Brussels, 21/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - The period for consulting the European Commission's Green Paper on “modernising labour law to meet the challenges of the 21st century”, launched on 22 November 2006 by Commissioner Vladimir Spidla, ends on 31 March 2007.
During a press conference in Brussels on 15 March in the context of the European Business summit, the president of Businesseurope, Ernest-Antoine Seillière, presented elements of a response to this Green Paper. Businesseurope thus: (1) considers that the debate on the modernisation of labour law is welcome, but the power to modernise lies first and foremost with the member states, who are competent for taking the vital decisions on how to carry out modernisation; (2) will strongly oppose measures aimed at harmonising the definition of “worker” at EU level; (3) considers flexibility in traditional standard contracts must be increased; (4) finds the Green Paper does not sufficiently underline the importance of self-employment for development of the entrepreneurial mindset, and gives an unjustified negative picture of flexible forms of work; and (5) considers that labour law reform must focus on the creation of new jobs while safeguarding those that already exist.
The general secretary of UEAPME (European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises), Hans-Werner Müller, said the debate on the need to modernise labour law must be an integral part of the broader discussion on the concept of flexicurity. UEAPME considers modernisation of labour law must aim to: (1) be more in phase with current labour law reality; (2) take more into account employers' and workers' need for flexibility while ensuring employment security; (3) modernise the social protection systems to promote access to work or return to employment; (4) combat undeclared work; (5) foster the hiring of labour in SMEs by reducing red tape and by making legislation more flexible; (6) develop the spirit of enterprise; and (7) create more and better quality jobs.
The contribution of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) will be presented in a few days' time, after the meeting of its executive committee on 20-21 March, that will be discussing the matter in Rome. (gb)