Weber, Tina
Scandinavia and UK leaders on training for adult workers, says Eurostat
27 Септември 1997
A report released by the Statistical Office of the European Communities
(Eurostat) in early September 1997 seeks to examine the extent of adult
training in the Member States of the European Union. The data collected forms
part of the European labour force survey undertaken in the spring of 1996.
The findings of the survey show that for the EU has a whole, over 8 million
individuals aged 30 and over said that they received education and training
in the four weeks immediately preceding the interview. Of these, 6.3 million
were employed, 0.5 million were unemployed and 1.3 million were economically
inactive (retired people, students etc).
UNICE outlines demands for British Presidency
27 Септември 1997
The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, met François Perigot, president of
the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE) and
Sir Colin Marshall, president of the UK employers' confederation, the CBI, in
London on 4 September 1997. The employers presented their priorities for the
UK Council Presidency, which will follow the Luxembourg Presidency in the
first six months of 1998.
Social partners in the textiles industry sign first European Code of Conduct
27 Септември 1997
The European Trade Union Committee: Textiles, Clothing and Leather (ETUC:TCL)
and EURATEX, the European employers' organisation for textiles and clothing,
signed the first "European Code of Conduct" on 22 September 1997 in the
presence of Allan Larsson, director general of the the European Commission's
Directorate General V for employment, industrial relations and social
affairs. The signing of the Code of Conduct marks the successful outcome of
over a year of sometimes strenuous negotiations as part of the sectoral
social dialogue at European level.
Luxembourg Presidency outlines objectives of Employment Summit
27 Септември 1997
The Prime Minister of Luxembourg,Jean-Claude Juncker, whose Government
currently holds the Presidency of the European Council, told members of the
European Parliament's economic affairs committee on 4 September 1997 that the
purpose of the Employment Summit [1], to be held on 20-21 November, is to
decide on concrete action to alleviate the problem of unemployment in Europe.
He argued that "if this summit like earlier summits only results in
declarations, but few concrete measures, then it is a failure". Mr Juncker
emphasised that he did not want to see the meeting turn into a "deregulation
summit" with the prime objective of achieving greater labour market
flexibility. Instead, he wanted the summit to lead to the adoption of clear
guidelines for European employment policy, which should form an integral part
of the overall economic guidelines. Mr Juncker argued that these guidelines
had to be sufficiently clear and detailed to allow an annual assessment of
their achievement (or the causes of non-attainment).
[1] http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/elm/summit/en/home.htm
Framework agreement in agriculture: a milestone in the European sectoral social dialogue
27 Септември 1997
The conclusion in July 1997 (EU9707141N [1]) of the recommendation framework
agreement on the improvement of paid employment in agriculture stands at the
end of a long process of negotiation between the European social partners in
the sector. The partners are GEOPA- the Employers' Group of theCommittee of
Agricultural Organisations in the European Union (COPA) - which represents
those agricultural undertakings in Europe which employ paid staff, and the
European Federation of Agricultural Workers' Unions (EFA), - one of the
European industry committees of the European Trade Union Confederation
(ETUC).
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/european-agriculture-social-partners-sign-first-sectoral-framework-agreement
Eurocadres urges Luxembourg Presidency to push for new employment initiatives
27 Септември 1997
A delegation from Eurocadres- the Council of European Professional and
Managerial Staff affiliated to the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
- met with Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jacques Poos and other representatives
of the Luxembourg Council Presidency on 3 September 1997 to highlight the
case for urgent action on employment at the European level. The delegation
emphasised that the special European Council Employment Summit [1], planned
for 21-22 November 1997 must live up to its expectations and produce concrete
results and initiatives. Eurocadres warned that "the creation of a single
currency and the establishment of Economic and Monetary Union would be
endangered, if it was done at the expense of employment."
[1] http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/elm/summit/en/home.htm
Part-time work Directive and employee representation are priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency
27 Август 1997
Luxembourg, which took over the Presidency of the European Council from the
Dutch Government in July 1997, has listed the following measures and
activities as among its priorities:
Commission adopts a Communication on the social and labour market dimension of the information society
27 Јули 1997
In its Communication on /People first - the next steps/, adopted on 23 July
1997, the European Commission argues that the social dimension of the
"information society" needs to be strengthened further if the European Union
is to take full advantage of the job-creation potential and improvements in
the quality of life potentially offered by new information and communication
technologies (ICT s). It sets out a strategy for achieving this objective at
national, European and international level.
European agriculture social partners sign first sectoral framework agreement
27 Јули 1997
On 24 July 1997, GEOPA- the Employers' Group of the Committee of Agricultural
Organisations in the European Union (COPA) - and the European Federation of
Agricultural Workers' Trade Unions (EFA) - one of the European industry
committees of the European Trade Union Confederation- signed the first
European sectoral framework agreement of its kind in the presence of
CommissionerPadraig Flynn. The initiative builds on previous "agreements" on
working time concluded between the social partners in the sector in 1978,
1980 and 1981, as well as a joint declaration on employment in agriculture
presented to the "European social conference" held in Paris on 30 March 1995.
Commission examines measures to encourage the use of apprenticeships
27 Јули 1997
On 19 June 1997, the European Commission adopted a Communication examining
different strategies to encourage the use of apprenticeships in vocational
training. The Communication was drafted in response to a request by the
European Council meeting in Florence in June 1996. It sets out five
recommendations for encouraging the use of this form of initial vocational
training in the European Union.