Trinczek, Rainer
European Parliament rejects compromise on working time directive
18 Sausis 2009
The revision of the working time [1] directive, originally adopted as Council
Directive 93/104/EC [2] in 1993 and subsequently consolidated in Directive
2003/88/EC [3], can be described as having a long history of failed attempts.
In the latest episode in this process, the European Parliament [4]
disapproved a compromise reached by the Employment, Social Policy, Health and
Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO [5]) on 9 June 2008 (*EU0807049I* [6]). In
its plenary session on 17 December 2008, the European Parliament rejected the
EPSCO compromise by a large majority of 421 to 273 votes in a second reading
of the central issues of the compromise, notably the opt-out clause and
on-call time.
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/working-time
[2] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31993L0104:EN:HTML
[3] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=en&numdoc=32003L0088&model=guichett
[4] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/european-parliament
[5] http://www.consilium.europa.eu/cms3_fo/showPage.asp?id=411&lang=en
[6] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/political-agreement-reached-on-working-time-and-temporary-work-directives
ETUC report gives state of play of the world of work in Europe
23 Rugsėjis 2008
Since 2001, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC [1]) and its
research institute the European Trade Union Institute for Research [2],
Education [3] and Health and Safety [4] (ETUI-REHS [5]) have produced an
annual report entitled /Benchmarking working Europe/. The study is usually
published before the EU spring summit and the Tripartite Social Summit [6].
In the introduction to the 2008 edition [7], the report sets out its aim: to
establish ‘what progress – or lack of it – has taken place in selected
areas of importance to trade unions and of crucial significance for a social
Europe’.
[1] http://www.etuc.org
[2] http://www.etui-rehs.org/research
[3] http://www.etuc.org/etuco
[4] http://tutb.etuc.org
[5] http://www.etui-rehs.org/
[6] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/tripartite-social-summit
[7] http://www.etui-rehs.org/research/Publications/Regular-publications/Benchmarking-Working-Europe/Benchmarking-Working-Europe-2008
Spring EU Summit prioritises social aspects of Lisbon Agenda
07 Gegužė 2008
In 2000, the Council of the European Union [1] adopted the so-called Lisbon
Strategy [2], which seeks to make the EU ‘the most dynamic and competitive
knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth
with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion, and respect for the
environment by 2010’. In 2004, the Council and the European Commission [3]
conducted a mid-term review of the Lisbon process. A group of high-level
experts, led by the former Dutch Prime Minister, Wim Kok, was asked to
prepare a report on the state of the Lisbon process. The resulting Kok report
(512Kb PDF) [4], which was published in November 2004, concluded that little
progress had been made in the previous first five years and recommended that
the EU place a greater emphasis on growth and employment (EU0412205F [5]).
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/council-of-the-european-union
[2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/lisbon-strategy
[3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/european-commission
[4] http://ec.europa.eu/growthandjobs/pdf/2004-1866-EN-complet.pdf
[5] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/kok-group-issues-report-on-lisbon-strategy
Forecasting future skill needs in Europe
29 Balandis 2008
At the core of the Lisbon Strategy [1] is the aim to make the European Union
the most competitive economic region of the world. The transition to an
innovative knowledge-based economy is likely to have considerable effects on
the demand side of the labour market, particularly with regard to the
qualifications needed. Even today, the mismatch between qualifications
offered and those demanded by employers is one of the major labour market
problems. Pressure to tackle this problem will increase in the light of
globalisation, accelerated by technological change and the shrinking
workforce because of demographic change.
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/lisbon-strategy
Working in Europe: Gender differences
22 Balandis 2008
Data from recent Eurostat publications show that, despite some convergence in employment patterns between women and men, considerable gender differences remain in relation to work. Women have caught up in educational qualifications and increased their employment rate, but family responsibilities are still the main reason for women’s above average inactivity rate. Women also continue to be more concentrated in certain economic sectors. Moreover, a gender-based entrepreneurial gap remains and women remain underrepresented in labour market policy interventions.
Income poverty in the European Union
22 Balandis 2008
Although the EU is an economically well-off region in comparison with the rest of the world, the EU Member States are still faced with the problem of income poverty. Recent Eurostat statistics show that 16% of the EU25 population was at risk of poverty in 2003. The data indicate that employment is the main factor in offsetting the risk of income poverty. However, the phenomenon of in-work poverty is also prevalent in the EU.
Working in Europe: Gender differences
13 Balandis 2008
Data from recent Eurostat publications show that, despite some convergence
in employment patterns between women and men, considerable gender differences
remain in relation to work. Women have caught up in educational
qualifications and increased their employment rate, but family
responsibilities are still the main reason for women’s above average
inactivity rate. Women also continue to be more concentrated in certain
economic sectors. Moreover, a gender-based entrepreneurial gap remains and
women remain underrepresented in labour market policy interventions.
Agreement on temporary agency work and working time directives shelved
06 Balandis 2008
In the European Union, there is a long history of failure to agree on a
directive on temporary agency work [1] and on a necessary reform of the
working time [2] directive. Traditionally, the UK government took the role as
the ‘leader of the opposition’ against such initiatives. However, in the
summer of 2007, the UK government seemed to soften its position, particularly
on certain issues concerning a possible temporary agency work directive. The
UK Minister of State for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs, Pat
McFadden, appearing in front of the European Scrutiny Committee [3] within
the UK parliament, made a comment that – under certain circumstances – he
‘would be very optimistic’ that an agreement could be reached under the
Portuguese EU Presidency in the second half of 2007.
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/temporary-agency-work
[2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/working-time
[3] http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/european_scrutiny.cfm
European Parliament keen to strengthen social dimension of EU employment guidelines
06 Balandis 2008
In 2005, the Lisbon Strategy [1] was re-launched and organised around
three-year cycles. One of the instruments to be used to implement the
strategy involves a set of integrated – but legally non-binding –
guidelines for the economic policies of the EU and its Member States, with
the employment guidelines [2] being an essential part of these. All of the
guidelines expire at the end of each three-year cycle, and need to be renewed
for the next cycle. As the first three-year cycle covered the period
2005–2007, new guidelines now have to be agreed for the period 2008–2010.
Before the Council of the European Union [3] can finally adopt employment
guidelines, the European Parliament [4], as well as other institutions such
as the Employment Committee (EMCO [5]) and the European Economic and Social
Committee (EESC [6]), has to be consulted.
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/lisbon-strategy
[2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/employment-guidelines
[3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/council-of-the-european-union
[4] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/european-parliament
[5] http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_strategy/emco_en.htm
[6] http://www.eesc.europa.eu/index_en.asp
Income poverty in the European Union
21 Spalis 2007
Although the EU is an economically well-off region in comparison with the
rest of the world, the EU Member States are still faced with the problem of
income poverty. Recent Eurostat statistics show that 16% of the EU25
population was at risk of poverty in 2003. The data indicate that employment
is the main factor in offsetting the risk of income poverty. However, the
phenomenon of in-work poverty is also prevalent in the EU.