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C0M(94) 247 final 
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READAPTATION AID 
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LIST OF CONTENTS 
I. Introduction 
II. Types of ECSC Réadaptation Aid and eligibility criteria 
III. An assessment of the value and effectiveness of ECSC Readaptation Aid 
IV. 1993 Readaptation Aid in the industrial and employment context 
IV. 1 Steel sector 
IV.2 Coal sector 
V. Aid committed in 1993 
V.l Global traditional aid 
V.2 Traditional aid for steel workers 
V.2.1 Specific social measures undergone by steel workers 
V.3 Supplementary measures for steel 
V.4 Traditional aid for coal workers 
V.4.1 Specific social measures undergone by coal workers 
V.5 ECSC complement to RECHAR 
V.6 Type of benefits to workers and ECSC contribution to costs 
VI. An analysis of 1993 aid by member state 
VII. Payments and cancellations of aid in 1993 
VIII. Other activities 
VIII. 1 Committees 
VIII.2 Conferences 
VIII.3 Publications 
Vin.4 Studies 
IX. The future of the ECSC 
IX. 1 Financial constraints and the future 
IX.2 Phasing-in to the European Social Fund 
IX.3 Enlargement 
X. Conclusions 
Annexes 
I. INTRODUCTION 
This report presents the activities of European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) 
Readaptation Aid in 1993 It is the second full report on these activities since the 
introduction of a harmonised intervention system in 1988 and has the objective of presenting 
broad information on the nature of this aid, which represents the principal European 
contribution to social policy in the coal and steel industries. In addition, it fulfills a 
commitment to the Court of Auditors to produce regular reports1 
The report sets out to present the aid granted in 1993, from a quantitative and qualitative 
perspective, focusing both on the levels of finance made available and the types of social 
measures implemented. It also gives an overview of developments in this field, such as the 
introduction of the new supplementary social measures for steel, the current budgetary 
constraints against which this aid is granted, and the efforts to phase-in certain ECSC social 
measures to the European Social Fund. The report contains an evaluation of the Readaptation 
Aid programme and also looks at the range of other activities carried out in relation to the 
programme, such as studies and committees. Moreover, it provides background on the 
national industrial and employment contexts, in which the Readaptation Aid programme 
operated in this particular year. 
ECSC Readaptation Aid has been granted for the benefit of workers in the coal and steel 
industries since 1954. A key objective of the programme is to ensure a good level of social 
protection for workers who lose their jobs after industrial restructuring, particularly as they 
are withdrawn from the labour market into early retirement or forced into unemployment. 
A further important goal is to assist workers into new jobs, through training and re­
employment efforts. Moreover, the Readaptation Aid programme may also play a role in the 
acceptance of industrial restructuring among the workforces involved and, in this way, it can 
and has played a useful role in attenuating social conflicts and achieving consensus. 
It is important to bear in mind that the ECSC Readaptation Aid programme dates back far 
longer than the other Community structural intervention tools. Its sectorial approach and 
possibilities for co-financing measures such as income support to redundant workers are 
exceptional and based on a levy system set up under the Treaty of Paris. With the expiry of 
this Treaty in 2002, these specific features risk becoming obsolete among the activities of the 
European Union. 
The first report "1990 Report on the Activities of European Coal and Steel 
Community Readaptation Aid" was adopted on 12 December 1991, SEC(91) 
2394 final. 
II. THE TYPES OF AID AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA 
The legal basis for the granting of this social aid is Article 56 of the ECSC Treaty This 
establishes the provisions for non-repayable aid towards tideover payments, resettlement 
grants and the financing of vocational training. Aid is conditional upon the payment of a 
special contribution by the member state, which allows for a more favourable treatment than 
that provided under the general social protection regime As such, the Community aid not 
only enhances the allowances and measures for the workers themselves, but also generates 
supplementary funding at national level. Since 1980, under Article 56, a total Community 
contribution of over 3 billion ECU has been committed in favour of some 800,000 ECSC 
workers. 
Under Article 56 (2)(b), eligible workers are those in coal and steel undertakings forced to 
"discontinue, curtail or change their activities", where there are "fundamental changes, not 
directly connected with the establishment of the common market, in market conditions for the 
coal or the steel industry". By far the largest proportion of aid goes to meet these needs 
Under Article 56 (l)(c) aid is available for workers who are affected by the introduction of 
"new technical processes or equipment". However, this type of aid has only been available 
since 1988 and only in the coal sector and it has remained very limited. 
On a practical level, harmonised bilateral conventions, signed between the Commission and 
the member states, govern the operations of the programme. These establish five standard 
social measures which can be co-financed on an ongoing basis and form the "traditional aid" 
programme. These measures are early retirement, unemployment, internal transfer, external 
redeployment and vocational training. The levels of aid are defined as follows: 
SOCIAL MEASURE MAXIMUM CONTRIBUTION MAXIMUM DURATION FIXED 
(AS % OF SALARY) (IN MONTHS) CEILING 
ECUS* 
Early retirement 12% (18%)** 18 4,000 
Unemployment 12% (16%)** 15 3,000 
Internal transfer 5% 12 1,000 
External transfer 10% 12 2,000 
Training 55% (65%)** 12 4,000 
* in addition, an average global ceiling of 3,000 ECUs applies by sector, by member 
state 
** in areas where the economic situation is unfavourable ie. where the regional Gross 
Domestic Product (GDP) is less than 75% of the average European Union GDP 
In addition to the traditional aid programme, in times of particular hardship in the coal and 
steel industries, the Commission may decide to implement supplementary measures. These 
comprise separate rules of intervention, tailored to achieve specific objectives which enhance 
the ongoing programme. There were two such programmes in 1993, the supplementary coal 
measures known as the ECSC complement to the Community's RECHAR I initiative, which 
came to an end in that year (but which will continue in 1994 under a similar form) and the 
supplementary steel measures which commenced in 1993. 
