# EUR-Lex - 52013DC0882 - EN

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# 52013DC0882

**COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS EU Quality Framework for anticipation of change and restructuring /* COM/2013/0882 final */**

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1.         Introduction

This Communication presents an EU Quality
Framework for Anticipation of Change and Restructuring (QFR). It follows on
from the Green Paper ‘Restructuring and anticipation of change: what lessons
from recent experience’ of 17 January 2012[1] and the request made by the
European Parliament on 15 January 2013 in its Resolution on information and
consultation of workers, anticipation and management of restructuring based on
Article 225 of the TFEU (known as the Cercas Report)[2].

We face major challenges in seeking to raise
employment levels and tackle unemployment by increasing the use of active
labour market policies and by reforming education and training systems to make
sure jobseekers are equipped with the right skills and companies can rely on a
competitive workforce. All of this requires good anticipation as well as tools
to match labour supply with demand to the fullest possible extent. Facilitating
business adaptation and labour market transitions via better anticipation of
human capital needs should be seen in this wider context.

As necessary and unavoidable as it may be, economic
adjustment and restructuring may have an employment and social impact that
should be addressed by adequate policy means. A total of 250 restructuring
operations were recorded by the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)[3], for the third quarter of 2013. These
cases generated 57 081 announced job losses and 27 792 announced job gains,
thus amounting to a net loss of 29 289 jobs.

The QFR requires certain principles and good
practices of anticipation of change and management of restructuring activities
within companies, as well as by public authorities, to be better identified and
monitored. These should, in particular, facilitate investment in human capital
and lead to the reallocation of human resources to activities with high growth
potential and quality jobs as per the Europe 2020 strategy, while increasing
the quality of working conditions.

The approaches outlined in this QFR will
contribute to companies’ long-term competitiveness and sustained employability
of their workers and mitigate the associated expense, including the social cost
of change. This approach also ties in with major political objectives of the
EU, essentially those set out in the Europe 2020 strategy and other major
initiatives in pursuit of sustainable economic competitiveness and job-rich
recovery, especially in the real economy.

This QFR mainly addresses the employment and
social dimensions of the anticipation of structural change. A broader perspective
on structural change includes not only the labour impact dimensions but also
the industrial and larger social impact of structural change on the cities and
regions where it takes place. In that context a discussion on structural change
also relates to the role of industrial and regional policies in anticipating
the adjustment of regions and industry to structural changes. In that vein, the
‘smart specialisation’ strategies to be developed in the framework of EU
Structural Funds for 2014-2020 are relevant and as such an avenue that should
be further pursued by the Commission.

The Commission believes that presenting the
good practices in this field developed throughout the years to all the
concerned stakeholders can contribute to increased awareness and more effective
and generalised implementation of anticipative, proactive and socially
responsible management of change and restructuring to the benefit of all of
these stakeholders and to society as a whole.

With that in mind, the Commission calls on
Member States to support and promote the implementation of the QFR through
appropriate means and urges all stakeholders to cooperate on the basis of the
principles and good practices outlined. The Commission will monitor the way in
which the QFR is applied and consider the need to revise it by 2016. It will
keep the European Parliament informed of the results.

2.         Policy
context

The EU has a comprehensive legal framework
for regulating the way in which social dialogue within companies and groups of
companies should address, amongst other issues, anticipation of change and
restructuring events.

We use the Structural Funds, and in
particular the European Social Fund, to support economic adaptation, labour
market transitions and social protection of workers made redundant or at risk
of redundancy. The EU has also created a specific instrument, the European
Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF), to help workers who have lost their jobs.

Moreover, the social partners and the
Commission have launched several specific initiatives in the field of
anticipating and managing change and restructuring (details in Annex I). The
latest, a January 2012 Green Paper on Restructuring, has identified successful
practices and policies in relation to anticipation and restructuring that were
applied during the worst years of the crisis.[4]

All these efforts should be seen as integral
parts of the Commission's drive to get Europe's economy back on track via the
implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy, the European Semester and other
major initiatives in the field of employment, skills and industrial policy.

The Commission has recently taken the
initiative to modernize the Union acquis on insolvency law. This reform of the
EU's insolvency rules tries to facilitate the survival of businesses and
presents a second chance for entrepreneurs. One of the main objectives of this
new, 'rescue-oriented' European approach to business failure and insolvency is
to preserve jobs and save employment.

2.1.      The contribution of EU labour
law to restructuring

The EU Directives on information and
consultation of workers[5] provide mainly for the
involvement of workers’ representatives in the restructuring process (granting
them procedural rights to information and consultation). They play a crucial
role in promoting an approach aimed at anticipating change and encouraging
cooperation in responding to it.

Timely information and consultation of
workers is of particular importance in anticipating change and duly preparing
for and managing restructuring. Moreover, it can help diminish job losses,
whilst also maintaining employability levels and lowering adjustment costs
through the use of internal flexibility.

As part of the Commission's better regulation
policy, its ‘fitness check’ on EU law in the area of workers’ involvement
examined three Directives related to worker information and consultation at
national level[6] (Directives 98/59/EC on
collective redundancies, 2001/23/EC on transfers of undertakings and 2002/14/EC
on a general framework for information and consultation of workers).

It concluded that this legislative framework
is broadly fit for purpose. The three Directives are generally relevant,
effective, consistent and mutually reinforcing. The benefits they generate are
likely to outweigh the costs. Moreover, the Directives seem to have contributed
to cushioning the shock of the recession and mitigating the negative social
consequences of restructuring operations during the crisis.

Nevertheless, the evaluation brought to light
some gaps and shortcomings relating to the scope and operation of the
Directives. The exclusion of smaller enterprises, public administrations
(in contrast to public undertakings, which are covered) and seafarers from the
scope of application of the Directives was questioned by some stakeholders as
diminishing the practical value of the Directives for a significant proportion
of the workforce.

The fitness check also drew attention to some
factors that may in specific circumstances have contributed to reducing the
effectiveness of the Directives, including: the (low) incidence of
representative bodies; the quality of their involvement (in particular the way
they are consulted, which is often limited or formal); their strategic
influence; insufficient awareness of rights and obligations; compliance and law
enforcement. As a result, some of the Directives’ aims, in particular a
reduction in the number of collective redundancies, improved management and
anticipation of change, and better adaptability and employability of employees,
appear not to have been fully achieved.

