NoC161/34 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 14.6.93
OpiniononEmploymentinEurope
(93/C161/10)
On25November1992theEconomicandSocialCommittee,actingunderthefourthparagraph
ofArticle20ofitsRulesofProcedure,decidedtodrawupanOwn-initiative Opinionon
EmploymentinEurope.
TheSectionforSocial,Family,EducationalandCulturalAffairs,whichwasresponsiblefor
preparingtheCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon15April1993.The
RapporteurwasMrVascoCal.
Atits305thPlenarySession(meetingof28April1993),theEconomicandSocialCommittee
unanimouslyadoptedthefollowingOpinion.
1.Introduction
1.1.Inrecentmonths,thedeterioratingeconomic
andsocialsituationandrisingunemployment have
becomethemaintopicofdebateintheCommunity .
Unemployment threatenstobecomethekeyproblem
ofthe1990sandtodestabilizeEurope'sdemocratic
structures .
1.1.1.Asearlyas3July1992,whenmeetingto
discussEuropeansocialdialogue,thesocialpartners
adoptedadeclarationemphasizingtheurgentneed
forarenewedcooperativegrowthstrategyformore
employment(*).
1.1.2.TheCommission ,bothinitsreporton
EmploymentinEurope1992(2),andinitsAnnualEcon­
omicReportfor1993(3),recognizesthattheeconomic
situationintheCommunityismuchworsethanhad
beenforecastandthatprospectsforbringingdown
unemployment arefewanddependonwhetherhigher
economicgrowthratescanbeachieved.
1.1.3.AtitsNovember1992PlenarySession,the
EconomicandSocialCommitteeadoptedaResol­
ution(4)callingontheEdinburghSummittotakedeter­
mined,urgentactiontorelauncha'cooperativestrategy
forgrowthconcentratingonemploymentandprotec­
tionoftheenvironment'.
1.2.A'DeclarationonPromotingEconomicRecov­
eryinEurope'wasadoptedattheEdinburghsummit
aimedat'reinforcingthefundamentalsofeconomic
growthandencouragingthecreationofnewjobs'(5).
1.2.1.TheDeclaration advocates,interalia,
measurestobetakenbyMemberStates(makingfulluseofavailablebudgetpolicymarginsofmanoeuvre,
boostingstructuraladjustmentmeasuresbyenhancing
competition ,reducingsubsidiesandintroducinggreater
labourmarketflexibility,andpromotingwage
restraint,particularlyinthepublicsector).Italsorec­
ommendsmeasurestobetakenatCommunitylevel
(effectiveimplementation oftheSingleMarket,
measurestohelpsmallandmedium-sized enterprises,
fundingforinfrastructureprojectslinkedtotrans-Euro­
peannetworks).Inaddition,anewlendingfacilitywas
setuptothevalueofECU5000million,earmarkedfor
trans-European networks,andaEuropeanInvestment
FundtothevalueofECU2000million,tobechan­
nelledtosmallandmedium-sizedenterprises .
1.2.2.TheEdinburghDeclarationconstitutedan
initialpositiveresponsetothesocialpartners,paving
thewayfortheadoptionofeconomicgrowthandjob
creationasCommunitypolicypriorities.TheDeclar­
ationneverthelessfellshortofexpectationsandrequire­
ments.Sincethen,theeconomicandsocialsituationin
theCommunityhascontinuedtodeteriorateandthe
EcofinCouncilhassuccessivelyputofftakingthe
necessarydecisions.
1.2.3.Thiseconomiccrisisisemergingataparticu­
larlycrucialmomentintheEuropeanventure,when
thegeneralpubliciscloselyfollowingdecisionsbeing
madebyCommunitybodiesandis,ofcourse,hoping
thatthesedecisionswillhelpboostCommunitysoli­
darityandreversenegativeeconomictrends.
1.2.4.TheCouncilResolutionof21December1992
on'theneedtotackletheseriousanddeteriorating
situationconcerningunemployment intheCommunity'
didnotactuallyleadtoanynewprogress,despite
acknowledging thatthe'highlevelsofunemployment
representamajorwasteoftalentandresources',that
'theunemployedusuallyhavelowerstandardsofliving
andincome'andthatunemployment is'aparticularly
seriousmatterforcertainregionsandareasofthe
Community ,notablytheless-favouredregions,andfor
vulnerablegroupsinsociety'(6).(!)AnnextotheCommissionworkingdocumenton'Employ­
mentandtheLabourMarketinthe1990s'—Doc.SEC(92)
1416final.
(2)Doc.COM(92)354.
(3)Doc.COM(93)44.