Applications are submitted by the member state governments and evaluated for bi-annual 
decisions to commit aid Payments are made on presentation of proof of expenditure, the 
final payment being made not later than four years after the commitment of aid (five years 
for the supplementary programmes). Exceptionally, under the supplementary programmes, 
50% of total aid committed may be paid out immediately, on confirmation that 
implementation of the social measures has begun 
In 1993, there were certain modifications made to the bilateral convention for Spain. These 
amendments involve firstly, the lowering of the early retirement age from 55 to 52 years. 
Secondly, provision was made for the inclusion of income support during training as an 
eligible element of expenditure, a change which brings Spain in line with the other member 
states. Both modifications mirror the changes recently brought to national legislation in 
Spain 
III. AN ASSESSMENT OF THE VALUE AND EFFECTIVENESS OF 
READAPTATION AID 
Readaptation Aid, granted on the basis of Article 56 of the ECSC Treaty, is first and foremost 
a sectorial instrument, designed to operate hand-in-hand with the Community's ECSC 
industrial policy The underlying philosophy of Article 56 is that the necessary adjustment 
to structural changes in the industries should not take place at the overwhelming expense of 
large sections of manpower. As such, intervention under Article 56 corresponds to a clear 
responsibility of the Community, which takes it upon itself to cushion the social impact of 
industrial restructuring encouraged or even brought about by its own policies Given that this 
aid is a coherent element of ECSC global policy, member states have a legitimate expectation 
that it will be made available where agreement to co-operate with Community proposals is 
forthcoming. 
Article 56 provides for action in the social field which, at its conception, was probably far 
in advance of the existing social regulations in most European countries Its provisions 
encouraged undertakings and governments to engage in agreements on social accompanying 
measures, progressively backed up in many countries by special legislation for the ECSC 
sectors. A key pre-requisite of Article 56 is that the member state provide a "special 
contribution", which at least matches the ECSC aid, towards the costs of the social measures. 
This special contribution must provide for reinforced measures or finance, specifically for 
coal and steel workers, which allow for a more favourable treatment than the general social 
protection regime. Such special, additional measures as conceived in the six original member 
states were also introduced in the countries which acceded to the Community over the years. 
This preferential treatment of the ECSC industries is motivated on the one hand by the 
particularly massive waves of redundancies which have repeatedly hit these sectors over 
decades. More importantly, it is justified by the ECSC levy which is paid by the industry and 
co-finances the Community's aid programme. In 1993, this levy stood at 0.25% of the value 
of saleable output and provided directly around 21% of total resources on the ECSC budget 
Additional resources on the budget, namely revenue from Commission borrowing and lending 
activity, are themselves also the legacy of levy payments from earlier years This levy, a 
unique feature in European Union affairs, thereby operates as a solidarity fund 
The Readaptation Aid system is of benefit to both workers and employers in the industries. 
While, in the 1990s, the now highly evolved systems of enhanced social protection may have 
somewhat obscured the visibility of ECSC co-finance, this intervention remains nonetheless 
a crucial element. It is generally acknowledged that Readaptation Aid, having largely 
catalysed and nurtured high levels of social protection, may now act as a guarantee to their 
maintenance. An independent evaluation study on these aids, carried out in 19882, concludes 
that "any cutting back from present levels would be highly undesirable, as member states 
would be most unlikely to take over the financing of them". Indeed, recently, the United 
Kingdom government have abolished their special scheme for steel workers, with a steady 
The European Communities Readaptation Aids in the coal and steel industries, 
Durham University 1988 
decline in the Community's level of finance over the years being cited as a key factor in this 
decision. 
Moreover, the existence of Readaptation Aid, by virtue of its cushioning effect, can promote 
a more readily achieved social consensus whenever a streamlining of ECSC industries is 
necessary. Enhanced funds towards the social costs of restructuring may firstly contribute to 
gain acceptance of the need for large-scale job cutbacks and secondly ensure that employers 
may continue to cover the exceptional number of workers involved to an acceptable financial 
level. The avoidance of social conflict is of value to worker and employer alike. Indeed in 
1993, steel employers in full recognition of this welcomed an increased allocation of 
Readaptation Aid from the ECSC budget, in the form of supplementary social measures. This 
increased aid was granted to help spread the costs involved in a new wave of necessary job 
reductions following capacity cuts 
In 1993, the Commission carried out a study to assess the level of its intervention under 
Readaptation Aid3. From the results of this research it is evident that the ECSC contribution 
is still quite significant in the total costs of social measures. The results indicate that, in 
1991, the average ECSC participation in the costs of measures it co-finances ranged from 
8.5% for early retirement measures to 35% for internal transfer The following table 
illustrates this finding and shows that the global average ECSC contribution to the social 
measures in 1991, over the duration of the ECSC intervention period, stands at 13%. This 
percentage is comparable with the intervention of the European Social Fund, of which the 
contribution to active measures is also considered to be 13%.4 
Figure 1: Level of ECSC contribution to the costs of social measures over the 
duration of the ECSC intervention period (1991 programme). 
MEASURE / SECTOR AVERAGE ECSC CONTRIBUTION BY 
PERCENTAGE OF COSTS 
Early retirement (coal) 8.51% 
Early retirement (steel) 15.71% 
Unemployment 10.44% 
External redeployment 11.40% 
Internal transfer 35.26% 
Vocational training 19.41% 
All measures 13.00%) 
A complete table illustrating this detail by member state is found in section V.6 and the 
results of this study are elaborated upon in section VIII. 