Finally, the fitness check pointed to
possible inconsistencies between the Directives on information and consultation
of workers as regards in particular definitions. Addressing these shortcomings
will help improve restructuring at company level as well.

As far as non-legislative actions are
concerned, research has highlighted the importance of establishing a culture of
social dialogue, of making both employees and employers aware of information
and consultation rights and obligations at company level, and of effectively
enforcing these rights in the event of non-compliance.

In terms of a legal framework, the Commission
has undertaken to look into the possibility of consolidating the information
and consultation Directives. This was confirmed in the REFIT Communication
adopted by the Commission on 2 October 2013[7]. The Commission will
consult the social partners at European level in accordance with Article 154
TFEU.

2.2.      The EU financial support
instruments

The success of EU businesses and industry on
global markets depends on their having access to a highly skilled and adaptable
workforce.

With more than €10 billion invested across
the EU every year, the European Social Fund (ESF) is the main financial tool
that is used to invest in improving the skills of the workforce and its
capacity to adapt to change. It does so by supporting reforms of initial
education systems, putting particular emphasis on better matching of the skills
taught with those needed on the labour market (for example, equipping people
with transferable competences such as digital skills, languages or
entrepreneurship), improvement in terms of achieving the transition from school
to work (for example, supporting additional vocational training,
apprenticeships or internships) or by enhancing the provision of lifelong
learning both on the job and separate from it. All these interventions not only
enhance the opportunities of individuals on the labour market but also help
employers to have access to employees with the right skills and the capacity to
adapt to changes, with a positive impact on competitiveness.

In order to fully exploit the ESF’s
potential, it is essential that all relevant stakeholders, and in particular
the social partners, are involved in the programming and where appropriate also
the implementation of the interventions. The minimum that is needed in view of
the next financial period 2014-2020 is for the Member States to observe the
rules set out in the upcoming Commission Delegated Act on the application of
the partnership principle.

Complementing the ESF, the European
Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) provides one-off, time-limited individual
support to help workers made redundant in difficult circumstances and most
often as part of mass lay-offs. The EGF helps workers cope with the negative
consequences of restructuring by financing measures such as job-search
assistance, career advice, tailor-made training and re-training, and promotion
of entrepreneurship, as well as individual allowances for participating in
various reskilling and training activities.

Since its inception, from the beginning of
2007 up to August 2013, the EGF has received 110 applications from 20 Member
States and supported more than 100 000 workers[8].

Breakdown of EGF applications for industrial sectors 2007-August 2013

Automotive || 19

Machinery and Equipment || 12

Textiles || 10

Printing industry ||  9

Construction of buildings ||  7

Mobile phones ||  6

Basic metals,  Electronic equipment ||  5

Wearing apparel ||  4

Retail trade ||  3

Shoes, Carpentry and Joinery, Metalworking; Domestic appliances; Shipbuilding ||  2

Other ( 20 sectors) ||  1

In the next programming period 2014-2020,
both the ESF and the EGF will continue to finance human capital investments.
The ESF, together with the new Youth Employment Initiative, will provide strong
support to youth employment and support the implementation of Youth Guarantee
schemes, while the EGF will co-finance measures supporting workers made
redundant not only as a result of globalisation but also because of major
economic crises.

The ERDF also contributes to the
reinforcement of economic and social cohesion by redressing the main regional
imbalances through support for the development and structural adjustment of
regional economies, including the conversion of declining industrial regions
and regions lagging behind, and support for cross-border, transnational and
interregional cooperation. This support strengthens competitiveness and
innovation, creates and safeguards sustainable jobs, and ensures sustainable
development. In the next programming period 2014 -2020, this task for ERDF will
continue.

The European Agricultural Fund for Rural
development (EAFRD) post-2013 offers several instruments which help accompany
economic and social changes in rural areas. It supports farm and business
development, investments in the setting up, improvement and expansion of basic
services for population and related infrastructure as well as economic,
environmental or social co-operation among different types of actors. This can
be complemented by training and information actions aimed at the operators in
the agricultural, food and forestry sectors as well as SMEs operating in rural
areas.

The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund
(EMFF) also supports human capital investments to better match the skills of
the operators with those needed, either in the fisheries and aquaculture
sector, or more generally on the labour market, for example by supporting
apprenticeships or lifelong learning. The EMFF can also contribute to the strengthening
of the competitiveness not only of the fisheries and aquaculture sector, but
also of the marine industries and more generally of the coastal economies.

Erasmus+,
the EU's education, training and youth programme for the period 2014-2020, also
contributes to supporting life-long learning policies. Its architecture
integrates the different educational sectors and bridges the gap between
formal, non-formal and informal learning. The new Erasmus+ programme will
support inter alia reforms in Member States to modernise education and training
systems and promote innovation, entrepreneurship and employability.

2.3.      Sectoral initiatives

In several industrial sectors particularly
affected by restructuring, such as the automotive, steel, defence, chemical,
printing and textile sectors, intense cooperation has been developed in recent
years at EU level between the Commission, national and regional authorities and
the main industry and trade union representatives or within the European social
dialogue context. This cooperation has resulted in specific guidance for the
relevant actors on how to better anticipate and manage change and restructuring[9]. It should be stressed that many of the
good practices presented in the QFR below are already implemented by many companies
and industrial sectors. Examples of these recommendations are given in Annex II
with regard to the automotive and steel sectors.

2.4.      The January 2012 Green Paper

As part of the Europe 2020 strategy and in
particular the flagship initiatives ‘An integrated industrial policy for the
globalisation era’ and ‘An agenda for new skills and jobs’, the Commission
adopted the Green Paper on ‘Restructuring and anticipation of change: what
lessons from recent experience?', aimed at identifying successful practices and
policies geared to restructuring and adaptation to change in the context of
recovery from the crisis and with a view to maintaining the competitiveness of
the workforce and facilitating job-to-job transitions.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE RESPONSES TO THE GREEN PAPER[10]

A
broad consensus exists on the crucial importance of anticipative and proactive
stances, especially at company level, but also at regional and sectoral levels.

Almost
all the respondents highlighted the role of social dialogue and transparency in
decision-making as a major factor for building trust and consensus amongst all
the stakeholders.

Much
was made of the essential nature of training and skills enhancement as a
permanent feature of working lives, in order to increase companies' competitiveness
and the employability of workers.

There
was divergence on the adequacy of an EU instrument in this field.

