including the increase in atypical forms of employment, the definition of pay and the impact of the
organisation of work on womens pay structures; asks the Commission to investigate best practices in theMember States and on this basis propose supporting strategies to bridge the pay gap;
16. Calls on the two sides of industry to include more women in wage negotiations as well as in their
decision-making bodies, and requests that they provide all employees with training, including instructionand practice, relating to gender-neutral job evaluation systems and wage formation mechanisms;
17. Calls on the Member States cited in point 5 of the Explanatory Statement of the report of its
competent committee as being at or near the bottom of the list of European Union countries in terms ofequal pay for men and women for work of equal value to take particular note of this resolution and takeurgent measures to improve their respective positions;
18. Urges the candidate countries to develop measures to narrow pay differentials between men and
women;
19. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments
and parliaments of the Member States, the governments of the candidate countries and the two sides of
industry.
10. Harassment at the workplace
A5-0283/2001
European Parliament resolution on harassment at the workplace (2001/2339(INI))
The European Parliament,
 having regard to Articles 2, 3, 13, 125-129, 136-140 and 143 of the EC Treaty, having regard to its resolutions of 13 April 1999 on modernising the organisation of work 
a positive approach to change (
1), of 24 October 2000 on guidelines for Member States employment
policies for the year 2001  the joint employment report 2000 (2) and of 25 October 2000 on the
social policy agenda (3),
 having regard to the relevant sections of the conclusions of the European Councils of Nice and Stock-
holm,
 having regard to Rule 163 of its Rules of Procedure, having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the opinion of
the Committee on Womens Rights and Equal Opportunities (A5-0283/2001),
A. whereas, according to a survey of 21 500 workers carried out by the European Foundation for the
Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Dublin Foundation), 8 % of the workforce in the EU,which is equivalent to 12 million people, state that over the last 12 months they have been subject tobullying at work, and whereas this figure can be assumed to constitute substantial under-reporting,
B. whereas the incidence of violence and harassment at work, under which the Dublin Foundation
includes bullying, displays major disparities between the Member States; according to the Foundationthis is due to under-reporting in certain countries, greater awareness in others, differing legal systemsand cultural differences; whereas insecure employment is one of the main reasons for the increase insuch occurrences;
(1) OJ C 219, 30.7.1999, p. 37.
(2) OJ C 197, 12.7.2001, p. 68.
(3) OJ C 197, 12.7.2001, p. 180.C 77 E/138 EN 28.3.2002 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday 20 September 2001
C. whereas the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions observes
that persons who suffer from bullying are significantly more susceptible to stress than workers ingeneral; whereas the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work observes also that bullyingand harassment are potential health risks that often lead to stress-related illnesses; whereas gender-specific national data on bullying at work do not, however, reveal a uniform picture according to theAgency,
D. whereas data from one Member State show that bullying is by far most prevalent in the case of work
with a high anxiety level, which is a category of work more common amongst women than amongstmen, and that it expanded considerably during the 1990s,
E. whereas studies and empirical analysis taken together point to a clear link between, on the one hand,
bullying at work, and on the other, stress or work with a high level of anxiety, greater competition,less job security and precarious employment status,
F. whereas possible causes of bullying include, for example, shortcomings in the organisation of work,
in-house information and management; whereas unresolved and longstanding organisational problems
are a heavy strain on work teams and may lead to scapegoating and bullying; whereas the con-sequences for individuals and work teams may be significant and likewise the costs to individuals,companies and society,
1. Believes that bullying, a phenomenon the true extent of which is not yet known, is a serious problem
in the world of work, and that the problem urgently needs greater attention and more countermeasures,including consideration of new ways of combating the problem;
2. Draws attention to the fact that the growing number of short-term contracts and insecurity of
employment, especially among women, is creating conditions that encourage the practice of variousforms of harassment;
3. Points out the devastating effects of harassment on the physical and mental health of its victims and
thus also their families, often necessitating medical and psychotherapeutic treatment and usually leadingthem to take sick-leave or resign from their jobs;
4. Points out that, according to some research, women are more frequent victims than men of every
type of harassment, whether it is vertical harassment of a subordinate by a superior, or vice versa, peer-group (horizontal) harassment or harassment of a mixed type;
5. Points out that false accusations of harassment can themselves constitute an effective form of har-
assment;
6. Emphasises that measures to combat bullying at work must be seen as an important part of the
efforts to achieve higher quality and improved social relations in the workplace; believes that they willalso help to counteract social exclusion; considers that this can be regarded as the reason for Communityinitiatives and is in line with the European social agenda and employment guidelines;
7. Points out that the problems associated with bullying at work are still probably underestimated in
many quarters within the Union and that there are a series of arguments in favour of joint action at Unionlevel, for example, the difficulties in devising effective instruments for counteracting and preventing bully-ing, the fact that guidelines on measures against bullying at work may have the effect of setting standardsand influencing attitudes and the fact that reasons of fairness also justify such common guidelines;
8. Urges the Commission in the communications on a Community strategy on health and safety at
work and on strengthening the quality dimension in employment and social policy and in the Green28.3.2002 EN C 77 E/139 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday 20 September 2001
Paper on corporate social responsibility also to take into account mental, psycho-social or social factors in
the work environment, including the organisation of work, thus emphasising long-term, systematic andpreventive efforts concerning health and safety with the aim, inter alia, of counteracting bullying at work,and to consider also the need for legislative initiatives to this end;
