Brussels, 04/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - On the eve of the Employment/Social Policies Council (see EUROPE 9556), European employers' and trade union representatives have addressed some of their requests to ministers on three key issues for the modernisation of labour markets and facilitating worker mobility.
Flexicurity. BusinessEurope, for employers, calls on the Council to consider flexicurity “a strategic long-term priority for Europe and the member states” because it “constitutes the right way forward to modernise European labour markets”. UEAPME (craft and small and medium-sized enterprises) and CEEP (European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest) call for European social partners to be fully involved in the adoption of the main common principles on flexicurity.
Working time. BusinessEurope calls on the Council not to take any decision which would reduce labour market flexibility, increase bureaucracy and hamper companies' ability to create jobs. It also stresses that the Council should, as a priority, resolve the issue of on-call time, given that, according to the Court of Justice's Simap/Jaeger rulings, on-call time is working time, even though, as the CEEP points out, “this time is spent sleeping or resting”. The UEAPME calls on ministers to provide a 12-month reference period as a general rule and for the opt out to be maintained.
Temporary working. BusinessEurope also calls on ministers not to take any decision that would undermine job creation through temporary work agencies. EuroCiett (temporary work agencies) calls on the Council to view temporary work as a solution to unemployment and illegal working, and as a job creator. For the trade unions, ETUC calls on the Council to approve the proposed directive, thus extending “much needed protection to several million vulnerable workers”.
Pensions rights. BusinessEurope calls on the Council to ensure that the future directive does not harm the development of supplementary pension schemes. (G.B.)