European
social partners agreed on the importance and relevance of this topic for their
work and willingness to co-operate further.

3.         Wider
Policy Implications

3.1.      The macro-economic context

The 2008 financial and sovereign debt crisis
has had a strong impact on the European economy. The legacy of the crisis,
deleveraging, fragmentation of financial systems and credit markets, and high
levels of unemployment will continue to weigh on growth in the coming period.
Its impact will gradually subside as accumulated macroeconomic imbalances are
corrected. Improvements in the labour market will take time to materialise,
with unemployment expected to remain unacceptably high in many parts of Europe for some time to come, and the broader social situation remains depressed.

Policy challenges arise from this environment. For economic activity
to resume on a sustainable basis, the composition of output would also have to
change. In particular, the countries that were concerned by large external
imbalances before the crisis need to expand their export sector and improve
price and non-price competitiveness. The weight of tradable industries has to
rise, which implies a shift of resources away from the non-tradable sector.
Competitiveness gains may require the adoption of more resource-efficient
technologies, better support and investments in skills and different ways to
organize production.

At the same time, the current macroeconomic
context, characterised by subdued labour demand, persistently low job finding
rates and rising shares of long-term unemployment, increases the social costs
of on-going restructuring processes. This calls for effective policy frameworks
to support and accompany all actors involved in such processes.

3.2.      Restructuring and job rich
recovery in the context of the Europe 2020 strategy

The EU has responded with determination and
economic reforms to the severe impact of the crisis. As a result, progress has
been made in restoring macroeconomic and financial market stability by
improving governance and introducing policy and regulatory reforms to meet the
requirements of a genuine monetary union.

In 2010, the Commission launched the Europe
2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth[11].
Each year, the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) sets out the key priorities for the
forthcoming year. The 2014 AGS confirms that the promotion of growth and
competiveness, as well as tackling the employment and social consequences of
the crisis, are at the core of the EU policy agenda.

In this context, the AGS underlines that
restructuring goes hand-in-hand with a return to growth as companies and
households shed excessive debt and production factors move to more productive
sectors of the economy. Recovery means finding new sources of growth and
competitiveness for the longer term, with knowledge-intensive and
high-productivity activities for the European economy – this cannot be achieved
without a properly managed process of restructuring of the EU industrial base
and of the economy more generally.

The AGS also emphasizes the need for
supporting job creation in areas that will generate significant job
opportunities in the years to come. The green economy, the digital and health
sectors have been identified as fast growing sectors emerging from profound
structural transformations of our economy and society. This calls for
developing strategic frameworks in which labour market and skills policies play
an active role in supporting the job creation in these sectors and anticipating
and adjusting to new patterns of growth, in particular for fast-growing tech
startups.

The development of these policy priorities
takes place at EU level in the context of the European Semester, when
recommendations for structural reforms supporting economic growth,
competitiveness and employment are issued to Member States. Deeper look into
our microeconomic policies, their implementation and governance arrangements is
also needed. Macroeconomic policy reforms carried out to stabilise the EU
economy need to be complemented by well-coordinated microeconomic policy
initiatives that can unlock our productive potential and increase
competitiveness.

3.3       The role of industrial policy

Macroeconomic uncertainties and structural
rigidities present a worrying outlook for European industry. Although lead
indicators now available suggest that our industrial performance will improve.
Our external performance has improved significantly but we are still below
pre-crisis industrial production levels and private investment remains low.

In 2010 the Commission put forward an
integrated industrial policy[12] that was updated in
October 2012[13]. An important priority of
the new industrial policy is to help EU industry to recover swiftly and to make
the necessary adjustments after the economic crisis. This means supporting
reallocation of labour from declining sectors and activities to those that are
growing. Better anticipation and management of restructuring would help
employees as well as companies to better adapt to transitions imposed by excess
capacities and modernisation, and innovation needs ensuing from economic change
and structural adjustment.

Investment in innovation is a major way to
support European industries, together with investment in new skills for better
jobs. Europe needs highly qualified professionals if it is to succeed at the
global level through innovation. Future growth and exit from the current crisis
relies heavily on increasing investment in research and fostering innovation
and an appropriately skilled workforce. This integrated approach is the very
essence of the Europe 2020 strategy for growth and jobs.

A competitive and efficient industrial policy
relies on dynamic labour markets. Boosting the job creation potential of key
markets through new synergies with relevant EU policies, and dealing with the
labour market challenges related to structural change in the framework of
social dialogue are therefore deemed key elements of a competitive and
efficient industrial policy.

Structural change and innovation are a force
of both job destruction and of job creation. Proactive strategies can
only, notably through innovation, facilitate socially inclusive transitions and
allow us to better address the issues of growing unemployment and social
exclusion.

3.4.      The dynamics of labour markets

The European Semester consists in a new
approach whereby Member States and EU institutions are strengthening the
economic policy coordination, also including strengthened coordination of
employment and social policies, and monitoring actions to support Europe 2020
objectives, notably the employment ones.

At a time where the social impact of the
crisis is still being heavily felt and unemployment rates remain historically
high[14], restoring the dynamics of labour
markets throughout the EU is essential. In the 2012 Employment Package[15], the Commission emphasized the roles
of quality employment transitions, skills investment and mobility.

Timely anticipation of change and of human
capital needs can contribute to a job rich recovery and to the transition to
smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. It would substantially promote
companies' competitiveness, enhance the employability of workers as well as
working conditions and support employment. Public authorities, including at
regional level, have a vested interest in being involved to facilitate the
attainment of said objectives while also diminishing social hardship.

Avoiding mass redundancies and the decline of
entire regions or the relocation of entire industries, often with a heavy
cross-border impact, is a key objective that can be met by facilitating
economic conversion and successful economic transitions. In that regard, the
QFR will help to reinforce businesses’, workforces’ and regions’ ability to
adapt smoothly to a fast-changing economic environment.

Another important aspect is the potentially
heavy societal costs which can arise from restructuring operations and which
have to be borne by public authorities, particularly as regards unemployment,
increased inequality and poverty, etc. These costs weigh greatly on public
finances and can hamper economic recovery at national level. A common European
perspective on restructuring processes could help prevent the occurrence of
such costs or distribute their burden among the various stakeholders involved
in restructuring operations.

The EU has built a strong system of
employment and social protection that, combined with a relatively high level of
education, has been the basis for its economic and social prosperity. On the
other hand, that system has been designed to support job stability with little
emphasis on promoting worker adaptability and as a result is increasingly
unsuited to giving individual workers a real chance of a professional future
when their jobs are at risk.

