Weber, Tina
Cleaning industry social partners demand action against illegal work
27 Dezember 1998
In the days prior to the European Council summit meeting in Vienna on 11-12
December 1998, the European-level social partners in the cleaning industry -
the European Regional Organisation of the International Federation of
Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees (Euro-FIET) and
the European Federation of Cleaning Industries (EFCI) - signed a joint
declaration calling for an end to undeclared work in the sector.
Social partners in the sugar industry sign joint declaration on training
27 Dezember 1998
At a December 1998 sectoral social dialogue meeting, the European Committee
of Food, Catering and Allied Workers' Unions within the International Union
of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied
Workers' Associations (ECF-IUF) and the European Committee of Sugar
Manufacturers (Comité Européen des Fabricants de Sucre, CEFS) signed a
joint declaration on vocational training in the sugar industry.
ETUC and UNICE respond to new Employment Guidelines
27 Dezember 1998
The 1999 Employment Guidelines put forward by the European Commission in
draft form on 14 October 1998 emphasised the need for continuity and called
on Member States to build on the progress made under the 4 main pillars of
action:
UNICE decides against negotiations on national information and consultation rights
27 Oktober 1998
Meeting on 16 October 1998, the council of presidents of the Union of
Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE) again rejected the
European Commission's invitation to enter into negotiations on information
and consultation of workers at national level. Emilio Gabaglio, general
secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) called the
decision "regrettable but not unexpected".
ETUC urges action to stem tide of global economic crisis
27 Oktober 1998
Meeting on 8-9 October 1998, the executive committee of the European Trade
Union Confederation (ETUC) adopted a statement on Europe and the global
crisis [1], which outlines the response ETUC would like the European Union
and the Member States to adopt to limit the negative impact of the economic
crisis in Asia on European businesses and employment.
[1] http://www.etuc.org/Exec/Resolutions/English/decang1.cfm
UNICE responds to second-stage consultations on sectors excluded from working time Directive
27 September 1998
Since the initial adoption of the Council Directive on certain aspects of the
organisation of working time (93/104/EC) [1] in 1993, the European Commission
has emphasised its desire to review the situation in relation to the sectors
and activities excluded from the Directive (such as transport or junior
doctors etc). In July 1997, the Commission launched a White Paper on sectors
and activities excluded from the working time Directive [2] (EU9707138N
[3])..
[1] http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=en&numdoc=31993L0104&model=guichett
[2] http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/soc-dial/labour/white/whiteen.htm
[3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/commission-publishes-white-paper-on-sectors-and-activities-excluded-from-the-working-time-directive
Commission adopts proposals to update Directives on freedom of movement
27 August 1998
Three legislative proposals adopted by the Commission on 22 July 1998 aim to
update and clarify the rights of EU citizens in relation to freedom of
movement within the Union in order to take up work. The first two proposals
modify and update the two core pieces of legislation which have guaranteed
freedom of movement for the past 30 years; Council Regulation (EEC) 1612/68
on freedom of movement of workers within in the Community; and Directive
68/360/EEC on the abolition of restrictions on movement and residence within
the Community for workers of Member States and their families.
Workers' employability to be priority for training aid
27 August 1998
On 22 July 1998, the European Commission adopted a "framework" which seeks to
improve transparency in the area of state aid granted to companies for
training their workers, by clarifying which publicly funded training falls
under the competition rules regarding state aid. It also defines the criteria
the Commission will use to ascertain whether this aid is compatible with the
common market.
ECJ rejects UEAPME's case against the parental leave Directive
27 Juli 1998
On 17 June 1998, the European Court of Justice handed down its judgment in
case T-135/96, /UEAPME vs Council of the European Union/. The case arguably
attracted relatively little wider attention, but was of great significance
for the legal standing of Directives conceived under the Maastricht social
policy Agreement and Protocol [1], whereby agreements reached by the EU-level
social partners are implemented by a Council of Ministers Directive. The
European Association of Craft and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (UEAPME)
had brought the case, seeking principally the annulment of the June 1996 EU
Directive on parental leave (96/34/EC), or secondarily the annulment of the
Directive's applicability to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME s).
[1] http://www.europa.eu.int/abc/obj/treaties/en/entr8i.htm
Employers may re-evaluate decision not to negotiate on national information and consultation
27 Juli 1998
The new president of the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of
Europe (UNICE), Georges Jacobs of Belgium, has indicated a willingness on the
part of European employers to reconsider their decision not to negotiate on
workers' rights to information and consultation at the national level. In
November 1997, the European Commission had opened a second round of
consultations with the EU-level social partners on the content of possible EU
legislation on this issue, on the basis of the social policy Agreement and
Protocol annexed to the Maastricht Treaty (EU9711160N [1]). The social
partners had an opportunity to seek an agreement on the subject at this
stage, thus forestalling a Directive, but UNICE decided in March 1998 not to
open talks (EU9803192N [2]).
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/commission-launches-second-phase-of-consultations-on-national-information-and-consultation
[2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/unice-rejects-negotiations-on-information-and-consultation