3 "ECSC Readaptation Aid : Gross costs and additionally", HI VA 1993 
" see report "Employment in Europe" European Commission 1993 
Beyond its sectorial role and the direct benefit afforded to producers and workers in the 
ECSC industries, Readaptation Aid impacts also on a regional and local level, thereby 
enhancing the efforts of the Community Structural Funds Several European Union regions 
are dependent on a mono-industrial economic structure, based on coal and steel production. 
In particular, ECSC aid allows for the vocational re-traimng of workers who. while they may 
not always be redeployed immediately into new employment, will often represent a pool of 
useful skills which may be taken up at some future point, when local employers experience 
an upswing and may even attract fresh investment into a region. Moreover a. worker may 
be redeployed directly into a new job, with the incentive of wage make-up payments or 
resettlement allowances as provided under the ECSC 
It is evident that Readaptation Aid has a wide-ranging beneficial impact As a programme 
stretching back to the salad days of the Community, it has gathered a wealth of experience 
and today the ECSC approach continues to be viewed as valuable The priority recently 
accorded, with the approval of all Community institutions, to the complementary social 
measures for workers in both the coal and steel sector, at a time when budgetary means are 
increasingly scarce, illustrates this view. The Commission states, in its working document 
updating the Communication to the Council on the future of the ECSC financial activities 
(SEC (93) 1596), that it has decided to "concentrate ECSC budgetary and financial resources 
on measures which will best contribute to solving the serious difficulties experienced by the 
coal and steel sectors ... measures which can promote the process of industrial restructuring 
and lighten the burden of the resulting social measures" In confirmation of this, in 1994, 
some 70% of total budget resources will be set aside for Readaptation Aid. in contrast to 
levels of between 50% and 60% in recent years (see 1990 Activity Report for detail). 
Certain criticisms have been levelled at the ECSC aid programme, with reference to the need 
to consider equally other sectors plagued by major redundancies, or to the existence of general 
high levels of social protection in Europe today. However, factors such as the maintenance 
of the levy system, the exceptionally high number of ongoing job losses and also the decision 
taken to safeguard the ECSC Treaty for the whole of the originally defined period until 2002, 
all point to the continued operation of this enhanced intervention system. The Commission 
is now examining the best means of transferring ECSC social aid into the European Social 
Fund under the EEC regime, in anticipation of the expiry of the Treaty in 2002. In this 
respect, consideration could at some future point be given to the particular features of 
Readaptation Aid to assess whether any elements may be brought to enrich the current EEC 
instruments 
IV. 1993 AID IN THE INDUSTRIAL AND EMPLOYMENT CONTEXT 
The 1993 ECSC Readaptation Aid allocation covered workers whose jobs were affected in 
1992 and 1993 It is to be viewed against a background of extremely heavy job losses in 
both steel and coal sectors over this two-year period 
IV.l Steel sector 
In the steel sector, in 1992, total net job losses amounted to around 32,000 - a reduction of 
over 8% in the total Community workforce, leaving just 355,000 workers in the industry In 
1993, final recorded net job losses are likely to be in the region of 35,000. representing a 
further reduction of some 10%. While all member states except Ireland, Greece and Denmark 
were affected in a significant manner, the heaviest employment cutbacks were noted 
particularly in Germany, Italy and Spain. 
In 1992 it was acknowleged that acute conditions prevailed in the Community steel market 
and that prospects for a recovered demand were poor. A survey of the industry indicated that 
there was a production over-capacity of 19m to 26m tonnes (11% to 15%) for hot-rolled 
products and of over 30m tonnes (15%) of excess capacity in crude steel production. The 
Commission agreed that further restructuring was necessary and adopted an action programme 
to help redress the situation. Among a series of measures, this programme encompassed a 
set of reinforced social measures to deal with the major consequences of the new restructuring 
on employment (see Section V.2). It is expected that, between 1993 and 1995, 55,000 to 
60,000 workers will lose their jobs as a result of capacity reductions alone. This figure will 
be swollen by job losses which are the consequence of other reorganisation measures. 
Figure 2: Evolution in the European Union steel workforce since 1991 : number of 
workers 
160.000 
140,000 
DK IRL 
B Workforce at end 09/93 Joblosses 1993 (Jan-> Sept) m Joblosses 1992 
IV.2 Coal sector 
In the coal sector, the employment situation is also acute 1992 net job losses totalled 30,500, 
bringing the workforce down by over 12%» to just 218,000 At the end of 1993, it is 
estimated that there was a further sharp drop of 15.6% reducing total labour force to 184,000 
In 1993, only five member states were still producing coal (plus Italy where production is 
marginal). The last Belgian mine ceased operations in 1992. In the UK, moves towards 
preparations for privatisation led to a major wave of redundancies in 1992 and 1993, leaving 
just 24,000 people in the coal sector at end 1993 In France, Spain and Germany, ongoing 
significant job losses continue to reflect energy policy options and the declining importance 
of coal in these countries. Portugal, which is to shut its remaining coal production down in 
1994 in favour of gas, let very few workers go over the two-year period, with the bulk of 
redundancies to come at final closure. 
In 1993 it was acknowledged that supplementary social measures were equally necessary in 
the coal sector, to follow up on the successful ECSC complement to the RECHAR 
programme, which terminated in 1993. Consequently, an indicative three-year budget was 
estimated and the provisions for a new supplementary coal programme have recently been 
adopted 5 
Figure 3: Evolution in the European Union coal workforce since 1991 : number of 
workers 
140,000 
120.000 
G Workforce at end 09/93 B Joblosses 1993 (Jan- > Sept) H Joblosses 1992 
Information note on procedures concerning the social measures in connection 
with the restructuring of the coal industry (1994 to 1997) OJ CI08/3 of 
16.4.94. 