(4)Doc.CES1386/92.
(5)ConclusionsofthePresidency .Point10,Annex4toPartA.(6)OJNo49,19.2.1993.

14.6.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC161/35
1.3.TheEconomicandSocialCommitteeisdeeply
concernedbythecurrentunemployment situationand
deemsitvitalthaturgentmeasuresbetakentoturn
thistrendaround.Inthelastthreeyears,allthehead­
waymadeagainstunemployment overtheprevioussix
yearshasbeenlost.
1.3.1.Currentforecastsarebasedontheassumption
thateconomicandfinancialpolicieswillnotchange
and,againstthisbackground ,allforecastssuggestthat
unemployment willworseninthemediumterm.They
concludethatthehighlevelofunemployment will
persistinthelongtermbecauseeconomicgrowthwill
notbesufficienttoabsorbit.
1.3.2.Socialpartners'involvementindialogueon
economicpolicyatallrelevantlevels(reviewofconver­
genceprogrammes ,Communitystructuralpolicy
instruments ,multilateralsurveillanceatCommunity
levelandsuitableconsultation atnationallevelsoas
toenhancethesocialacceptabilityofthemeasuresto
beintroduced )wasadvocatedinthesocialpartners'
Declarationof3July1992andhassincebecomeeven
moretopical.
1.3.3.TheESCdecidedtoputtogetheraninitiative
forthesecondhalfof1993withtheeconomicand
socialcouncilsoftheMemberStatesinvolvingthesocial
partnersandthevariouseconomicoperators,todebate
theissuesofeconomicgrowthandemployment .The
intentionisnotonlytodebateeconomicandfinancial
policymeasureswhicharegovernmentresponsibility ,
butalsotoanalyzepossibleproposalsforagreements
betweenthesocialpartners,comparingexperiencesin
differentcountries.ThepresentOpinionconstitutesan
initialcontributiontothisdebate;newinitiativeswill
followtodiscussthesubjectsraisedinmoredepth,
sincetheproblemofunemployment willcontinuetobe
relevant.equivalentrateformenwas8,8%.Thissituationisall
themoreserioussincetheparticipationrateforfemales
(42%)ismuchlowerthanformales(69%).
Youngpeoplearealsoinamoredifficultsituation.In
1992,theyouthunemployment ratewas19,4%.
Long-termunemployment (morethan1year)accounts
foranincreasingproportionofthetotal;thiscategory
nowexceeds50%ofthetotalnumberofunemployed .
Unemployment iscreatingabasisforsocialmar­
ginalizationandthusadeteriorationinassociatedsocial
problems.
2.1.3.Inaddition,ithasbeennotedthat40%ofthe
jobscreatedin1985-1990wereinfactfilledmostlyby
womenwhowerenotintegratedinthelabourmarket
andhadnotbeenregisteredasunemployed ,labelled
the'hiddenpartofthelabourforce'bytheCommission .
2.1.3.1.Thissituationdoesexplaininpartwhya)it
wassodifficulttobringdowntheofficialunemploy­
mentrateattheendofthe1980sinspiteofthejobs
createdandb)long-termunemployment ,asapro­
portionoftotalunemployment ,continuedtorise.
2.1.3.2.Ifthissituationpersists,thenumberofjobs
whichneedtobecreatedmusttakeaccountnotonly
ofthenumberofunemployedandtheforeseeabletrends
intheworkingpopulation,butalsothefactthatmany
jobswillagainbefilledbyunemployedpeoplewhoare
notregisteredassuch.
2.1.4.Inthecourseofthe1980s,thefallinemploy­
mentintheindustrialandfarmingsectors(—3million)
wasoffsetbytheincreaseinservice-sector jobs
(+12million);thissectornowadaysaccountsformore
than60%oftotalemploymentintheCommunity .
2.1.4.1.However,theproportionofpart-timework
intheservicessectorandthefactthatjobslostinthe
industrialandfarmingsectorswere,forthemostpart,
full-timejobs,callsfortheabove-mentioned figuresto
beinterpretedwithcare.Intermsofoverallemploy­
ment(numberofjobsexpressedintermsoffull-time
employmentequivalent),thedevelopments between
1985and1990werenotasfavourableastheyseemed.