Present and future fast-changing business
environments will test organisational capacities that are needed to ensure
anticipation of changes as well as rapid and smooth reallocation of resources,
especially human ones, from declining activities to emerging ones. The economic
and financial crisis and the concomitant acceleration of change make it more
important than ever for Europe to address those weaknesses. Good anticipation
and socially responsible management of restructuring will greatly contribute to
this.

Security in employment transitions is
crucial. A lifelong career characterised by a number of moves is now a reality
for many workers. The quality of the transitions will determine the quality of
a worker's career and is essential in order to provide individuals with the
necessary means to maintain their employability and make transitions work.
Access to lifelong learning, in the context of either employment or
unemployment, is essential if employability is to be maintained.

Anticipating restructuring could pre-empt
crisis situations through proactive and negotiated management of restructuring
operations and structural change. These approaches should include measures such
as continuous monitoring of employment and skills needs and constant skills
enhancement programmes for workers in order to sustain their employability and
facilitate their transition to new jobs in the event of restructuring.

Public employment services (PES) have an important
role to play in supporting labour market transitions. They are the bridge
between jobseekers and employers. Although the structure of PES differs from
country to country, they all help match supply and demand on the labour market
through information, placement and active support services at local, national
and European level. Better collaboration between PES can improve their capacity
to effectively respond to restructuring.

The New Skills for New Jobs initiative seeks
to promote better anticipation of future skills needs, develop better matching
between skills and labour market needs and bridge the gap between the worlds of
education and work. The Communication on "Rethinking Education"[16] establishes a comprehensive policy
framework for education and training with a view to ensuring that the labour
force is equipped with the right skills.

High-quality apprenticeships and other
work-based learning schemes such as traineeships help provide the skills that
are relevant to the labour market. They can thus contribute to better skill
matching and economic competitiveness. The Commission launched the European
Alliance for Apprenticeships[17] to enhance the supply,
quality and image of apprenticeships. It has also proposed a Quality Framework
for Traineeships[18] to improve the quality of
traineeships[19].

The potential of intra-EU labour mobility for addressing the
challenges of restructuring remains under-exploited. The Commission will put
forward a proposal for a Regulation aimed at strengthening the EURES network in
order to better address mismatches and imbalances in the European labour market
and facilitate recruitment across the EU, notably through enhanced workers'
access to intra EU labour mobility support services. The Commission will also
be working to simplify and improve the rules on social security coordination
and their impact on labour mobility in the coming months.

3.5.      A crucial issue for SMEs

A European framework would also prove useful
in the case of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as they face greater
difficulties in anticipating change and finding skilled workers. Due account
should be taken of their specificities and especially of their need for a
predictable and stable environment allowing them to be competitive on both
local and global markets. Therefore, rather than having SMEs face additional
burdens, the QFR is geared to action being taken by other actors (bigger
companies, public authorities) that will allow SMEs, which have less human and
financial resources, to develop their own planning strategies and to anticipate
their skills needs through appropriate training of their employees. In addition, when implementing the actions
under this QFR, special attention should be paid to the specificities of
fast-growing SMEs, which often require fast recruitment and reallocation of
workforce, as well as the availability of a pool of skilled workers

3.6.      An emerging issue for a public
sector in transition

Public sector employees in virtually all
countries have also been affected by the crisis as governments seek to reduce
the size of the public sector. Public administration reform has included pay
freezes, pay cuts, and changes to contractual arrangements and working
conditions, as well as reductions in staffing levels.

As public sector employees, including civil
servants, see their employment relationship becoming more and more like a
private sector contract, especially with regard to job security, it appears not
only legitimate but also necessary to extend to them also the adaptation
mechanism envisaged.

Moreover, the public sector employs
approximately 25% of the workforce in the EU, and it plays a pivotal role in
shaping our economy and society. Stimulating innovation inside the public
sector (e.g. through intensified collaboration, the co-creation of solutions
with citizens, fostering a culture of experimentation) can play an important
role in improving the quality of public sector jobs and the services they
provide. Having an effective and innovative public sector generates more
innovation in the wider economy and therefore more growth and jobs.

The Commission therefore calls on Member
States to explore ways of applying the proposed QFR to public sector employees,
regardless of the statutory nature of their employment relationship.

A
particularly relevant aspect of the transition mentioned is when the provision
of public services moves from public monopolies towards concession systems as
then the renewal of concessions entails restructuring episodes. This will
require a degree of labour mobility as well as anticipation and management work
from the parties involved. This effort, and the public support needed, will be
bigger when a concession system is introduced for the first time.

4.         Conclusion

On the basis of the evidence and arguments
put forward, the Commission presents to all stakeholders the following QFR,
based on practical examples found within a variety of national frameworks,
industrial relations systems and social contexts. Even if some of the good
practices referred to below are not automatically transferable, they can serve
as a source of inspiration and guidance.

The Commission calls on:

•
Member States to support, disseminate and
promote the wide application of the QFR and urges all stakeholders to cooperate
on the basis of the principles and good practices outlined;

•
all stakeholders to conceive and implement
dedicated principles and tools to support SMEs in their restructuring efforts;

•
Member States to consider applying the proposed
QFR to public sector employees, regardless of the nature, statutory or
contractual, of their employment relationship;

•
Member States and regions to use EU funds, in
line with State aid rules and in support of investments anticipating and
facilitating industrial change also from an industrial policy perspective in
the framework of the Europe 2020 strategy, and developing human capital via
skills enhancement and training, as well as mitigating the adverse social
consequences of restructuring by supporting re-employment of workers who are
made redundant (ESF and EGF);

•
the social partners to contribute to reinforcing
this QFR and to ease the economic adaptation process by drawing up and
negotiating at the relevant level (national, sectoral, company, etc.)
frameworks of action on anticipation of change and restructuring and internal
flexibility.

The Commission will monitor the way the QFR
is applied in the EU and send monitoring reports to the European Parliament and
the social partners. Based on these reports and an accompanying political
assessment, the Commission will consider to revise the QFR by 2016 if need be.
This revision will establish whether further action is necessary, including a
legislative proposal.

Quality Framework
for Anticipation of Change and Restructuring

Anticipation, management and monitoring/evaluation

New practices that have been applied both
inside and outside of companies since the late 1990s show that anticipation of
skills and training needs, as well as responsible restructuring, can be a
success when social and regional actors cooperate.