V. COMMITMENTS OF ECSC AID IN 1993 
In 1993, commitments were made under all three ECSC Readaptation Aid programmes, 
namely traditional aid, supplementary steel measures and supplementary coal measures under 
the ECSC complement to the Community initiative RECHAR. 
V.l. Global traditional aid 
Applications for aid in 1993 were received from ten steel producing member states and from 
all five coal producing states plus Belgium All applications concerned individual workers 
who lost their jobs, or were forced to adjust to new production processes or transfer to new 
employment elsewhere in their company, in the years 1992 and 1993 
In total, there were 148 applications, which were dealt with in two separate decisions to grant 
aid, in July (PH/3391/93) and December (PH/7006/93) respectively This high number of 
aid applications marks a significant increase over those presented in the year of the last 
activity report in 1990, when just 87 applications were submitted The surge may be 
explained firstly, by the inclusion as of 1991 of undertakings in the new German Lander 
under the ECSC aid programme and secondly, by the higher number of smaller producers 
which, alongside their larger counterparts, are now being affected by the adverse market 
conditions, particularly in the Italian and UK steel sector and in the Spanish coal sector 
After application of Article 56 and the terms of the harmonised bilateral conventions, a total 
of 75,531 ECSC workers were deemed eligible under the traditional aid programme. Total 
finance granted amounted to 182.3 million ECU against an allocated budget of 185 million 
ECU 
This represents an average amount of 2,414 ECU per worker, which is of course well below 
the optimal goal of 3,000 ECU as laid down in the conventions. The low level of aid, which 
has been evident since the inception of the new conventions (see 1990 Activity Report), is 
largely attributed to the strictly limiting criteria of eligibility. Successive ceilings are applied 
to calculate the aid, which limit the resulting amount at each stage. Moreover, there is no 
compensation possible between those member states which do not achieve the maximum 
average aid per worker and those which exceed it (and are subsequently cut back) In 
addition, some member states submit only relatively low cost measures for co-financing, 
thereby forgoing the maximum possible benefit. 
Tables 4 and 5 show the allocation of aid and the number of beneficiaries by sector across 
all recipient member states. 
10 
Figure 4: 1993 total traditional Réadaptation Aid in MECU by member state 
Figure 5: 1993 total traditional Readaptation Aid by number of beneficiaries, by 
member state 
25.000-/ 
V.2 Traditional Aid for steel workers 
All steel-producing member states, with the exception of Ireland and Denmark, presented 
applications for ECSC aid. Most applications submitted related directly to workers of 
individual companies, but some concerned centralised special payments for workers from 
diverse companies. 124 applications were received, which represents some 84% of the total 
applications submitted for both sectors. There are several reasons for this high number of aid 
11 
applications. While it is indeed partly an indication of the extremely high level of job losses 
in steel in 1992 and 1993, it reflects also the multi-company structure of the Community steel 
industry, as opposed to the largely single-undertaking based coal sector (exceptions being 
Germany and Spain). Of further consideration, the Community steel sector is increasingly 
marked by recourse to small sub-contractor undertakings to carry out specific tasks which 
previously were ensured by in-house personnel While this trend is still marginal, it is often 
noted particularly for maintenance, transport or slag-clearance tasks As of 1992, the ECSC 
decisions to grant aid have recognised this phenomenon and established guidelines for the 
granting of aid to workers affected in such circumstances. These guidelines allow for the 
possible inclusion of sub-contracted workers where their activity is indispensable to the 
ECSC production process, is carried out on site on a permanent basis and where their 
numbers are marginal vis à vis the total number of job losses at the main undertaking In 
1993, 114 sub-contracted men from some 15 undertakings benefitted from ECSC aid under 
this arrangement. 
In total, 43,449 workers, whose jobs were affected by changes, reductions or closures of steel 
production activity as established in Article 56 and who met the specific criteria in the 
conventions, were deemed eligible for aid in 1993. 
112 million ECU was set aside for these steel-workers in 1993 under the traditional 
programme. The distribution of this amount by member state is shown in table 6. It is 
noted that Germany received the lion's share of aid ie. 36% of the total, closely followed by 
Spain with some 28% and then Italy with 15%. A more detailed analysis of the aid by 
member state, set within the national context, is given in section VI 
Figure 6: 1993 traditional Readaptation Aid granted in the steel sector in MECU 
45.0 
40.0 
35.0 
30.0 
j 25.0 
20.0 
15.0 
10.0 
In 1994, a supplementary amount of aid has been granted under the 1993 programme, in 
favour of workers from the Dutch steel company Hoogovens. This involves an amount of 
5.6- million ECU and will be set aside on the 1994 budget, subject to the possible application 
of the reserve clause. 
12 
V.2.1 Specific social measures undergone by steel workers 
As to the social measures to be co-financed by this 1993 aid, table 7 illustrates the number 
of beneficiaries by member state and the type of situation they underwent Of striking 
significance is the extremely high level of early retirement, particularly in Belgium, Spain, 
Germany and Italy. Heavy recourse to early retirement was first made in the early 1980s 
and today this possibility is still viewed by the social partners as the most optimum way to 
bring about decreases in workforces in a fairly acceptable social manner Moreover, it is still 
favoured by the trade unions, which continue to opt for its inclusion in social protection 
agreements, notably in Spain, Germany and France 
However, while it is indeed a relatively soft means of achieving withdrawal from the labour 
market, this measure has proved to be prohibitively expensive. Such high cost burdens could 
and indeed are inciting governments, faced with increasing public budget constraints, to 
review their participation in the costs of early retirement Moreover, massive implementation 
of pre-retirement packages over many years has led to a largely unbalanced age pyramid in 
the Community steel industry. By far the majority of the Community workforce in this sector 
are between the ages of 30 and 49. Against this background, the Commission contracted a 
recent study to examine the impact of such demographic evolutions6 The study, which 
concluded that older workers should be valued more highly than appears presently to be the 
case, is elaborated upon further in section VIII. 
