A4-0207/96

Resolution on a reduction and adaptation of working time

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community in particular Articles 2, 3, 103, 118 and 118b thereof,

- having regard to the decisions of the European Council in Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Brussels and Corfu,

- having regard to the White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness, Employment (COM(93)0700 - C3-0509/93) and the Commission report on 'Employment in Europe 1994' (COM(94)0381 - C4-0200/94),

- having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee of the European Union and in particular the minutes of its discussions on the working document on working hours (SOC292, CES342/95),

- having regard to the proposal to the Council for a recommendation on the reduction and reorganization of working time submitted by the Commission to the Council on 16 September 1983 (COM(83)0543) and Parliament's opinion of 18 November 1983 on that proposal ((OJ C 342, 19.12.1983, p. 147.)),

- having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report by the Committee on Social Affairs and Employment (A4-0207/96),

A. whereas large-scale unemployment, the extent of which varies but which is everywhere a dangerous phenomenon, is still the main scourge affecting and threatening social cohesion in each Member State and in the Union as a whole,

B. whereas the persistence of such unemployment has consequences of three kinds:

- a growing cost to social and unemployment insurance systems, which takes the form of unemployment benefits, unpaid social security contributions and a proliferation of training courses some of which do little to improve recruitment prospects;

- a loss of skills, social dignity, security for the future and even psychological stability in the case of persons and families affecting almost 20 million people in the Union;

- social marginalization of a constantly growing section of the population, with the risk of political apathy and destabilization of society, including various forms of delinquent behaviour,

C. whereas the struggle against unemployment is, as a result, an absolute social and political priority in the Union and in each of its Member States,

D. whereas it is clear that there is no single weapon or exclusive solution to deal with this scourge,

E. whereas the persistent residue of unemployment is increasing from one recession to the next and is not reduced during economic cycles; whereas stronger average long-term economic growth in the gross product than we are currently experiencing will make a valuable contribution towards limiting this phenomenon, but will not by itself be enough to eliminate it; recent experience in all Member States and most of the academic studies available confirm this conclusion,

F. whereas, regardless of the rate of growth and quite apart from it, the Union and each of its Member States must combat the obstructive factors and improve the conditions which will enable jobs to be created in the following key fields:

- vocational training and providing workers with skills;

- the correct operation and flexibility of the institutions which administer the labour market and their procedures;

- taxation, and social charges which should be reviewed whenever they have the effect of hindering recruitment;

- non-wage labour costs,

G. whereas a number of sectors are potentially capable of creating many jobs if adequate incentives are introduced; particularly small and medium-sized enterprises and very small enterprises, innovative sectors, sectors with a promising future, the services sector and the public sector, which could set an example,

H. whereas international competitiveness depends substantially on the ability of industry to innovate effectively, a high standard of training and a strong research infrastructure and development strategy,

I. whereas the concessions applied in the sector of SMUs and services must not be granted to the detriment of the rights acquired by workers regarding safety at work and social protection,

J. whereas, finally, in addition to all these measures one method may not have been sufficiently explored, i.e. a significant reduction and adaptation of working time, coupled with maintaining or even extending the duration of utilization of production capacity; whereas any reduction or new organization of working time can only be implemented following an agreement between employers and employees, for example by:

(a) a significant reduction in the working week,

(b) more opportunities for part-time working with social-insurance cover,

(c) phasing out of overtime,

(d) sabbaticals,

(e) better performance guaranteed through short breaks in the working day,

(f) introducing a different organization of working hours,

K. whereas, in addition, the experience of very many companies which have succeeded in considerably reducing and adapting their working time shows that they have been able not only to maintain the number of their employees but also to recruit new ones; whereas an increasing number of specialized studies claim that a flexible, non-mandatory approach could produce important results if it were implemented generally and firmly supported by the authorities by means of compensation for loss of earnings, where such occurs,

L. whereas, since a reduction in working hours would make it possible to reduce unemployment significantly both by directly creating jobs and by enabling redundancies to be avoided, a considerable reduction in Member State expenditure could be achieved,

M. whereas any significant reduction in unemployment, because adaptations and reductions of working time will prevent redundancies or promote the creation of new jobs, would represent a significant potential or actual saving to the Member State concerned which could be used to compensate for loss of earnings,

N. whereas public and private sectors may need differing treatment in certain cases,

1. Calls on the Commission to undertake and publish an overall examination of the experiments carried out in practice in each of the Member States within six months and to include the impact on SMEs and VSEs in order to assess them in a comprehensive manner and in consultation with the social partners;

2. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to study the potential savings referred to in recital L above to ascertain whether undertakings would benefit from them if they were used to provide compensation for loss of wages, whether that can be done either by direct subsidy or, better still, by reducing (e.g. ECU 1 per hour) social security contributions levied on the first 32 hours of work and increasing (ECU 4 per hour) contributions levied on hours worked in excess of 32;

3. Also calls on the Commission to undertake and publish detailed quantified studies on the details and effects of policies which encourage a significant reduction and adaptation of working time and to consider various alternative scenarios as regards both the length of time during which compensation for loss of wages is paid and the amount of such compensation;

4. Calls on the Commission to undertake and coordinate very wide-ranging consultations with all those concerned on both sides of industry at Union level and in each of the Member States;

5. Calls on the Commission and the Council to encourage the Member States and both sides of industry to consider the reduction and adaptation of working time and to offer opinions in the framework of their multiannual working programmes;

6. Calls on the Commission, if the studies of the Commission and evaluations made by the Member States with regard to recital L above are conclusive, to encourage the two sides of industry to consult about these issues at European level and also at sectoral level, with a view to concluding flexible agreements on reducing and adapting working time particularly in sectors currently excluded from the directive on working hours;

7. Calls on the Commission, if its studies and the evaluations made by the Member States with regard to recital L above are conclusive, to draw up a draft recommendation designed to lay down, for the use of the Member States, options, which shall avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal constraints in a way which would hold back the creation, retention and development of employment and the conditions for facilitating or encouraging by suitable means a reduction and adaptation of working time that would be compatible with stability in the terms of trade and the balance of competitiveness between the various Member States;

8. Calls, moreover, for the Commission and Council and the social partners to study the potential job creation consequences of gradually replacing overtime with compensatory leave;

9. On the assumption that such measures would lead to a significant increase in leisure, suggests that the Commission, the Member States and regional and local authorities should consider decentralised strategies to support lifelong learning, sporting and cultural activities and community work that would be clearly designed to stimulate social development. Such measures would contribute to stimulating strong demand for leisure and a potential increase in employment in emerging industries;

10. Expects, if the studies of the Commission and evaluations made by the Member States with regard to recital L above are conclusive, the two sides of industry to shoulder their responsibilities towards job-seekers and to create the right preconditions in collective agreements to enable businesses to introduce different types of arrangements with regard to working hours as employment opportunities arise;

11. Calls on the Council and Commission to create the right preconditions to enable all employees to enjoy equal rights, regardless of the type of working hours for which they opt;

12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and both sides of industry.