Beyond the compelling employment and social
objectives, anticipation and well-managed restructuring are preconditions of
economic success and better working conditions. Never losing sight of the
strategic desirability of workplace evolution and placing the processes of
change within long-term frameworks (as opposed to decisions based on a desire
for short-term profits or on asset value objectives) can usefully contribute to
the sustainability and competitiveness of businesses. This assertion is valid for
entire economic sectors, regions and economies.

The good practices outlined
below are therefore broken down according to the timing of the measures to be
undertaken: anticipative actions and instruments, to be developed on a
permanent basis and management of specific restructuring processes.

Subsequent evaluation and
monitoring of restructuring processes by all the actors concerned is very
important. They allow for identifying weaknesses and loops, thus enabling the
subsequent improvement of future restructuring processes. Following-up
employees after redundancy (long-term evaluation of redundant employees’
careers, database for time-series studies on managed career paths, etc.) also
contributes to assess the results achieved in terms of successful employment
transitions.

Evaluation and monitoring
covers the assessment of restructuring measures and publishing results,
revising development strategies in the light of restructuring experience and
impact, etc.).

A multi-level,
multi-actors issue

The anticipation of human capital needs and
management of restructuring concern a multitude of actors (companies, workers’
representatives, social partners, public employment services, public
administration and authorities, etc.) at different levels (European, national,
regional, sectoral and organisational).

Coherence and synergies
between the actions of all the different stakeholders, as well as properly
coordinated planning and actions for anticipation and restructuring are crucial
to ensure efficiency and sustainable solutions. To make it easier to
understand, the QFR is organised as a set of fiches of good practices addressed
to each of the main actors involved: companies, employees’ representatives,
employees themselves, social partners and national/regional authorities[20]. A more comprehensive collection of
the good practices in this field may be found on the 2009 Checklist for
Restructuring Processes[21].

All the good practices
outlined in the fiches constitute real experiences of companies, workers'
representatives and other stakeholders and are seen by those who implement them
as crucial to ensure quick, smooth, economically efficient and socially
acceptable adaptation to change and restructuring, particularly in adverse
circumstances. Regardless of their transferability to other contexts – to be
appreciated on a case by case basis – the importance given to them by the
actors practicing them justifies its inclusion in the QFR as a source of
inspiration for all the others.

Those good practices were frequently driven,
or inspired, by regulation and other public support mechanisms. Eurofound’s ERM
database on restructuring related legislation[22] provides comparative
information on national regulation. The ERM's database on support instruments
for restructuring[23] provides information on
about 400 measures in the Member States of the European Union and Norway. National governments, employers’ organisations and trade unions are among the
bodies providing support for companies that need to restructure and the
affected employees.

The actions and instruments set out in this
QFR might qualify for support from the EU Structural Funds (especially the ESF
and the ERDF), as well as the EGF.

EMPLOYERS

In order to
retain their competitiveness and to reduce the costs of restructuring, companies
anticipate human capital needs and manage change. SMEs may not be able to
implement all of the following good practices.

ANTICIPATION OF CHANGE

Employers’ strategic
planning covers, with the continuous involvement of employees' representatives
in accordance with the collective bargaining and information and consultation
instruments, forward-planning for jobs and skills, including:

o
Strategic long-term
monitoring of the
company’s economic and financial situation and of technological and market
developments;

o
Continuous mapping
of jobs and skills needs;

o
Measures targeting
individual employees:
flexibility measures (long-term working-time flexibility, job rotation, etc.);
training measures (introduction of training advisers, design of individual
‘competency reviews’; individual training plans, including by equipping
employees with transversal skills, etc.); career development measures (‘career
days’, ‘career corners’, job rotation measures, etc.); measures to promote
internal and external mobility, etc.;

o
External
partnerships with regions,
education/training institutions and the business environment.

MANAGEMENT OF RESTRUCTURING PROCESSES

Good practices in
the management of restructuring operations include:

o
Building internal
consensus through a joint
diagnosis based on a clear business rationale for change and with comprehensive
information and consultation of employees at an early stage;

o
Help organising personalised support to employees
whose redundancy cannot be avoided;

o
Involving external
actors at an early stage
(regional authorities, universities, training centres and supply chain).

EMPLOYEES' REPRESENTATIVES

Employees’
representatives, including through EWCs, are vital partners of company
management in anticipating and managing the development of jobs and skills
needs and in conducting particular restructuring operations.

ANTICIPATION OF CHANGE

o
Continuous mapping
of companies’ jobs and skills needs;

o
Measures targeted at
individual employees, including the promotion of internal and external mobility.

MANAGEMENT OF RESTRUCTURING PROCESSES

o
Establishment of a joint
diagnosis with management;

o
Agreement on company-specific
procedures for dealing with particular restructuring situations;

o
Follow-up and
contribute, in particular through negotiations, to the design and
implementation of all mechanisms for providing support to individual employees;

o
Follow and assist
employees who are being made redundant to look for a new job and/or appropriate retraining
opportunities;

o
Participate in external
partnerships, broader networks and mechanisms to deliver support to
individual workers and promote the inclusion of the whole supply chain in
preparations for and management of restructuring operations.

INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES

From the individual
employee’s viewpoint, anticipation relies on his/her own capacity to choose
and to be in a position to improve his/her employability and to make career
transitions. With regard to employability, other actors (employers, employees’
representatives, social partners, authorities) have a crucial role to play in
supporting, motivating and endorsing individual employees.

ANTICIPATION OF CHANGE

Provided that the
instruments and opportunities are available, employees:

o
Step up their capacity
to collect the information needed to understand the situation;

o
Review their skills and update their career orientations;

o
Strengthen their employability
and mobility and make professional transitions that are feasible;

o
Exercise their right to
education and training and accept the corresponding obligations.

MANAGEMENT OF RESTRUCTURING PROCESSES

o
Seek information on company strategy, restructuring plans
and labour-market developments; keep in contact with representatives and
participate in information and consultation procedures;

o
Explore possible
action to avoid being made redundant: develop an individual job-search action plan; be
open to mobility within/between companies; ask for coaching, training for job
applications, career counselling and specific training in line with job offers;

o
Make use of individual
support available to employees: keep in contact with redeployment units;
register at a labour exchange office; request employer’s assistance in
pre-redundancy period; ask for training when unemployed; make use of
entrepreneurship support when available.

