The consultation and development process has been short, of course, especially for an area which demands partnership so strongly. This covers a whole array of employment strategy concerns which are the responsibility of the social partners, not Governments. The social partners have made the agreements and created the contractual framework within which the labour market functions. There is a basic need now to modernise this contractural framework, are to facilitate the development of the new organisation of work for a society more and more based on information technology. Creating excellence demands partnership and constructive dialogue.
Partnership needs to become the primary tool for modernisation of work organisation in Europe.
We now look to the Social Partners to reflect fully this new approach to equipping companies and workforces for the future, over the next phase of Social Partners' discussions and of the action planning process. The fourth priority is equal opportunities. This priority is driven by both short and longer term concerns, by the demand for social justice to be secured, and by the need for economic potential to be realised. Women have accounted for the entire growth of the Union's workforce in the last 10-15 years. But there remains a gender gap of 25 million jobs, the difference between employment for men and women.