Weber, Tina
Council reaches common position on burden of proof in sex discrimination cases
27 July 1997
The following issues were on the agenda of the Labour and Social Affairs
Council of Ministers meeting held in Luxembourg on 27 June 1997:
Commission publishes White Paper on sectors and activities excluded from the working time Directive
27 July 1997
On 15 July 1997, the European Commission published a White Paper on Sectors
and activities excluded from the working time Directive [1]. Directive
93/104/EC on certain aspects of the organisation of working time was adopted
in November 1993 based on Article 118A of the Treaty of Rome. The aims of the
Directive were to ensure that workers are protected against adverse effects
on their health and safety caused by excessively long working hours, or
having inadequate rest or disruptive working patterns. The Directive provides
for
[1] http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/soc-dial/labour/white/whiteen.htm
Commission adopts draft Directive on part-time work
27 July 1997
On 23 July 1997, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive
to transpose the social partners' framework agreement on part-time work into
European law. The agreement was signed on 6 June 1997 by the European Trade
Union Confederation (ETUC), the Union of Industrial and Employers'
Confederations of Europe (UNICE) and the European Centre of Enterprises with
Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest (CEEP)
(EU9706131F [1]). This is the second time that an agreement reached by the
European social partners has been submitted to the Council for adoption,
following the European framework agreement on parental leave (a Directive to
implement which was adopted in June 1996). The aims of the new agreement are
to prevent discrimination against part-time workers and to facilitate the
development of part-time work at Member State level.
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined/social-partners-reach-framework-agreement-on-part-time-work
Amsterdam summit agrees new draft Treaty
27 June 1997
The European Council meeting in Amsterdam on 16 and 17 June 1997 concluded
the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) with the agreement of a new draft
Treaty. The conclusion of the IGC leaves the path open for launching the
enlargement process, and the timetable for the single currency has equally
been reaffirmed. Economic stability, growth and employment also featured
prominently in talks between the governments of the 15 member states.
Reinforced by the participation of members from the two new left-of-centre
governments of France and the United Kingdom, the European Council agreed to
give fresh momentum to keeping employment firmly at the top of the European
Union's agenda.
Commission publishes first annual review of the EU-level social dialogue
27 May 1997
The first annual review of the social dialogue process at the European Union
level was adopted by the Commission on 6 May 1997. The review characterises
1996 as "a particularly fruitful and productive year" for the social dialogue
at European level. Despite this overall positive assessment, the review
highlights the fact that, despite endeavours towards the establishment of a
dialogue between the social partners, and in some cases, negotiation, this
represents only the background of a European-scale industrial relations
systems which is yet to take shape.
Commissioner Flynn responds to income distribution and poverty figures
27 May 1997
The findings of a Eurostat study entitled /Statistics in focus: income
distribution and poverty in the EU 12 - 1993/, published on 14 May 1997, show
that one out of six citizens and households in the 12 pre-1995 EU member
states live below the "poverty threshold". In more than half of these
countries, the figure was even higher - one in five. Even more alarmingly,
over one-third of poor households were working. These findings are drawn from
the first wave of statistics generated from the European Community Household
Panel (ECHP). The ECHP consists of a sample of 60,500 households selected
randomly in the 12 member states, using a harmonised questionnaire. This data
does not allow for a comparison of social change over time, but does provide
important information on the magnitude and dimensions of poverty and income
disparity in the European Union in the early 1990s. The figures show that
there are approximately 57 million socially excluded individuals in EU, a
problem affecting both more and less affluent member states.
Davignon group on worker involvement publishes recommendations
27 May 1997
The high-level expert group on worker involvement was established in 1996
with the aim of developing solutions to break the 25-year deadlock on
European Commission proposals containing clauses on worker involvement, and
in particular, the European Company Statute (ECS). The Commission has
repeatedly stressed the importance of such a statute, enabling the
incorporation of companies at EU level, in order to improve the
competitiveness of European companies. Such proposals have long remained
blocked in the Council of Ministers, largely because of concerns from
countries with advanced employee participation systems which fear that the
ECS could be used by companies to circumvent national legislation in this
area. Similarly, a solution would have to avoid imposing foreign models of
employee representation upon member states where there is currently no
provision for the appointment of worker representatives to the boards of
companies.
UNICE urges IGC to prioritise competitiveness
27 May 1997
In its recently published opinion on the conclusion of the Intergovernmental
Conference (IGC), the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of
Europe (UNICE) underlines the need for the negotiating parties to "place a
strengthening of Europe's competitiveness at the heart of the (new) Treaty,
since promotion of competitiveness is the sine qua non to increase
employment". The promotion of employment can, according to UNICE, never be
treated in isolation. While European employers have repeatedly pronounced
themselves in favour of the Essen employment strategy, they are keen to
underline that responsibility for employment policy must continue to lie
primarily with the member states.
Social partners reach draft agreement on part-time work
27 May 1997
The negotiating teams representing the Union of Industrial and Employers'
Confederations of Europe (UNICE), the European Trade Union Confederation
(ETUC) and the European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and
of Enterprises of General Economic Interest (CEEP) reached a draft framework
agreement on part-time work in the evening of 14 May 1997.
New Commission report and initiatives on continuing training
27 May 1997
The importance of continuing vocational education is increasingly being
recognised by policy-makers across the European Union, not only because of
its positive impact on maintaining the competitiveness of enterprises, but
also because of its potential contribution to the free movement of labour and
the improvement of employment prospects. This is particularly important in
the context of the evolving "information society". The Commission has given
particular emphasis and resources to continuing training through its
vocational training programme, LEONARDO, and in declaring 1996 the European
Year of Lifelong Learning.