovenian employment and social affairs ministers held an exchange of views with the representatives of European social partners and, for the very first time, with those of European social NGOs (Social Platform) on the “quality of work” and “flexicurity” (see EUROPE 93345). Debates remained general and were described as “very broad” as well as “interesting” by those taking part.
John Monks, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), urged ministers to “work together to promote better jobs and to fight the spreading of precarious work in Europe instead of trying to impose flexibility at the cost of job security and working conditions”. He said that ETUC will be taking part in discussions on flexicurity “but only if good and safe jobs are at the centre of the discussion”, while stressing that flexicurity “has to benefit workers as well as business”. Sounding a note of caution against the appearance of a “two-tier labour market in Europe which must be addressed urgently”, the general secretary gave the following figures: - 8 million part-timers are unable to find full-time jobs, and half of young workers are being forced into short-term contracts. Monks warned that “European leaders must listen to the 80% of workers who say that the security of their job is the most important aspect of good work”. Finally, John Monks called on employment ministers to draft a “joint report on the quality of work in Europe and to present and discuss this report further under the Portuguese Presidency”.
Anne-Sophie Parent, the head of the platform delegation and president of the Social Platform, declared that: “Reforms in employment should aim at improving rights for those in precarious employment, not reducing rights for those with permanent jobs”. She went on to say: “Reforms based on flexibility and security (flexicurity) could work as long as they are understood as an integrated system including social security measures, credible life-long learning policies, adequate social entitlements and active labour market policies”. Ms Parent was convinced that “workers need clear security mechanisms in place (…) that would support them in transition between different employment situations and periods without employment, while helping them remain confident in the future”. She called on the Commission to present, together with a labour law reform, a set of related social reforms ensuring the good functioning of the system and, given the growing number of “working poor” in Europe, she called for the creation of a “minimum income”.
On the subject of flexicurity, the president of the Social Affairs Council of UNICE (European employers), Eero Leivo, noted that “the 'outsiders' are the unemployed”. He went on to quote several Dublin Foundation figures from 2006 reports on employment and working conditions in Europe: - 80% of workers say they are satisfied or very satisfied with their working conditions and with their work-life balance; - with around 80% of labour contracts, indefinite duration employment remains the most widespread form of employment in Europe; - 18.4% of employees in the EU were working part-time in 2005; - there is under-exploitation of temporary work; - and independent work is vital for developing the entrepreneurial spirit. He announced the publication by spring 2007 of a joint analysis by social partners on the key challenges facing the labour market. With reference to the same figures, the secretary general of CEEP, Rainer Plassmann, said he was convinced that “job quality cannot be reduced to the form of contractual arrangements or to wage levels”. He went on to say that CEEP was fully committed to “defining a clear approach to the policy goal of improving quality of work, which is an essential requirement to create a modern, competitive and knowledge-based economy”. Hans-Werner Müller, General Secretary of the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (UEAPME) took the view that modern and flexible regulations are essential to facilitate the functioning of labour markets and to encourage the creation of “good jobs” in the EU. He placed emphasis on the fact that SMEs need a positive business environment that provides internal as well as external flexibility on national labour markets. (gb)