9. Urges the Council and the Commission to include quantitative indicators relating to bullying at work
in the indicators for the quality of work that are to be developed for the European Councils meeting in
Laeken;
10. Calls on the Member States, with a view to counteracting bullying and sexual harassment at work,
to review and, if appropriate, to supplement their existing legislation and to review and standardise thedefinition of bullying;
11. Emphasises in particular the responsibility of the Member States and of society as a whole with
regard to bullying and violence at work, and sees this as the main focus for the strategy for combatingthem;
12. Recommends to the Member States that they require businesses, public-service departments and the
social partners to put in place effective prevention policies, to provide a system for exchanging experience,and that they specify procedures to solve the problem of harassment for victims and prevent any recur-rence; recommends, in this context, that information and training of employees, managers, the socialpartners and workplace doctors be developed, in both the private and public sectors, and here draws
attention to the possibility of appointing a confidential mediator at the workplace to whom employees
can turn if they so wish;
13. Urges the Commission to consider a clarification or extension of the scope of the framework direc-
tive on health and safety at work or, alternatively, the drafting of a new framework directive as a legalinstrument to combat bullying and as a means of ensuring respect for the workers human dignity, privacyand integrity; emphasises in this connection the importance of systematic work on health and safety and ofpreventive action;
14. Emphasises that the state of knowledge, including research, can be facilitated and improved through
better statistical data and draws attention to the roles of Eurostat and the Dublin Foundation in this con-nection; urges the Commission, the Dublin Foundation and the European Agency for Safety and Health atWork to initiate in-depth studies into bullying;
15. Emphasises the importance of closer investigation of the incidence of bullying at work related both
to aspects concerning the organisation of work and, for example, to sex, age, industrial sector and pro-
fession; calls for this study to include an analysis of the particular situation of women who are victims of
harassment;
16. Notes that one Member State has already introduced rules to combat harassment in the workplace
and that others have begun the process of adopting legislation to combat harassment, often along the linesof the legislation to combat sexual harassment; urges the Member States to pay heed to the problems ofbullying at work and to take this issue into account in national legislation or through other measures;
17. Urges the European institutions to set an example as regards efforts to prevent and counteract
bullying within their own structures and where help and support for individuals and work teams areconcerned; considers that, if necessary, they should provide also for amendment of their civil serviceregulations, including an appropriate sanctions policy;
18. Notes that victims of harassment in the European Institutions currently receive too little help, and
congratulates the administrative services for having set up, several years ago, a training course specificallydirected at female administrators entitled The female style of management and, more recently, an Advi-
sory Committee on Psychological Harassment (Mobbing);
19. Urges that thought be given to the extent to which consultation at Community level between the
social partners can help counteract bullying at work and that employees organisations be involved in thisprocess;C 77 E/140 EN 28.3.2002 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday 20 September 2001
20. Calls on the social partners within the Member States and at Community level to develop their own
approaches to combating bullying and violence at work, and to exchange experience about these inaccordance with the principle of best practice;
21. Recalls that harassment also has negative consequences from the point of view of employers,
adversely affecting the profitability and economic performance of firms as a result of the absenteeism itcauses, the reduced productivity of employees arising from their sense of confusion and loss of concen-tration, and the need to pay compensation to dismissed employees;
22. Underlines the importance of broadening and clarifying the employers responsibility for systematic
action on health and safety at work that results in the achievement of a satisfactory working environment;
23. Calls for a debate on how voluntary networks or organisations against bullying can be supported;
24. Asks the Commission to publish no later than March 2002 a Green Paper providing a detailed
analysis of the situation regarding the issue of bullying at work in the various Member States and, on thebasis of this analysis, to present no later than October 2002, an action programme of measures at Com-munity level against bullying at work; considers that the action programme should include a timetable;
25. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the European
Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions and the European Agency for Safetyand Health at Work.
11. External borders and Schengen
A5-0233/2001
European Parliament resolution on crossing external borders and the development of Schengen
cooperation (10846/1999  C5-0042/2000) + (11329/3/1999  C5-0043/2000) + (SCHAC 2533/1/
2000  C5-0729/2000) + (SEC(2000) 1439  C5-0730/2000  2000/2015(COS))
The European Parliament,
 having regard to the Council 1998 Annual Report on the implementation of the Schengen Conven-
tion (10846/1999  C5-0042/2000),
 having regard to the Council Annual Report on the situation at the external borders of the states in
which the Schengen Convention has been brought into force  1 January 1998 to 31 December1998 (11329/3/1999  C5-0043/2000),
 having regard to Schengen Joint Supervisory Authority Fourth Annual Report (SCHAC 2533/1/2000
 C5-0729/2000),
 having regard to the Commission opinion on the request by Ireland to take part in some of the
provisions of the Schengen acquis (SEC(2000) 1439  C5-0730/2000),
 having regard to Title IV of the EC Treaty on visas, asylum, immigration and other policies related to
free movement of persons,
 having regard to Title VI on the Treaty of European Union on police and judicial cooperation in
criminal matters,
 having regard to the protocols and declarations on integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework
of the European Union, on the application of certain aspects of Article 14 of the Treaty establishingthe European Community to the United Kingdom and to Ireland, on the position of the United King-dom and Ireland and on the position of Denmark,28.3.2002 EN C 77 E/141 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday 20 September 2001