Figure 7: 1993 traditional Readaptation Aid granted in the steel sector by numbers 
of beneficiaries and measures undertaken. 
16.000 
2.000 
Redeployment • Unemployment H Training D Internal transfer B Early retirement 
'L'impact socio-économique sur les industries sidérurgiques des évolutions 
démographiques internes et externes" CEDRES Paris 1992. 
13 
A good proportion of steel workers underwent vocational training on leaving the industry, 
which will provide them with new skills and qualifications for the future, even if the current 
European employment market still appears bleak Today's steel worker is generally much 
more highly skilled than in the past. Moves towards the multi-skilling of employees arc rife, 
in order that they may be well versed with both mechanical and electrical aspects of steel 
production as opposed to achieving clearly demarcated skills. Thus, in many cases the 
redundant individual may have a good base on which to build with further training to enhance 
his/her chances of re-employment. The UK, Italy and France ensure particularly strong 
retraining possibilities. 
Vocational training was also provided for a certain number of employees who remained with 
their steel company but, as a result of restructuring, either moved to a different unit or saw 
their daily tasks transformed by a new production process. The need to change and develop 
product ranges, in a highly competitive market marked by increasing demands for quality and 
special requirements, is imposing considerable technological revolutions on the industry In 
these circumstances, the worker may ensure that his employment is safeguarded only where 
he is prepared for change. Such profound change requires a period of re-training and may 
even involve resettlement. These workers were covered by the ECSC for part of their training 
costs and, in some cases, for mobility allowances. Most of these measures took place in 
Spain, Italy and the Netherlands. 
In addition, nearly 2,000 beneficiaries of aid, largely in France and the UK, were redeployed 
directly into new employment, or indeed set themselves up in business. Wage make-up 
payments and/or resettlement costs were made available to these particular beneficiaries. 
While the Community steel industry is not as tightly geographically limited as coal, many 
regions are nonetheless heavily dependent on steel. Consequently, redundancies in a steel 
area may have an extremely harsh impact on the local economy, particularly where there are 
major knock-on redundancies in associated industries and services. Redeployment possiblities 
in the immediate area may be very limited and the ECSC aid can also assist people to move 
away from the region in search of employment in a more prosperous area 
Tideover allowances for the unemployed also figure among the measures supported by ECSC 
aid in 1993. Such measures, notably in Spain, the new German Lander and Italy, are 
generally implemented where redundancies are either too sudden or on too large a scale for 
recourse to more positive measures to be organised immediately. A certain boost to the 
normal level of unemployment benefit is afforded by the ECSC for these steel workers, who 
this year number just over 4,000. 
The particular characteristics of the national social programmes co-financed by this year's 
ECSC traditional aid grant, together with an insight into the specific component elements of 
each standard ECSC measure are highlighted in section VI. 
V.3. Supplementary steel measures 
In 1992 the Commission, acknowledging that the steel industry was undergoing a particularly 
difficult period, marked notably by a price collapse, adopted a comprehensive programme to 
help reinforce the competitiveness of this sector. This action programme included social 
14 
measures to cushion more effectively the consequences of the necessary' new wave of 
restructuring for workers and to spread the costs involved, particularly by casing the financial 
burden to the undertakings 
It was estimated that up to 60,000 jobs could be lost as a direct result of the restructuring and 
nearly 70,000 steel workers, made redundant or transferred, could stand to benefit from a 
boost in Community aid. In April 1993, the Commission adopted proposals for the 
implementation of the supplementary steel measures over three years (1993 - 1995), with an 
indicative budget of 240 million ECU7. This programme, drawn up after consultation of the 
trade unions and the employers by Mr Flynn, the Commissioner for Social Affairs and 
Employment, foresees an enhanced level of ECSC aid towards early retirement, redeployment 
and unemployment, at average levels per worker of 5,000 ECU, 4,000 ECU and 2,000 ECU 
respectively. In view of the industrial policy goals of this programme, eligibility is limited 
strictly to workers affected by reductions in steel-making capacity (thus a tighter definition 
than that for traditional aid). The Commission reviews the progress of these capacity 
reductions on a continuous basis. 
Already in this first year of the new restructuring there were many closures of plant and 
equipment, taking considerable capacity out of the industry and leading also to several 
thousand job losses. Applications for aid were received from nine member states. Ireland 
and Denmark each with very small steel sectors did not pursue capacity reductions in 1993 
and an application from Greece was ultimately withdrawn. The applications for Italy and 
Luxembourg and part of that for Germany were carried over to 1994 as they required further 
clarification and confirmation. 
In the remaining seven countries, 23,856 workers were granted supplementary aid. They 
were all affected by permanent capacity reductions underway in 24 Community steel 
undertakings. A certain number of workers were found to be ineligible, as they were affected 
by reductions only in manned capacity (reduced shift patterns) or cutbacks in foundry, coke 
or finishing production. Others were deemed ineligible as they were active in administrative 
units not attached to the undertakings. Only those individuals strictly active in some way 
in the direct production of finished rolled products and/or crude steel were covered by this 
decision. 
In 1993, a budget of 60 million ECU was earmarked for the supplementary measures and this 
was exhausted. In fact, even after a strict and thorough application of the terms of eligibility, 
the eligible amount of aid stood at some 80.8 million ECU. The remaining 20 8 million ECU 
was, therefore, carried over to the 1994 operating budget, to be granted as a second allocation. 
