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EU Level developments

• 09 Dec 2011
  EU Level: Commission issues new Communication on Corporate Social Responsibility

  In October 2011, the European Commission issued a new Communication on Corporate Social Responsibility, redefining the concept. It urges companies to address employment and social issues such as training, youth employment, dialogue with employee representatives, employee health and well-being, gender awareness and diversity management within the context of the Europe 2020 strategy, and to see such initiatives as a key part of the solution to Europe’s economic crisis.

• 05 Dec 2011
  EU Level: European chemical sector social partners sign sustainability accord

  In September 2011, European social partners in the chemical sector adopted a declaration aimed at strengthening the European chemical industry and finding ways for this sector to address issues such as food shortages, emissions, and the need to save energy and protect the environment. The agreement on framework conditions for a sustainable chemical industry is based on recommendations of the High Level Group on the competitiveness of the chemicals industry, issued in 2009.

• 22 Nov 2011
  EU Level: Slowdown in EU labour market recovery

  The labour market recovery in the EU has slowed down, according to the European Commission’s most recent Employment and Social Situation Quarterly Review. Published at the end of September 2011, it also shows that the impact of the crisis on young workers, migrants, low-skilled workers and women, remains severe. However, although the employment rate in the EU has not returned to its pre-crisis level, its year-on-year rate has improved marginally in most Member States.

• 18 Nov 2011
  EU Level: New global agreement on work-related stress at Danone

  Multinational food company Danone and the International Union of Food workers have signed the first worldwide agreement on health, safety, working conditions and stress within the agro-food sector. It is also the first agreement to extend a stress prevention policy worldwide. It was signed on 29 September 2011, and lays down principles that must be respected by each company in the Danone group, based on mandatory consultation between management and staff representatives.

• 07 Nov 2011
  EU Level: Employment Council discusses wide range of social issues

  Europe’s employment, social policy, and health and consumer affairs ministers met on 3 October 2011 to discuss a range of social issues. These included the upcoming Tripartite Social Summit, the role of the European Social Fund in achieving Europe 2020 Strategy targets, voluntary activities and social policy in the context of the 2011 European Year of Volunteering, and how the problems posed by an ageing population might be eased by better reconciliation of work and family life.

• 30 Sep 2011
  EU Level: Pressure mounts for EU quota of women on company boards

  In July 2011, the European Parliament called for a binding minimum quota for women’s representation on company boards, of 30% by 2015 and 40% by 2020. Some governments and business groups introduced quotas or voluntary charters to begin working towards these targets, but progress remains slow. The European Commission has warned that it may propose legislation if companies do not make satisfactory progress towards increasing the presence of women at board level by 2012.

• 23 Sep 2011
  EU Level: Takeda Pharmaceutical signs EWC agreement

  Takeda Pharmaceutical, a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Japan, signed an agreement establishing a European Works Council in May 2011. It was one of the last EWCs to be established before the ‘recast’ EU directive on works councils took effect in June. However, it appears to reflect many of the provisions set out in the new directive that reinforce the information and consultation rights of the councils and more clearly set out the transnational matters covered in the agreement.

• 16 Sep 2011
  EU Level: Report addresses poverty strategy of Europe 2020

  A report examining actions to promote inclusion and reduce poverty was issued by the Social Protection Committee on 6 July 2011. The report, on the social dimension of the Europe 2020 Strategy, details the challenges of meeting the strategy’s main target of lifting 20 million people out of poverty and assesses policy options for addressing them in the current economic climate. These include strengthening early intervention in areas such as child health and education.

• 12 Aug 2011
  EU Level: New European Industrial Trade Union Federation to be created

  At its congress in June 2011, the European Metalworkers' Federation voted in favour of creating a new European Industrial Trade Union Federation, linking with organisations representing workers from mining, chemicals and textile sectors across the EU. The move follows increasing close cooperation with other EU-level trade union federations that represent workers in these sectors, and it is hoped will mean better use of resources and greater representativeness.

• 05 Aug 2011
  EU Level: Manufacturing unions want more worker involvement

  In February 2011, three European-level trade union federations representing manufacturing workers agreed on a joint strategy to achieve stronger worker involvement in multinational companies. This joint approach has been triggered at least in part by a revised European Works Council directive, which came into force in June. The three federations want companies to find better ways to anticipate and manage change to minimise the negative impact it can have on employees.

• 27 Jul 2011
  EU Level: ETUC sets out priorities for 2011–1014

  At its congress in Athens in May 2011, ETUC presented its manifesto for 2011–2014, setting out its work priorities for that period in response to the financial crises in several EU Member States. These include promoting a social Europe, combating unemployment, rising inequality, precarious work and austerity governance, promoting growth and stability, increasing trade union strength and membership, and developing a joint response to an increasingly integrated Europe.