2.1.4.2.Inthecurrentphase,whereoverallemploy­
mentisfalling,joblossesintheindustrialandfarming
sectorsarebuildingupwithoutbeingoffsetbyemploy­
mentgainsintheservicessector;practicallynoweek
passeswithoutnewstaffcutbacksbeingannounced,
particularlyinlargecompaniesandmulti-nationals
[whichisanewandworryingfactor,withconsequences
alsoforthesmallandmedium-sizedenterprises (SMEs)
dependentonthem],andnumeroussmallbusinesses
aredisappearing ,especiallyinruralareas.2.Generalcomments
2.1.In-depthknowledgeoftheemployment/unem­
ploymentsituationinboththeCommunityandits
neighbouringregionsisvitalforsettingprioritiesfor
actioninthecurrentcircumstances .
2.1.1.Afteraperiodofgrowthduringwhichsome
9millionjobswerecreated(1985-1990)andtheunem­
ploymentrateintheCommunityfell(to8,3%),unem­
ploymentisnowforecasttoreach17m.,i.e.11%of
theworkingpopulation,unlessthesituationdeterio­
ratesevenfurtherinthecourseof1993.
2.1.2.Unemployment amongstwomenwillbeeven
higher.Attheendof1992theunemployment ratefor
womenhadalreadyreached11,8%,whilstthe

NoC161/36 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 14.6.93
announcedin1985wasnotputintopracticebyMember
States.Infact,thestructuralmeasureswereconstantly
postponedandnoadvantagewastakenoftheperiod
ofeconomicgrowthbetween1985and1990.2.1.4.3.Thewaveoflay-offs,notonlyintheCom­
munitybutinothercountriesoftheOrganizationfor
EconomicCo-operation andDevelopment (OECD)
countries,isalsohittingtechnicalandskilledworkers,
includingservice-sectorworkers;thisdidnothappen
tothesamedegreeinpreviouscrises.Thebuild-upin
unemployment isthreateningallcategoriesofworkers.2.2.3.Thegrowthandemploymentinitiativeshould
beabletocountonthesocialpartnersforsupportand
involvementatbothnationalandCommunitylevel.
TheCommunitydimensionofthisinitiativeshouldbe
consolidated ,particularlythroughMemberStateand
Communityeconomicpolicycontributionstothissame
objective.AsstatedintheCommitteeOpiniononthe
AnnualEconomicReportfor1993i1),thegrowthand
unemployment strategymustnotbeputatriskby
restrictivebudgetarypolicieswhichcouldhamperecon­
omicgrowth.2.1.5.TheeconomicandsocialsituationintheCom­
munity'sneighbouring regionshasundergonefar­
reachingchangesinthepastthreeyearsandthisis
causinglegitimateconcern.Thepressureofmigration
anditsimpactontheCommunity'slabourmarkethave
alsoincreased;thiscannotbedealtwithseparatelyby
eachMemberState,butinsteadrequiresanintegrated
Community-level approach.
2.1.5.1.InthecountriesofCentralandEasternEuro­
pe,thecollapseoftheformerpoliticalandeconomic
systemswasfollowedbyplummetingproductionand
investmentlevels,withgraveconsequencesforliving
standards .2.2.4.ThesocialpartnersintheirDeclarationadvo­
cated'arapidreductionofinterestratesachievedby
soundeconomicpolicy',whichmustbe'credibleand
sociallyacceptable'sothat'thesocialpartnerscan
anticipatelowordecreasinginflationratesintheresults
oftheirwagenegotiations ,....providing....appropriate
scopeforrealwageincreases....sothatconsumer
andbusinessconfidencecanberestored'andtheright
conditionscreated'forhigherprivateinvestmentwhich
iscloselyconnectedtothecreationofadditionaljobs'.2.1.5.2.ThesituationinAlbaniaandtheYugoslav
tragedyarealsohavinganextensiveimpactonneigh­
bouringcountries,wheretheinfluxofrefugeesisstill
ontheincrease.
2.1.5.3.InthesouthernMediterranean countries,
demographicgrowthratesareashighas3%perannum
andtheworking-agepopulationisgrowingatahigher
ratethaneconomicdevelopmentcancopewith.2.3.Themacro-economic impactofmeasures
decidedatEdinburghonthenewlendingfacilityfor
projectslinkedtotrans-European networksandfora
EuropeanInvestmentFundisminimal;waysshouldbe
examinedtomakethemmoreeffectiveandspeedup
theirimplementation .Themeasuresannouncedfallfar
shortofrequirements ,especiallyifcomparedtorecent
initiativesintheUSAandJapan,involvingsignificantly
largeramounts.2.2.GDPgrowthintheCommunityin1991/1992
andtheestimatesfor1993/1994indicatethateconomic
growthforthesefouryearswillbeequivalenttothe
averageforoneyearofthe1985-1990period.