The distribution of this sum across the member states is shown in table 8 
Information note concerning the implementation of the social measures for the 
restructuring of the steel industry, COM(93)178 of 28.4.93 
15 
Figure 8: 1993 supplementary steel aid in MECU 
As regards the social measures put into practice, given that this programme supplements the 
traditional aid, by and large the same picture is given for both. Over 50% of the beneficiaries 
benefitted from increased finance towards early retirement, followed by some 35% being 
redeployed, with only a small number taking unemployment. Slight innovations were 
introduced under this steel aid, to complement the traditional programme. Thus, for example, 
the redeployment measure comprises the full range of possibilities, including all forms of 
vocational training, salary compensation for transferees and individual job-seeking advice. 
Also, under the unemployment measure, the Commission may take into account new forms 
of work-sharing, involving for example a reduction in working hours. While there is a 
debate, in the embryonic stages, on the value of job-sharing in the steel industry, in 1993 the 
possibility of ECSC co-finance was not taken up. Table 9 illustrates the range of measures 
and number of beneficiaries. 
Figure 9: 1993 supplementary steel aid by number of beneficiaries and measures 
undertaken 
Ejrly retirement is Unemployment D Redeployment 
16 
V.4 Traditional aid for coal workers 
Applications for aid were presented by six member states, namely Belgium, Spain, France, 
Germany, Portugal and the UK The 24 applications were largely presented by nationalised 
undertakings, with the exception of Spain, where numerous small coal producers arc active 
All 32,082 workers who were the subject of these aid applications were deemed eligible Just 
125 of these fell specifically under Article 56 (l)(c), as a result of the introduction of new 
technical processes and equipment in the Spanish coal industry The remainder were eligible 
under Article 56 (2)(b). 
66% of all beneficiaries were in the UK coal sector, where the transition to alternative energy 
sources and continued moves towards privatisation of the industry are underway It was noted 
that, while British Coal has ceased production itself in some mines, certain collieries remain 
under a care and maintenance situation with a view to possible new ownership Appropriate 
safeguards will, therefore, be taken to avoid any future double ECSC financing for the 
workers re-employed by these new owners. 
Table 10 illustrates the amounts of aid by member state While the UK was by far the largest 
beneficiary, with 60% of the total amount allocated, in Spain too there was a significant level 
of aid, reflecting the heavy restructuring now underway in this member slate A more 
detailed analysis on the background to this aid by member state is given in section VI 
Figure 10: 1993 traditional Readaptation Aid granted in the coal sector in MECU 
45 OY 
V.4.1 Specific social measures undergone by coal workers 
Table 11 illustrates the range of situations undergone by ex-miners who benefitted from the 
1993 aid allocation. It is immediately apparent that the take-up of aid differs greatly from that 
in the steel sector. 
17 
Firstly, while a third of all beneficiaries left with pre-retirement packages this represents 
nonetheless a comparatively lower proportion than in steel. While, as already noted, the age 
structure in the steel sector shows a workforce grouped in the relatively low age brackets, the 
story for coal points to an even younger workforce. In the UK, for example, the average age 
of a redundant miner is now 38. Given that in most member states, the eligible age for early 
retirement benefits is 50 or 55 years, there is generally limited scope for workers to take early 
retirement (with notable interesting exceptions, eg. Belgium, where underground workers 
have been able to retire at a much younger age if they have 20 years of seniority) 
Vocational training too does not figure highly in the social measures supported by ECSC" aid 
in 1993, with only Spain and France drawing on resources for this Likewise, redeployment 
either within the undertaking or to a new one is extremely limited 
Of striking significance is the heavy recourse to ECSC unemployment aid in the United 
Kingdom Here, ECSC co-finance goes towards large one-off redundancy payments which 
are the norm for miners, both of early retirement age and under, who leave the industry As 
such, this type of aid is not strictly to be termed unemployment benefit but falls under this 
title for the purposes of granting aid, as the lump sum payment can be considered as an 
addition of future potential tideover allowances. 
Figure 11: 1993 traditional Readaptation Aid granted in the coal sector, by number 
of beneficiaries and measures undertaken 
25.000 
20.000 
S 15.000 
n 10.000 
5.000 
Redeployment M Unemployment I Training O Internal transfer E§ Early retiremer 
V.5. ECSC complement to Community Initiative RECHAR 
1993 marked the final year of the Community initiative RECHAR. The ECSC Readaptation 
Aid complement to the RECHAR programme largely mirrors the supplementary measures for 
steel. It involves additional finance for early retirement, self-employment initiatives, 
vocational training and basic "pre-training" for the reintegration of less qualified workers. 
Maximum aid is set at 4,000 ECU per beneficiary. 
18 
Six member states presented applications for aid These were broken down by region 
corresponding to the RECHAR operational programmes All 36,384 ex-mmers concerned 
were judged eligible for aid The budget allocated to this final year of RECHAR was 50 
million ECU. This was totally exhausted, indeed total eligible aid amounted to some 55 
million ECU and a linear reduction was, therefore, applied to all membci slates 
All four available measures were taken up. An additional period of early reniement was co-
financed for just over 10,000 ex-mi neworkers Around 20,000 individuals benefitted from this 
allocation towards re-training of some form. Germany and Spain were the only countries not 
to call on "pre-training" finance Elsewhere, pre-training programmes included assistance to 
overcome social and psychological handicaps, individual job-seeking guidance and even 
language courses for immigrant workers. Only the United Kingdom applied for assistance 
to people requiring help with new business ventures Here some 4,000 ex-mi neworkers were 
given the chance to avail themselves of managed workshop space or use free enterprise 
agency services. 