• 28 Jun 2011
  EU Level: Innovative agreement for EU chemical social partners

  EU-level social partners in the chemicals sector – EMCEF and ECEG – signed the first framework agreement of its kind, on training and job competences, in this sector on 15 April 2011. This agreement, an autonomous initiative, covers employees in the sector in all 27 EU Member States and aims to ensure conformity of competences in the EU. Social partners hope this will be a foundation for sustainable growth and help businesses and workforces through the economic crisis.

• 21 Jun 2011
  EU Level: Alstom agrees to try to avoid redundancies

  Energy group Alstom signed its second European framework agreement with the European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF) on 24 February, 2011. The agreement deals with the restructuring process being carried out by the company, which has 93,500 employees. Although Alstom announced 4,000 job cuts at the end of 2010, it said it planned to do everything it could to safeguard employment. However, in March, it announced a further 1,380 redundancies in its transport division.

• 02 May 2011
  EU Level: EU agrees pact for the euro

  In March 2011, EU heads of state of the countries in the euro zone agreed on a pact designed to guarantee its stability. The pact’s four main principles are: promoting competitiveness; fostering employment; contributing further to the sustainability of public finances; and reinforcing financial stability. Member States are encouraged to try to achieve this by reforming pay and labour market policies. The pact also welcomes participation from non-euro area countries.

• 19 Apr 2011
  EU Level: Success of stress agreement is ‘uneven’

  The social partners’ cross-sector agreement on stress at work, initiated in 2004 at EU level, has had a positive effect, a report has shown. Although the implementation of the agreement has been uneven across the EU, it has led to new policy developments in 12 Member States. The report, issued on 24 February 2011, looks at how the agreement has been enacted, its results and the lessons learnt, including the importance of joint action between social partners.

• 14 Apr 2011
  EU Level: Joint statement on undeclared work in hotels and restaurants

  Initiatives by the European Commission to clamp down on undeclared work in the hotels and restaurants sector were welcomed by the EU-level social partners on 3 December 2010. Undeclared work in this sector is high, involving in Greece, for example, up to 60% of the workforce. The social partners, who condemned the practice in 2002 because it hampers the creation of ‘proper employment’, now want to combat it with a mix of control and incentives, supported by information initiatives.

• 25 Mar 2011
  EU Level: Health social partners agree recruitment and retention framework

  The EU-level social partners in hospitals and healthcare, HOSPEEM and EPSU agreed, in December 2010, a framework of actions on recruitment and retention of staff. These are key issues in this sector, with demographic ageing and tight budgets compounding the problems of recruiting skilled employees for difficult working conditions on relatively low pay. The social partners’ formal dialogue began only in 2006, but has developed rapidly, leading to several joint texts.

• 10 Mar 2011
  EU Level: New sectoral social dialogue committee for central government administrations

  A new sectoral social dialogue committee for central government administrations was set up in December 2010. Within the context of this new committee, employee and employer representatives from across the European Union will have the opportunity to deliver opinions, statements and documents to the European Commission on areas of European social and employment policy that may have consequences for all central government administrations at national level.

• 08 Mar 2011
  EU Level: GDF Suez launches international social dialogue

  The French energy and services group GDF Suez (214,000 employees) has signed an international framework agreement with three global unions. The three-year agreement will provide a framework for those involved to promote global social dialogue and to negotiate at this level on topics such as training, heath and safety, and, more innovatively, restructuring and climate change. It also shows the company’s complete support for many major international standards.

• 25 Feb 2011
  EU Level: Joint declaration on cooperation in the printing sector

  In November 2010, the EU sector-level social partners in the printing industry, UNI Europa Graphical and Intergraf, signed a joint declaration on future cooperation to help the industry face challenges such as rising costs and new technology. This follows a year-long project examining socially responsible restructuring in the sector. The partners will develop a joint action plan over the coming months, focusing on various issues including jobs and skills needs in the sector.

• 11 Feb 2011
  EU Level: Commission consults again on Working Time Directive review

  In December 2010, the European Commission launched the second stage of consultations with EU-level social partners on possible amendments to the Working Time Directive, suggesting either a ‘focused’ review, limited to the issues of on-call time and compensatory rest, or a wider-ranging ‘comprehensive’ review. Consultations began last March, initiated in an attempt to revise the directive so it reflects changes in the organisation of working time over the past 20 years.

• 28 Jan 2011
  EU Level: Social Council debates new maternity provisions

  In October 2010, the European Parliament proposed that minimum maternity leave be extended to 20 weeks. The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council met in December 2010 to debate this and other proposed amendments to the pregnant workers’ directive. It did not endorse the 20 weeks proposal, but did approve extending maternity leave from 14 to 18 weeks. This extension was first proposed by the European Commission in 2008, along with other maternity rights.