2.3.1.Theamountsconcerned—ECU5000million
andECU2000millionrespectively—shouldberevised
upwardssubstantiallyandpreparatoryworkshould
bespeededupontheseprojectssothattheycanbe
implementedassoonaspossible.2.2.1.GiventheeconomicstructureoftheCom­
munitycountriesand,inparticular,datafromthelast
decadesonproductivitytrends,itisestimatedthatwith
aneconomicgrowthrateof2%,itwillonlybepossible
tomaintainemploymentatcurrentlevelsandtherefore
unemployment willcontinuetorise;withaneconomic
growthrateof2,5%,unemployment canbecontained
atcurrentlevels;forunemployment tobeeffectively
reduced,theeconomicgrowthratewillhavegoabove
3oreven3,5%perannum.2.3.2.Blueprintsfortrans-European networks
shouldbedrawnupasquicklyaspossibleandprelimi­
naryworkonexistingprojectsreadytobeputinto
practiceshouldbespeededup.
2.3.3.Aswiththeabove-mentioned policymeasures,
announcements onspecificprojectstobelaunchedand2.2.2.Ifunemployment isnottodeterioratefurther,
itisvital,giventhecurrentcircumstances ,thatthe
Communityeconomyregainitspotentialeconomic
growthrateassoonaspossible.Measurestoensurea
genuinecooperativestrategyforgrowthandjobcre­
ationshouldbetakenasofnow,particularlygiventhat
theirimpactonemploymentwillnotbeimmediate .
Thisunanimousdemandofthesocialpartnersisalso
basedontheobservationthatthecooperativestrategy (i)OJNoC108,19.4.1993.

14.6.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC161/37
therelevantimplementation timetables,settingouthow
thedeadlineshavebeenbroughtforward,shouldbe
agreedatCommunitylevel.developmentshouldallowimprovements inqualityof
lifeandrespondtonewrequirements .Theoverallcom­
petitivenessofeconomiesisincreasinglydependenton
thespeedandefficiencywithwhichnewtechnologies
andnewformsofworkorganizationareintroduced
intoworkprocesses.Alltheaboveclearlydemonstrate
thetopicalimportanceofvocationaltraining. 2.4.Givingthesocialpartnersmoreresponsibility in
wagenegotiationswasanelementinthesocialpartners'
Declarationof3July,whentheystatedthat'credible
andsociallyacceptable'economicpolicieswerenecess­
arysothatthesocialpartnerscouldanticipatelowor
fallinginflationratesintheresultsofwagenegotiations .3.1.2.2.Productivityimprovements intheeducation
andtrainingsystem,strongercooperationbetweenthe
educationalandproductivespheres,consensusbetween
socialpartnersontrainingplansandtheroleandpri­
oritiestobegiventocontinuingtrainingforworkers
—whichshouldalsobegeared(i)toworkers'personal
developmentand(ii)tostimulatingtheirinterestand
individualeffortstoup-datetheirknowledge—areall
vitalconditionsforprogressingbeyondthecurrent
situationwhichischaracterizedbyamismatchofquali­
ficationsandworkers'experienceowingtoinadequaci­
esintraining.2.4.1.Realwagesgrowingatalowerratethanpro­
ductivitywillhelpimproveworkers'purchasingpower
andallowincreasedresourcesforthenecessaryinvest­
ment.Astableandcrediblemacro-economic back­
groundandsocialdialogue—notonlyatCommunity
butatnationalandcompanyleveltoo—alsoencour­
agesthiswagerestraint.
2.4.2.Economicpolicymustbecredibleandsocially
acceptableifconsumerandbusinessconfidenceareto
berestored,pavingthewayfortheeconomicupturn
tooccurearlierthanforecast.3.1.2.3.Underthesecircumstances itisevenmore
importantthattheeducationandtrainingsystems,
includingvocationalretrainingadjusttoandbackup
economicgrowth,particularlyintermsofmeasuresfor
improvingtrainingandskillsofallworkers,employed
andself-employed ,helpingthemadjusttonewtechnol­
ogiesandinnovationinproductiveprocessesandfacilit­
atingaccesstoin-servicetraining.
3.Specificcomments
3.1.2.4.Moreworkerconsultationandparticipation
infirmsisvitaltoensurethattheintroduction ofnew
technologiesandproductionprocessinnovationsand
improvement inworkingmethods(a)resultinbetter
socialconditionsand(b)helptheEuropeaneconomy
regainitscompetitiveedgeandretainitoverthelong
term.3.1.Theseriousandcomplexnatureoftheunem­
ploymentproblemintoday'ssocietyrequiresacompre­
hensiveandresolutepolicymixinvolvingsubstantial
investmentinstimulatingnewcreativeskillsfornew
andemergingneeds,appropriatetraining,technological
adjustment,labourmarketflexibilityandaparticipa­
tiveframeworkofindustrialrelations.