Over the four-year period covered by RECHAR, the ECSC Readaptation Aid complement to 
this programme has contributed a total of 175 million ECU in additional monies towards the 
enhanced social protection and redeployment of ex-miners. The Commission recognises that 
the declining coal industry throughout the European Union will continue to impact on jobs 
and quite considerably so in the short-term future With this in mind, it has decided to 
continue with a supplementary coal programme, with an alignment of the provisions towards 
the steel programme8. It has earmarked a budget of 40 million ECU in 1994 for this. Tables 
12 and 13 illustrate the 1993 grant of aid under this programme by amounts and number of 
beneficiaries 
Figure 12: 1993 ECSC complement to RECHAR programme in M ECU 
Information note on procedures concerning the social measures in connection 
with the restructuring of the coal industry, Official Journal C108 oi' 16.4.94 
19 
Figure 13: 1993 ECSC complement to RECHAR programme by number of 
beneficiaries and measures undertaken 
25.000 
20.000 ^ 
LJ Early retirement H Training Pre-training Redeployment 
V.6 Type of benefits to workers and ECSC contribution to costs 
Readaptation Aid is employed across the member states, and even across the sectors, in a 
similar but not identical manner. By means of examples, in some member states, a worker 
taking early retirement will receive a severance payment on leaving the company, in others 
this will not be the case. Certain governments will assure the maintenance of a redundant 
worker's social security contributions in order to secure his/her pension rights. Vocational 
training measures, which generally allow for financial support to the organisational and 
income costs, may also provide for a bonus to the trainee on completion of the course in 
some countries Table 14 illustrates the way in which the five standard ECSC measures, 
broken down into component elements, are applicable in 1993 in each member state 
20 
Figure 14 : Application of the five ECSC standard measures in the member states 
BE 
DE 
EL 
ES 
FR 
IT 
LUX 
NL 
PO 
UK EARLY 
RETIRE­
MENT 
(COAL) 
A,B,C 
A,B,C 
-
B,D,E 
B,C,D,E 
B,D 
-
-
A,D,E 
A,B,C EARLY 
RETIRE­
MENT 
(STEEL) 
B,E 
A,E 
-
B,D,E 
B,D 
B,D 
B,D 
D,E 
A,D,E 
E UNEM­
PLOY­
MENT 
(C-f S) 
A,E,C 
C,E 
E 
A,E 
A,C,E 
C,E 
E 
D,E 
A,E 
A,C,E EXT. 
REDEP­
LOY MT( 
C+ S) 
A,C,F,H 
C,H 
-
A,F,H,L 
C,F,G,H 
AF,G,H 
F 
F,H 
A,F,H,L 
A,C,F,H INT. 
TRANS­
FER 
(C + S) 
F,H 
F,H 
-
F,H 
F,H 
E,H 
-
F,H 
H,G 
F,H VOC. 
TRAIN-
ING 
(C ••- S) 
I,J,K 
C,.I,J 
-
I 
I,J,K 
D,I,J,K 
D,I,J 
I,J 
I,J 
U 
A: Severance payment 
B: Retirement benefit 
C: Benefit in kind (coal sector only) 
D: Social security contributions made for worker (to retain pension rights) 
E: Tide-over allowance 
F: Wage make-up payment (to compensate new lower salary) 
G: Outplacement search costs 
H: Mobility / Transfer expenses 
I: Training organisational costs 
J: Income support (while undergoing training) 
K: End of training bonus paid to worker 
L: Self-employment grant 
Moreover, the costs of the above measures equally vary considerably across member states, 
with significant differences also noted between two sectors within one member state. Table 
15 is taken from the study on gross costs of Readaptation Aid and additionality, as discussed 
in section III Figures are as obtained under the 1991 traditional aid programme 
This table illustrates the average costs per worker of the specific ECSC elements of each of 
the five standard measures in the bilateral conventions, over the duration laid down in the 
conventions It also gives the percentage of this cost which is met by traditional Réadaptation 
Aid. By way of example, the average cost per worker of early retirement, over an 18 month 
period, in the Belgian coal sector is 22,613 ECU. The ECSC contributed 11.75% of this total 
amount in 1991 From the table, it can be noted that the average ECSC contribution across 
21 
all member states ranges from 8.51% for early retirement measures in the coal sector to 
35.26% for internal transfer measures. It is also noted that, taking all measures and both 
sectors together by member state, Readaptation Aid makes up the smallest percentage of 
costs in the United Kingdom (10%) and contributes in the most significant way in the 
Netherlands, where its financial intervention makes up 39.85% of total costs Finally, the 
average ECSC contribution across all measures and member states is 13%. 
Figure 15 Average costs per worker and ECSC contribution to the five standard 
social measures over the duration of the ECSC intervention period - 1991 
figures. 
