European Council: Social partners' joint labour market analysis

Brussels, 14/12/2007

To be checked against delivery

To excuse the absence of John Monks, ETUC General Secretary – he is taking part in an important meeting of the International trade union movement in Washington.

To congratulate the Presidency on the achievements and especially on the Reform Treaty. It is high time for Europe to concentrate its energies on the core issues that concern citizens and workers.

To thank the Portuguese Presidency for having invited the social partners to present their Joint Analysis on Labour Market Challenges. A proof of the recognition of the role they play at the European level.

The ETUC wishes to identify and stress three basic messages:

1. The first is a message of hope.

Hope, because the joint analysis also identifies the potential that Europe has at its disposal in addressing the challenges it is facing.

We insist on the fact that:

• the level of qualification and skills of the average European workforce is improving rapidly and that the share of workers with low qualifications is continuously falling;

• over the long run, growth per head is as high in Europe as it is on the US;

• with 18 million new jobs over the past decade, it is Europe and not the US that has been the ‘job creation machine’;

• the European economy is already flexible and capable of destroying as well as creating many jobs every single year.

So basically, our joint analysis says a firm ‘no’ to those want to turn - what should be a productive policy debate - into an ideological debate by spreading panic and describing the European economy as a ‘sick old man’, unable to grow and to compete because of too much social and worker protection. Europe does not have to give up on its tradition of a social model in order to have good economic performance.

2. The second is a message based on the need to invest in quality.

One of the most important challenges Europe is facing is to improve the quality of jobs.

Yes, Europe is creating many more jobs but the quality of these jobs leaves much to be desired.

Our joint analysis unveils that:

• temporary contracts and involuntary part time are on the rise:

• that women and young people are the first victims,

• that bogus self employment is a problem in several member states,

• that European workers do not receive their fair share of economic progress,

• that European workers see access to business supported training fall over time.

These trends are not only worrying because of the insecurity it is creating amongst workers. It is also worrying because an insecure, casual and unfairly rewarded work force will constrain productivity and innovation.

And we all know we need productivity and innovation if we want to be able to face the challenges of global competition and an ageing work force.

3. The third message concerns ‘flexicurity’.

Our contribution as European social partners is to have ‘de-polluted’ the debate.

Indeed, flexicurity could have easily degenerated into an ideological attack on labour law and job protection systems undermining their crucial function of promoting stable contracts and stable employment relationships.

Our recommendations avoid this danger:

• We do not call for ‘easy firing’ and reducing the level of job protection;

• We do not call for giving up job protection in exchange for employment security;

• What we do want and call for instead is a review of the design of labour law and job protection systems with the aim of complementing job protection with measures promoting employment security;

• What we also call for is to fight segmented labour markets by closing existing loopholes in labour law and by upgrading the rights of a-typical workers.

In short, we want upwards convergence and a labour market in which open ended contracts are the general rule. And all of this should be done in close collaboration and respect of social partners and their autonomy to bargain flexicurity arrangements.

We observe, by the way, that Employment Ministers have followed a similar approach and have put the goal of stable and secure labour contracts central in the common European principles for flexi-security.

To conclude, what are our expectations for the Commission and the Council?

What should happen next? We have one really crucial request:

To put the quality of jobs and the fight against precarious work at the heart of the Lisbon strategy.

And to do so by rediscovering and re –appraise the role and the importance of the European Social Aquis.

Two practical policy proposals from the part of the ETUC to the European Council:

First, to insert a new recommendation in the European employment guidelines inviting member states in their nation reform plans to improve the respect and implementation, both of the letter as well as the principles, of the existing European Social Acquis.

Second, to be more ambitious and to put the ‘E’ of Europe back into the Lisbon process, adding a chapter to the Community Action Plan on the need to ensure a level playing field for good work practice throughout Europe, by ‘intensifying’ and ‘enlarging’ the Acquis.

The Employment Council has already re-opened the discussion on equal rights for temporary agency workers and we welcome this move. More could be done. For example, in terms of the possibility for workers to request flexible working hours or a shift to full time or part time contracts and back. These would address phenomena such as involuntary part time work or qualified workers taking up lower skilled part time jobs to be able to combine work and family life.

I thank you for your attention.