SOCIAL PARTNERS AND SECTORAL ORGANISATIONS

Social partners
and sectoral organisations can play a major role in anticipating change,
identifying jobs and skills needs and managing restructuring operations by
shaping or supplementing action at company, national and regional level,
through social dialogue and collective bargaining.

ANTICIPATION OF CHANGE

o
Mapping of jobs and
skills needs: participate
in early-warning systems at all levels;

o
Drawing up
frameworks for workers’ involvement: promote collective bargaining on anticipating change
and restructuring at EU, national, sectoral, regional, local and company
levels;

o
Preparing measures
targeted at individual workers: support redeployment, set up or contribute to national, regional and
company-level skills development programmes;

o
Developing measures
to promote internal and external mobility: facilitate professional transitions within and
outside the enterprise, promote innovative measures to improve mobility.

MANAGEMENT OF RESTRUCTURING PROCESSES

o
Joint diagnosis: share understanding of economic context
with members, affiliates and all stakeholders, promote multi-stakeholder
communication, networking and governance;

o
Explore and
negotiate all possible options for avoiding redundancies: foster EU-wide coordination of trade unions
to help EWCs; encourage EU-level negotiations in the event of transnational
restructuring; conduct negotiations on professional transition policies;

o
Support redundant
workers individually:
support internal and external mobility cells, develop sectoral training funds
for redeployment.

NATIONAL AND REGIONAL AUTHORITIES

National authorities shape the applicable
legislation, define and implement employment policy goals, manage forecasting
tools, have the institutional capacity to help employees. Regional authorities
coordinate the work of the stakeholders in anticipating and managing
restructuring operations and in promoting regional development and economic and
social reconversion.

ANTICIPATION OF CHANGE

o
Continuous mapping
of jobs and skills needs:
support national jobs and skills plans, develop forecasting and foresight
tools; measures to enhance the matching of skills delivered by the education
and training systems and the labour market needs;

o
Measures targeted at
individual employees:
reinforce active labour-market policies, offer qualifications plans, support
competency development focusing on generic and transversal skills, focus on
up-skilling of low-skilled adults, offer career counselling services, assist
with the validation of non-formal and informal learning; promote regional
lifelong learning policies;

o
Measures to promote
internal and external mobility: develop incentives to promote geographical and occupational mobility,
devise legal and operational frameworks for professional transitions, establish
skills certification and transferability systems, support qualification
schemes; set up databases on employers’ needs, match workers to job vacancies
and skills needs;

o
Measures to promote
regional economic adaptation:
promote cooperation between regional actors, support employment and skills
planning and risk mutualisation, create or reinforce regional observatories to
monitor economic change, jobs and skills, put advance-warning systems in place,
establish regular work relations with companies, including social enterprises
and development agencies; develop territorial employment pacts, public-private
partnerships and institutional structures for competencies and skills;

o
While complying with
applicable State aid rules, make full use of EU Structural Funds on the
basis of the ‘smart specialisation’ principles in the area of research and
innovation, focusing on investments that will facilitate and accompany
structural change and fostering social innovation to develop socially inclusive
transitions and job creation.

MANAGEMENT OF RESTRUCTURING PROCESSES

o
Joint diagnosis: collect data on dismissals at national,
regional and sectoral levels, monitor the impact of restructuring on specific
sectors and regions; establish early-warning systems, convene actors to carry
out a joint diagnosis;

o
Explore all possible
options before implementing redundancies: promote the revitalisation of regions affected by
restructuring, monitor social plans; reinforce public employment services,
establish outplacement programmes, promote direct job creation, create
mechanisms for mutualisation of risks, support employee takeovers of
enterprises in crisis or without heirs; establish mobile reconversion units,
promote the region among new investors, support the search for new users of
abandoned facilities;

o
Support redundant
employees individually, including through Public Employment Services (PES): training measures (portals for
occupational guidance and training, public reconversion cells, training
courses); mobility measures (outplacement platforms for SMEs and social
enterprises, support to employees’ cooperatives, geographical mobility plans,
support job pools by employers’ groups, deliver severance grants and allowances);
unemployment benefits to vulnerable workers;

o
Facilitate
partnerships between the
relevant actors, involve Public Employment Services (PES) in the implementation
of local platforms for workers made redundant, coordinate the use of the
Structural Funds and the EGF in line with State aid rules, use regional task
forces as a means of mobilising all actors and resources, organise job
transitions; establish rapid-response services, create support systems for SMEs
and multi-stakeholder platforms (professional transition contracts), promote
start-ups and new companies through effective policies to boost regional growth
and job creation and entrepreneurship.

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

The Commission will:

o
carry out monitoring
of the way in which the QFR is applied throughout the EU;

o
send the monitoring
reports to the European Parliament and to the social partners and disseminate them widely;

o
consider to revise
the QFR by 2016 if need be. This revision will establish whether further
action is necessary, including a legislative proposal;

o
support programming
work of the European Structural and Investment Funds (European Social Fund,
European regional development Fund, Cohesion Fund, European Agricultural Fund
for Rural development, European Maritime and Fisheries Fund), the Funds which
operate under a Common Strategic Framework, as well as of the European
Globalisation Adjustment Fund, including through peer learning, networking
activities and technical assistance;

o
consider the possible
consolidation of the three employee involvement Directives, for which a
first-stage consultation of the social partners could take place during the
first half of 2014.

Table 1: Summary of actors and good
practices

|| ANTICIPATION OF CHANGE || MANAGEMENT OF RESTRUCTURING PROCESSES

COMPANIES, EMPLOYEES’ REPRESENTATIVES SOCIAL PARTNERS AND SECTORAL ORGANISATIONS || Strategic monitoring of economic, business and market environment Mapping of jobs and skills needs Multiannual plan for jobs and skills Flexibility, training and career development measures targeted at individual workers Promote internal and external mobility Information, consultation and collective bargaining on above issues || Foster internal consensus through joint diagnosis Explore all possible options before contemplating redundancies Organise individual and personalised support for redundant employees Information, consultation and collective bargaining on above issues Involve external actors

INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES || Step up their capacity to collect the information needed to understand the situation; Review their skills and update their career orientations; Strengthen their employability and mobility and make professional transitions that are feasible; Exercise their right to education and training and accept the corresponding obligations || Seek information on company strategy Explore possible action to avoid being made redundant Use individual and personalised support

