Economic and Social Committee concerned at slow progress on employment targets

In late April 2007, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) published its opinion on the proposal for a Council decision on guidelines for the employment policies of Member States. At the same time, the EESC also issued recommendations on the maintenance of the employment guidelines in 2007 and beyond. The EESC is concerned with the slow progress on key employment issues and emphasises the need for maximum participation of stakeholders in the process.

On 12 January 2007, the European Council consulted with the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), as it may do so under Article 262, on the proposal for a Council decision on guidelines for the employment policies of Member States, given the requirement that these be confirmed by a decision of the Council.

About three months later, on 25 April, the EESC published its response to the consultation. While it is supportive of the objectives outlined in the ‘Integrated guidelines for growth and jobs (2005–2008)’ (COM (2005) 141 Final (339Kb PDF)), it remains strongly critical of certain aspects of the policies on employment and jobs. The EESC considers that the guidelines neither deliver change quickly enough nor do they engage with key stakeholders, particularly at national level. The committee also states that policies have failed to adopt ‘more ambitious, measurable targets which can be benchmarked’.

Areas of concern

The EESC highlights five areas of concern in relation to employment policies.

Low employment levels

In relation to the existing targets in the 2005–2008 programme, the EESC states that the overall target of 70% employment is unlikely to be reached by 2008. It also notes that while the level of female employment will have reached its target of 60%, this is mainly due to the growth in part-time and flexible or temporary work. The committee further highlights that the target of 50% employment of people in the 45 to 65 age group will not be met, even though some progress has been made in this area. Moreover, it draws attention to the fact that there is insufficient commitment to the lifelong learning needs of people in this age group in particular. In relation to young people, the EESC is concerned that youth unemployment is continuing to rise within Member States.

Training

In terms of training issues, the EESC states that basic and intermediate skills are lacking and that there is a mismatch between skills and qualifications in relation to the labour market. It has ‘significant concerns’ that vocational training and lifelong learning measures are not being implemented effectively or that there is insufficient commitment to the financial support necessary to sustain the levels of training needed in both the public and private sectors.

Migration

On the issue of migration, the EESC expresses its concerns at the poor progress made towards the integration of migrant workers who are filling major skills gaps in Member States. At the same time, the committee is concerned about the impact of the transfer of skilled workers from one EU country to another. Without careful monitoring, the committee considers that this will lead to an imbalance of skilled and qualified workers in various countries.

Unemployment

The EESC also shows concern about why unemployed workers appear not to be pursing local job vacancies while, at the other end of the employment spectrum, it notes that the knowledge economy, based on research and innovation, is still lagging behind.

Work–life balance

Finally, in relation to work–life balance, the committee states that Member States display a ‘lack of attention afforded to the integrated “lifecycle” approach’. It argues that this is a task for society as a whole and that the provision of childcare facilities, in particular, are essential to make it possible for workers to reconcile family and work obligations.

Consulting with key stakeholders

The EESC also emphasised that National Reform Programmes (75.6Kb PDF) should include more evidence of defined objectives, timescales, costs and budgets. In addition, the committee underlined that Member States should make provision for appropriate information and communication technologies (ICT) systems, which would be capable of collecting data and facilitating the tasks of monitoring and evaluation of employment trends. Focusing on current themes, the committee also argues that Member States need to progress with strategies to improve the adaptability of workers and enterprises, in particular with regard to the concepts of flexicurity and decent work.

Sonia McKay, Working Lives Research Institute