3.1.1.Asmentionedabove,aprerequisiteforreab­
sorbingunemployment isfortheEuropeanCommunity
anditsneighbouringcountriestoregaincompatible,
sustainedgrowth.3.1.2.5.Thedelayinmodernizinglabourrelations
insomeMemberStates,thelackofprioritygivento
initialandcontinuingvocationaltraining,poorpartici­
pationbythesocialpartnersinthetrainingsystem,all
meanthatcurrenttrainingpossibilitiesdonotmatch
requirements .
3.1.2.Afurtherconditionforimprovingtheemploy­
mentsituationistoensurethatallpartiesconcerned
takecomprehensive actionsothateducationandtrain­
ingsystemsatallstagesgivedirectionto,andbackup,
economicgrowthandtechnologicalprogress,taking
accountofworkers'ownindividualinterests.3.1.2.6.Formanyregionsthereis,atthesametime
ashighunemployment ,(a)amismatchbetweenqualifi­
cationsandeconomicrequirements ,(b)ashortageof
skilledlabourand(c)unmetneedsoffirmsinsome
areasinwhichtechnological progresshashadthe
greatestimpact.
3.1.2.1.Newtechnologieshavemeantthatacon­
siderablepartoftheknow-howacquiredthroughthe
educationsystemsisnowoutofdate.Majorqualifi­
cationsdeficitsexist,particularlyinareashardesthit
bytechnologicalprogress.Thebasictrainingofmany
workersdoesnotmatchuptothepresententryrequire­
mentsforcertaintrainingprogrammes .Technological3.1.2.7.Thewholeeducationandtrainingsystem
shouldbeabletorelyonmoreactivesupportfrom
thesocialpartnersandprofessionalorganizations and
shouldbethefocusofmeasurestoovercomethepresent
system'sinadequacies ,soastoputitmoreintouch

NoC161/38 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 14.6.93
withreallabour-market requirementsandworkers'per­
sonalneedsandthustohelpensurethatthefullpoten­
tialoftraininggainsisrealizedintermsofcompeti­
tivenessandemployment .
3.1.2.8.TheEconomicandSocialCommitteehas
issuedanumberofOpinionsinthisconnection(*)
whicharestilloftopicalimportance,particularlyas
regardsCommunityprogrammesinthissphere.The
Community'scontributiontohelpingworkersadaptin
anticipationoftechnologicalchangeshouldbecon­
sidered,inadditiontoensuringbettercoordination
ofdifferentCommunityinitiatives,intheimminent
StructuralFundsreform,notonlywhentheobjectives
aresetbutalsowhentheFundsareused.Thisisnot
alwaysthecasenowadays.
3.2.Thecreationofasignificantnumberofjobsalso
dependsontheconditionsinwhichSMEsaresetup
andoperate.3.2.1.Theremainingobstaclestotheestablishment
andoperationofSMEsinmanycountriesmustbe
tackledasamatterofurgency,makingmoreuseofthe
possibilitiesprovidedbynewtechnologiesandcutting
backredtape—nolongerwarrantedintoday'sworld.
3.2.2.TheCommitteehasrecentlyissuedanumber
ofOpinionsontherightconditionstobecreatedto
enableSMEs,whilerespectingworkers'rights,toplay
theirpartincreatingandmaintainingemploymentin
theCommunity .
3.3.Measurestoassisttheunemployed and
vocationaltrainingstaffandtohelpbringdowncurrent
unemployment levelsshouldbebackedupbyactive
employment-policy measures.
3.3.1.TheEconomicandSocialCommitteealso
issuedanOpiniononthissubject,thethrustofwhich
regardingemploymentservicesandlabour-market con­
ditionsstillapplies(2).
3.3.2.Reorganization ofworkingtime,combined
withmoreflexibleuseofproductionequipment,should
benegotiated (3)aspartofindustrialrelationsagree­
ments,withaviewtoboostingemploymentthroughout
theeconomy.(')OpinionontheCommissionCommunication onadulttrain­
inginfirms.InformationReportonvocationaltraining,
OpinionsonCommunityProgrammes (Force,Eurotecnet,
Petra,Comettandothers).Opinionontheproposalfora
CouncilRecommendation onaccesstocontinuingvocational
training.(2)OJNoC287,4.11.1992.
(3)OJNoC332.31.12.1990,andOJNoC60,8.3.1991.
DoneatBrussels,28April1993.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
SusanneTIEMANN