NATIONAL AND REGIONAL AUTHORITIES || Develop forecasting and foresight tools covering jobs and skills and exchange of labour-market information Reinforce ALMP, promote qualification plans and counselling services, give financial support Promote cooperation between actors and risk mutualisation Develop frameworks favouring professional transitions Strategic monitoring of economic, business and market environment Mapping of jobs and skills needs Multiannual jobs and skills plan Flexibility, training and career development measures targeted at individual workers Promote internal and external mobility Territorial employment pacts and public-private partnerships || Collect data on dismissals, monitor the impact of restructuring, support early-warning systems Reinforce public employment services, establish outplacement programmes, promote job creation Support local mobility platforms, mobility through allowances, and financially vulnerable groups Promote partnerships and coordinate the use of Structural Funds Early-warning systems, convene meetings of actors for joint diagnosis Mobile reconversion units, promote attractiveness and job creation Support training and mobility measures

[1] COM(2012)7 final.

[2] http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P7-TA-2013-0005+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN

[3] The European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) is a unique
EU-wide dataset on larger-scale restructuring events. It monitors the announced
employment effects of restructuring in the EU28 and Norway. The ERM relies on
reports in selected media titles (three to five per country). All announcements
involving the reduction or creation of at least 100 jobs, or affecting 10% of
the workforce in companies employing 250 people or more, are taken into
account. Given that the ERM relies on selected media titles, its coverage of
restructuring activity in each Member State is indicative and cannot be
considered representative. Nevertheless, ERM data do generate a good picture of
labour market restructuring that is broadly consistent with data coming from
more representative sources such as the European Union Labour Force Survey.

[4] In its resolution adopted on 15 January
2013, the European Parliament requested the Commission to come forward with a
new initiative on information and consultation of workers, anticipation and
management of restructuring, following the Parliament's detailed
recommendations set out in the resolution.

[5] See list in Annex I

[6] SWD(2013) 293, http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&newsId=1942&furtherNews=yes

[7] Communication from the Commission to the European
Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the
Committee of the Regions "Regulatory Fitness
and Performance (REFIT): Results and Next Steps", of 2 October 2013, COM(2013) 685 final,

[8] See the Report from the Commission to the European
Parliament and the Council on the activities of the European Globalisation
Adjustment Fund in 2012, of 14 November 2013, COM(2013) 782 final.

[9] See, for the automotive and steel sectors, http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/automotive/cars-2020/index_en.htm and http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/metals-minerals/files/steel-action-plan_en.pdf

[10] More detailed results of the Green Paper can be found
on: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=699&consultId=9&furtherConsult=yes

[11]
COM(2010) 2020, Europe 2020 - A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive
growth.

[12] COM(2010)614 An Integrated Industrial Policy for the Globalisation
Era Putting Competitiveness and Sustainability at Centre Stage.

[13] COM(2012)582 A Stronger European Industry for Growth
and Economic Recovery.

[14]
Draft Joint Employment report accompanying the Communication from the
Commission on Annual Growth Survey 2014, of 13 November 2013, COM(2013)801
final.

[15] Towards
a job rich recovery, COM(2012) 173 final, 18.4.2012,
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1039&langId=en

[16] COM
(2012) 669 final.

[17]
http://ec.europa.eu/education/apprenticeship/index_en.htm

[18]
Proposal for a Council Recommendation on a Quality Framework for Traineeships,
of 4 December 2013, COM(2013) 857 final

[19]
Trainee and fellowship support programmes, like Horizon 2020 Marie-Sklodowska
Curie fellowships are also important in this regard.

[20] As good anticipation and management of
restructuring often involves several actors and levels, many actions are
described in similar way in different fiches, illustrating the specific role
assigned to each one of them.

[21] http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=782&langId=en. See also Annex 1.

[22] http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/emcc/erm/rll/

[23] http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/emcc/erm/supportinstruments/. See also "Public instruments to
support restructuring in Europe - ERM Report 2011", http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef1165.htm

ANNEX I

EU DIRECTIVES ON EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT AND PROTECTION
IN RESTRUCUTURING SITUATIONS

The protection of employees in the event
of the insolvency of their employer:

•
the Directive on employer insolvency
(2008/94/EC) aims to provide minimum protection for employees in the event of
the insolvency of their employer. It obliges Member States to establish a body
(a guarantee institution) to guarantee the payment of employees’ outstanding
claims. Moreover, Member States must take the necessary measures to ensure that
non-payment of compulsory contributions due from the employer, before the onset
of its insolvency, does not adversely affect employees’ benefit entitlements in
as much as the employees’ contributions were deducted at the source from their
remuneration;

The information and consultation of
workers at national level:

•
the Directive establishing a general framework
for informing and consulting employees in the European Community (2002/14/EC)
seeks to strengthen dialogue within enterprises and ensure employee involvement
upstream of decision making with a view to better anticipation of problems and
the prevention of crises. It applies to undertakings with at least 50 employees
or establishments with at least 20 employees and provides for employee representatives
to be informed and consulted on developments in the undertaking’s economic
situation, the development of employment and decisions likely to lead to
changes in work organisation or contractual relations;

•
the Directive relating to the safeguarding of
employees’ rights in the event of transfers of undertakings, businesses or
parts of businesses (2001/23/EC) provides that rights and obligations that
arise from a contract of employment or employment relationship that exists on
the date of a transfer, shall be transferred from the transferor (the party
that ceases to be the employer), to the transferee (the “new” employer, in
short). The Directive further provides that the transfer must not constitute
grounds for dismissal by either the transferor or the transferee. In addition
to the protection of workers’ rights, the Directive on transfers of
undertakings, businesses or parts of businesses provides that both the
transferor and transferee must provide specified information to the
representatives of employees affected by the proposed transfer and, if either
party envisages measures in relation to the employees, their representatives
must be consulted with a view to reaching agreement;

•
the Directive relating to collective
redundancies (98/59/EC) provides that an employer which envisages collective
redundancies must provide workers’ representatives with specified information
concerning the proposed redundancies and must consult with the workers’
representatives in good time with a view to reaching an agreement. These
consultations should cover ways of avoiding or of reducing the redundancies,
and of mitigating their consequences by recourse to social accompanying
measures aimed, in particular, at aid for redeployment and retraining of the
redundant workers. The Directive also provides for the public authorities to be
notified of any projected collective redundancies, and requires that these
redundancies cannot take effect earlier than 30 days after this notification;

The information and consultation of workers
at transnational level:

•
the Directive providing for the establishment of
a European Works Council (EWC) or a procedure for informing and consulting
employees in Community-scale undertakings and groups (94/45/EC, recast by
Directive 2009/38/EC) applies to undertakings or groups with at least 1,000
employees and at least 150 employees in each of two Member States. It allows
for the establishment of a European Works Council, representative of employees
in the Member States where the group has operations, to be informed and
consulted on the progress of the business and any significant changes
envisaged;

•
three Directives provide for the involvement of
employees (i.e. information, consultation and in some cases participation on
the supervisory board or board of directors) in companies adopting the European
Company Statute (Directive 2001/86/EC) or the European Cooperative Society
Statute (2003/72/EC) or deriving from a cross-border merger (2005/56/EC).

