Unions set out priorities for Portuguese EU Presidency

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With Portugal taking over the EU Presidency in January 2000, the Portuguese trade union confederations, CGTP and UGT, have issued a document setting out their joint position on the social issues that they believe should be addressed during the Presidency. These include European employment policy, the basic rights of European citizens, broadening the EU, external relations, protection of workers, social cohesion and social dialogue in general to meet the challenge of globalisation of the economy.

Portugal assumed the Presidency of the European Union on 1 January 2000, and the two main Portuguese trade union confederations - the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses, CGTP) and General Worker's Union (União Geral de Trabalhadores, UGT) - have presented a jointly-prepared document for the 15 Member States to take into consideration. The document, entitled The Portuguese trade union confederations' objectives for the Portuguese Presidency (Os objectivos das Confederações Sindicais Portuguesas para a Presidência Portuguesa) states that important social issues will be at stake during the Portuguese Presidency and that solutions can be found only in the framework of real convergence and strengthening social and economic cohesion, in particular the social dimension. Three specific features are highlighted:

• the special European Council summit on employment that will be held in March 2000;

• the EU's Agenda 2000 programme aimed at strengthening Community policies and giving the Union a new financial framework for 2000-6 with a view to enlargement. This programme, which includes reform of the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund, is seen by the Portuguese unions to involve important advances in the battle against discrimination and for equal opportunities, and the right to information and consultation; and

• the EU's contribution toward progress in underdeveloped countries, including an EU-Africa summit to outline a programme to combat hunger and poverty and promote peace and democracy.

The union confederations urge the government to ensure that

• European-level priorities are clearly defined in these areas;

• it begins efforts early to work with Community organisations and other Member States in order to be able to make concrete and definitive decisions in crucial areas such as employment; and

• social dialogue with the union confederations is stepped up.

Key issues

The two confederations urge the Portuguese government to give special attention to the following issues during its EU Presidency.

European employment policy

The document states that unemployment in the European Union remains high, but there are conditions present that should favour greater economic growth. This, in turn, should make it easier to achieve results in the area of employment as long as there is a willingness to coordinate economic policies and to reinforce social cohesion and develop the social dimension. A number of objectives are listed along with measures to be taken to achieve them.

It is expected that important advances will be made at the March 2000 special employment summit with regard to the European employment pact approved by the European Council in Cologne in June 1999 (EU9906180N). The pact, it is claimed, should be backed up by binding commitments from the Member States and should include goals for employment and vocational training, and an outline of the responsibilities of the European Commission and the social partners.

The union confederations also call for intensified social dialogue at the European level with the European Central Bank, and for the strengthening of various EU-level bodies such as the Standing Committee on Employment.

Agenda 2000 and the Structural Funds

The unions recommend that the Portuguese government focus special attention on economic and social development and work to combat regional disparities by improving the mechanisms for dialogue at the European and national levels (both central and regional) on how the Structural Funds will be used, and by accelerating the entire process.

The Intergovernmental Conference and basic rights

The two confederations state that the Portuguese Presidency should create the conditions to push forward the proposal for a charter of fundamental rights in the European Union (EU9910202F), so that when the Treaty on European Union is next revised, the basic rights of citizens and social rights of workers will be included on the agenda of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) and in the Treaty. The Portuguese unions, along with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), believe that political, civil, social and trade union rights, including transnational rights, should be included. They urge the ETUC and its member confederations to take an active part in the work of the IGC.

Workers' rights and industrial restructuring

CGTP and UGT call for the Portuguese government, during its EU Presidency, to seek approval for the current proposed Directive establishing a general framework for informing and consulting employees in the European Community (EU9812135F), in order to ensure that EU workers have the same basic rights to information and consultation and that they play an active part in the industrial restructuring process. They also call for the government to back the European Company Statute (EU9911211F) and push for the approval of a "European observatory on industrial change" (as proposed by the "Gyllenhammar report "on the economic and social impact of industrial change - EU9805106N) - after consulting with the social partners. The observatory should be directly linked to European social dialogue.

Social legislation

Progress on social legislation is urged on three fronts:

• social security, specifically as it relates to free movement of workers from third countries, recognition of the transferability of pension funds, and maintenance of early retirement provisions and unemployment subsidies when workers leave their home countries;

• health and safety at the workplace, with regard to the application of Directives and the proposal of new ones; and

• continuation of the 1998-2000 social action programme (EU9805104F), with special attention given to establishing a minimum level of social rights.

Implementation of Article 13

The two confederations would like to see significant advances made during the Portuguese Presidency on the proposals, based on the new Article 13 of the Treaty, for a Council Directive establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation, a specific Directive implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective or racial or ethnic origin, and a Community action programme to combat discrimination (EU9912318F).

Broadening the European Union

Given that integration of applicant countries into the European Union is not only an economic question, but also a social one, the confederations believe that priority should be given to the Community's social "acquis", which include recognising the role of the social partners and especially the social dialogue (EU9808123F).

External relations

The unions point out that during the Portuguese Presidency many important international social issues will be at stake. Among them are: continuation of the debate about the next World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations (EU9912217N) and the possible introduction of environmental standards and social clauses in international trade agreements; the situation in Timor and the Balkans; the Lomé Convention; and cooperation with Latin American and Mediterranean countries.

Commentary

The fact that CGTP and UGT took a joint position in drawing up the document, something rarely achieved between the two union confederations, shows how important both feel the debate is and how similar their concerns are. These concerns centre on: the measures the Portuguese unions feel must be taken to protect workers in the labour market and strengthen social cohesion; and the need, in these times of globalisation of the economy, to seek balance and establish social dialogue at the global level in order to promote equal rights and privileges and decent working conditions in the world. (Maria Luisa Cristovam)