COUNCIL RESOLUTION of 12 July 1982 on Community action to combat unemployment

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Having regard to the conclusions of the various meetings of the European Council, and in particular of the meeting on 29 and 30 March 1982, concerning employment,

Having regard to the conclusions of the Council meeting of 11 June 1981 composed of the Ministers for Economic Affairs and Finance and Ministers for Labour and Social Affairs,

Having regard to the Commission's contribution entitled "a Community action programme to fight unemployment",

Considering the conclusions drawn by the Presidency following the meeting of the Standing Committee on Employment on 27 April 1982 devoted to examination of the problems of unemployment in the Community on the basis of the aforementioned Commission document, the importance of which was emphasized;

Convinced of the need to take concerted action, both at Community level and nationally, to combat unemployment and to restore economic growth in a situation of monetary stability, while continuing the fight against inflation and ensuring the competitiveness of Community undertakings, and in the hope that such an approach may also contribute to the achievement of improved convergence of the Member States'economic policies ; Convinced of the need to continue or to undertake within this framework specific action on employment at Community level;

Recalling its resolution of 12 July 1982 on the promotion of equal opportunities for women (1);

Convinced that it is essential for representatives of employers and workers, within the framework of their independence and of their responsibilities, to contribute to the achievement of the objective of combatting unemployment and that efforts to improve the dialogue with and between representatives of employers and workers at Community level should be continued,

HEREBY ADOPTS THIS RESOLUTION:

1. The Council reiterates its grave concern at thepersistently high level of unemployment, particularlyamong young people, which is creating an intolerablesituation.

2. It considers that private and public productiveinvestment should be promoted in such a way as tostrengthen the competitive capacity of undertakingsand to encourage economic growth and raiseemployment. Measures by Member States with regardto private and public investment, to be carried out inaccordance with the situation prevailing in eachcountry, should take account of the repercussions onemployment, particularly in the private sector, andshould not lead to an unacceptable increase in budgetdeficits.

3. The Council notes the suggestions made by theCommission in its aforementioned contributionregarding certain investment priorities.

4. Without prejudice to the importance which theCommunity attaches to the measures taken to assistthe least-favoured regions, particular attention oughtalso to be given to the regions most seriously affectedby unemployment, by effective and coherent use ofthe appropriate Community instruments.

5. The Council considers it important that labourmarket policies should be geared towards ensuring anadequate supply of suitably qualified manpower. (1) See page 3 of this Official Journal.

6. The Council considers that, in addition to theproblems of investment rationalization, industrialrestructuring programmes must simultaneously giveparticular attention to employment problems.National and Community authorities and representativesof employers and workers should encouragegeographical and occupational mobility. The lattercould include the redeployment of workers affectedby the restructuring measures, in such a way thatthese workers are able to take up jobs made availablein sectors which are creating employment.

7. It considers that the possibilities should beexamined for promoting the development potential ofsmall and medium-sized undertakings, which are asource of innovation and hence a factor for creatingemployment, by providing them, in particular, withappropriate assistance in areas such as training,know-how, information and access to credit, with aview to making them more competitive.

8. It stresses its interest in the job-creation process,which is also apparent in local initiatives andcooperatives and requests the Commission to submitthe results of its research and its thoughts on thematter to it so that it can assess the contribution ofsuch initiatives to creating employment.

9. The Council stresses the priority which theCommunity must give to vocational training foryoung people. It has noted that the Commissionintends to submit proposals to it shortly for measuresaiming to ensure that all young people coming ontothe labour market, and particularly school leavers,receive vocational training combined if necessary withinitial work experience, where appropriate underspecial programmes or contracts of employment.

Such measures should be compatible with themeasures to integrate young people into the labourmarket and with other special measures, particularlythose to help the long-term unemployed, and shouldfit into the general framework of the strategy to beimplemented to combat unemployment as a whole.

10. Taking into account the interest whichexperiments and measures to adopt and re-allocateworking time may have in seeking to achieve a moreflexible use of productive capacity and to improve theemployment situation, the Council also considersthat, following the initial proposals made by theCommission for implementing the Council resolutionof 18 December 1979 on the adaptation of workingtime (1), the dialogue with and between both sides ofindustry regarding the number of working hours mustbe continued within the framework outlined in theresolution. It notes that the Commission will submit amemorandum on the matter to it before the end of1982.

11. The Council notes that the Commissionintends to promote better functioning andtransparency of the labour market and to discourageobstacles to its efficient operation, with the participationof public authorities, employers and workersin order to support the proposed employmentcreation measures and to facilitate implementation ofthe necessary training measures, in particular bydeveloping forward-looking management of thelabour market, developing local labour marketintelligence and improving employment services.

12. It requests the Commission to submit to theCouncil, taking account of this resolution, appropriateproposals or communications as part of acoordinated Community approach to combattingunemployment, which could be submitted in thesecond half of this year to a special Council meeting,as suggested by the European Council at its lastmeeting, and which could be the subject of priorconsultation with representatives of employers andworkers in the Standing Committee on Employment,having regard to the latter's areas of competence. (1) OJ No C 2, 4.1.1980, p. 1.