RECENT INITIATIVES IN THE FIELD OF
ANTICIPATION AND MANAGEMENT
OF CHANGE AND RESTRUCTURING

In recent years, the European Commission
launched several specific initiatives in the field of anticipating and
managing change and restructuring (e.g. the creation of the Restructuring
Forum, where many examples of innovative practices were discussed). In 2002 and
2005, two rounds of consultation of the European social partners took place,
leading to a set of "Orientations for reference in managing change and its
social consequences"[1]. The text, however, did not
provide for any appropriate dissemination and implementation mechanism and
remains largely ignored.

The European Commission also financed numerous
studies on this topic[2] and supported the Joint
European Social Partners' Work Programme which is including also an integrated
project on restructuring in the EU27 countries.

A useful collection of best practices
existing in Europe on anticipation, preparation and good management of
restructuring was published by the Commission in 2009 under the title "Checklist
for Restructuring Processes"[3]. This Checklist should be
seen as supplementing and completing the set of best practices outlined in the
proposed QFR.

Also the Eurofound’s
ERM database on support instruments for restructuring[4]
provides information on about 400 measures in the Member States of the European
Union and Norway. National governments, employers’ organisations and trade
unions are among the bodies providing support for companies that need to
restructure and the affected employees. The support instruments are described
in terms of their characteristics, involved actors, funding sources, strengths,
weaknesses and outcomes. The aim is to inform governments, social partners and
others involved about what kinds of support can be offered.

In 2012, the
European Commission Green Paper on Restructuring[5]
has identified successful practices and policies in the field of restructuring
and adaptation to change in order to promote employment, growth and
competitiveness as part of the Europe 2020 strategy.

Finally, The
European Parliament adopted on 15 January 2013 the Cercas Report with
specific requests to the Commission to act in the field of restructuring.

ANNEX II

EU GUIDANCE ON GOOD PRACTICES ON ANTICIPATION AND MANAGEMENT OF
RESTRUCTURING IN THE AUTOMOTIVE AND STEEL INDUSTRY

CARS

The CARS 2020 Action Plan has been adopted by the European
Commission on 8th November 2012 lists a
number of specific policy measures to be taken in the coming years. The
Commission subsequently launched the CARS 2020 Expert Group to monitor the
implementation of the Action Plan.

With particular reference to the issue of industrial adjustment, the
CARS 2020 Action Plan stress that good social dialogue at all levels (company,
local, national and EU levels) is a key element in the anticipation and good
management of restructuring processes. The restructuring process is mainly the
responsibility of the industry, yet there is a complementary role for the
Commission, Member States and local authorities. In particular, the Commission
has committed to:

–      continue to
monitor/review restructuring activities as regards to their strict compliance
with EU legislation, in particular concerning state aid and internal market
rules.

–      identify good
practice and promote an anticipative approach in restructuring in consultation
with representatives of the automotive-intensive regions, employment
authorities and the sector's stakeholders, including the social partners.

–      re-launch the
inter-service task force to study and follow up the main cases of automotive
plant closures or significant downsizing. The task force has been active and
highly efficient in past cases in the automotive industry. The task force would
streamline the use of the relevant EU Funds (by providing technical assistance,
reducing waiting time, advising on the most effective use of resources,
monitoring and reporting).

–      for the cases of
plant closures and significant downsizing, invite the Member States to consider
using the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF).

–      encourage Member
States to make use of labour flexibility schemes and their co-financing by ESF
in support of the suppliers who might need additional time to find new clients
following a closure/downsizing of an automotive plant.

STEEL

The Steel Action Plan has been adopted by the European
Commission on 11th June 2013[6]. It lists a number
of specific policy measures to be taken in the coming years. The Commission
subsequently launched the High Level Expert Group on Steel to monitor the
implementation of the Action Plan.

In this framework, the Commission has invited Member States to:

–      explore the
possibility of using together with regional authorities, the European Social
Fund (ESF) for workers' retraining and re-skilling, including by setting
up a specific funding measure related to the steel sector,

–      explore the
possibility of using structural funds, together with regional
authorities, in the next programming period, with a view to alleviate the
social impacts of restructuring in the steel sector,

–      facilitate dialogue
between social partners in view of reaching an agreement on temporary
initiatives to maintain jobs, such as the possibility of introducing labour
flexibility schemes, with regard notably to cyclical adjustment.

The industry was invited
to:

–      play an active
role to remedy the skills gaps and shortages,

–      continue the
necessary adaptation of the industry in accordance with best practices
on anticipation of change and restructuring, including through social dialogue
and proper involvement of regional stakeholders,

– examine restructuring
needs and possible capacity adjustments in view of the future demand
of key sectors, taking into account the need to deal differently with
structural and cyclical trends,

–      co-operate with
other stakeholders, especially national and regional authorities in
ensuring that cyclical overcapacity is dealt with through publicly
supported temporary measures preserving employment in the long run.

[1] http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=782&langId=en

[2] See for example the project funded by the European
Parliament's pilot project "Accompanying workers during industrial
change" and managed by the International Training Centre of the
International Labour Office (ITC-ILO, Turin) with a comprehensive description
of EU 27 national systems of anticipation and management of restructuring in http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=819&langId=en

[3] http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=782&langId=en

[4] http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/emcc/erm/supportinstruments/. See also "Public instruments to
support restructuring in Europe - ERM Report 2011", http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef1165.htm

[5] (COM(2012) 7 final), http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=699&consultId=9&furtherConsult=yes

[6] http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/metals-minerals/files/steel-action-plan_en.pdf