UK social partners agree joint contribution to 1999 NAP

The UK government has initiated consultation with social partner organisations on the content of its 1999 National Action Plan (NAP) on employment. In March 1999, the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress agreed a joint contribution for inclusion in the NAP.

In March 1999, officials of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and theTrades Union Congress (TUC) drew up a joint social partners' contribution to the UK's National Action Plan (NAP) on employment. Following a similar procedure to the previous year, when the UK's first NAP was drawn up in response to the EU Employment Guidelines (UK9805122F), the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) has consulted the two organisations on the content of the 1999 NAP. As well as submitting their own responses to the DfEE, the CBI and TUC have again drawn up a short joint contribution for inclusion in the NAP.

The joint CBI/TUC contribution is along similar lines to 1998's but as well as covering two of the 1999 EU Guidelines which call for a specific role for the social partners - guideline 5 encouraging agreements promoting employability and guideline 16 concerning agreements to modernise work organisation - it also comments on the development of equal opportunities policies:

• The CBI and TUC believe that "improving employability is fundamental to improving competitiveness and achieving high employment", and they welcome action taken in this area by the UK government, particularly through the New Deal programme (UK9707143F) and plans for "individual learning accounts" (UK9804115F).The joint statement highlights social partner involvement in a range of initiatives to promote skills training and workplace learning, including the "union learning fund" established by the government.

• The CBI and TUC "fully support proposals to promote a more modern organisation of work with the aim of improving labour market flexibility while recognising that flexibility needs to be balanced by appropriate levels of security". The implementation of the UK working time Regulations (UK9810154F), the national minimum wage (UK9904196F) and EU-level social partner agreements on parental leave (TN9801201S), part-time work (EU9706131F) and fixed-term contracts (EU9903162N) are seen as providing the context for progress on a range of work organisation issues.

• Both the TUC and the CBI are "committed to mainstreaming gender equality and indeed other equal opportunities issues throughout the guidelines". The social partners believe that "the equal opportunities pillar of the guidelines should, in addition [to equal opportunities for women], address other equally significant aspects of workforce diversity - such as the employment participation of ethnic minorities, those with disabilities and older workers."

The NAP and the EU's 1999 Employment Guidelines were the subject of a recent meeting between CBI and TUC representatives, officials of the DfEE and other UK government departments and Allan Larsson, director-general of DGV of the European Commission. The joint CBI-TUC contribution to the NAP has also been discussed at a meeting of the two organisations' top-level officials, and is expected to be on the agenda of a forthcoming tripartite meeting with the secretary of state for education and employment.