Measure 
BE 
ES 
FR 
DE 
IT 
LU 
NL 
PO 
UK 
Eur 
Average 1 
ECU 
22.613 
20,043 
20.193 
29,877 
0 
0 
0 
6,473 
24.109 
26.400 % 
11 75 
1458 
1500 
7 62 
000 
000 
000 
48 66 
1277 
851 2 
ECU 
11.671 
15.740 
29.484 
14,632 
22.173 
38,064 
8.537 
11.525 
6,340 
J a, 236 % 
25.70 
25.41 
11.57 
14.84 
17.65 
9.39 
0 00 
34.71 
50.00 
15.71 3 
ECU 
0 
26,513 
0 
2,000 
1,121 
0 
0 
5,021 
27,173 
13.147 % 
000 
11.02 
000 
40 45 
28 46 
0.00 
000 
50 00 
700 
10 44 4 
ECU 
6.137 
0 
17,790 
3.800 
22.308 
2.947 
0 
7.326 
6.426 
8.490 % 
2164 
0.00 
8.51 
19.48 
8.77 
50.00 
0.00 
27.30 
31.12 
11.40 5 
ECU 
0 
0 
1,606 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
2.889 
9.085 % 
000 
000 
50.00 
000 
000 
000 
000 
000 
3461 
35.26 6 
ECU 
13,100 
11,713 
17,037 
13.396 
8,021 
1.235 
2,650 
0 
22.911 
10,959 % 
22 90 
31 18 
1761 
1056 
2426 
28 18 
39 85 
000 
1592 
1941 7 
ECU 
15.411 
20.341 
19.984 
15.232 
14,530 
26.629 
2.650 
8.022 
21.532 
16,441 % 
17 76 
16 46 
1455 
11 60 
1886 
10 33 
39 85 
39 74 
1000 
1300 
1: EARLY RETIREMENT 
2 EARLY RETIREMENT 
3 UNEMPLOYMENT 
4 EXTERNAL REDEPLOYMENT 
5 INTERNAL TRANSFER 
6 VOCATIONAL TRAINING 
7 ALL MEASURES COMBINED COAL SECTOR 
STEEL SECTOR 
22 
VI AN OVERVIEW BY MEMBER STATE OF MEASURES AGAINST THE 
INDUSTRIAL AND EMPLOYMENT BACKGROUND 
This section provides a more in-depth analysis of the background to the granting of ECSC 
Readaptation Aid in 1993. It examines the industrial context against which job losses, 
internal training and transfers were set and also the nature of the social programmes put into 
place in each national situation. 
Belgium 
In the Belgium coal sector, while the last colliery closed in 1992, workers will still be 
involved in dismantling and clearance activities for some time to come A small number of 
these people were let go in 1993 and benefitted from early retirement or from various 
redeployment measures, notably under the national/regional employment services and also the 
Begeleidingsdienst Limburgs Mijngebied (BLM) which was specifically set up to contribute 
to the coal reconversion social measures. 
In the steel sector, where undertakings are working at below full capacity, reduction 
programmes were embarked upon in 1993. In this framework, the main undertakings decided 
on the implementation of restructuring plans involving the closure of certain installations 
Steelworkers who lost their employment were largely covered by early retirement packages 
in 1993, co-financed by the ECSC. However, it was possible to transfer a small number of 
workers internally and many of these, together with others who were made redundant, 
received re-training. Recourse to short-time working was also made increasingly in this year, 
in which the ECSC did not participate financially. 
Germany 
As a result of the bleak outlook for coal in Germany, a revision of the 1988 Kohlerunde was 
necessary in 1991. This instigated further cuts in coal production, involving a reduction in 
subsidised output down to 50m tonnes per annum by 2005. Additional personnel will be 
affected to those covered by the initial Kohlerunde, at the anticipated rate of some 2,000 per 
year. Among other measures, this will imply that 5 of the 17 Ruhrkohle AG collieries will 
be shut down by the mid-1990s and that the Sophia-Jakoba sites will close completely by 
1997, The already acute situation has been exacerbated by the slump in German steel 
production. In the period 1992/93, nearly 16,000 men were let go under early retirement 
programmes. At the age of 50, these people may receive tideover allowances to take them 
up to the age of eligibility for the normal miners' pension scheme at 55. 
1993 was also an extremely difficult year for the German steel industry, with the former 
Lander suffering the greatest drop in production. Severe adjustment measures were set in 
place to redress the lack of market equilibrium, with all undertakings being affected. The 
company Thyssen Stahl alone plans job reductions involving some 20% of its workforce. In 
the new Lander, where the decline of this sector has been huge, the employment cutbacks 
have now slowed somewhat. In total, some 12,000 workers received ECSC benefits, largely 
for early retirement measures, some 10,000 of these were also eligible under the 
23 
supplementary steel programme The replacement worker principle is heavily applied in 
Germany, whereby a younger worker can take the job of a non-ECSC worker, who in turn 
goes into early retirement Early retirees are guaranteed an income of between 85% and 95% 
of their former salary by means of a severance grant and extra monthly payments to 
complement their unemployment benefit. In view of the preference for early retirement, only 
a very small amount of training is co-financed by the ECSC 
Spain 
In the Spanish coal sector, in 1993 most of the various undertakings which remain in private 
hands continued the implementation of the national reorganisation plan launched in 1990. 
This foresees, on the one hand, guaranteed market openings in view of long-term contracts 
secured with the electricity suppliers and, on the other, a reduction in non-viable production. 
Large redundancies were also noted in the public sector mines. 
Events in the steel sector were marked notably by a new phase of restructuring in the public 
sector, both in the integrated and special steels areas. These restructuring programmes 
comprised closures in capacity and in certain cases were accompanied by mergers between 
undertakings. In both industries, the great majority of workers affected by the restructuring 
left under early retirement packages. As an example, an ex-miner may benefit from 
allowances amounting to nearly 80% of his former salary. In 1993 the eligible age for early 
retirement was lowered from 55 to 52 allowing more people to benefit Most of the 
remaining workers to lose their jobs were made unemployed and received severance grants 
on their departure. These severance grants are determined within a ceiling of some 30,000 
ECUS in the coal sector and may even reach 50,000 ECUs in the steel sector. The social 
plans drawn up to determine the nature and financing of these measures are the subject of 
agreement between the government and the social partners. As to sharing the burden of cost, 
in the steel sector, the undertaking has taken on a greater financial responsibility since the 
employment promotion funds (Fondos de Promocion de Empleo) have ceased operations. In 
the coal sector, legislation for the restructuring of the industry foresaw a compensatory role 
for OFICO, a special body which is easing the social costs of the closures 
France 
In 1993, the French state-owned Charbonnages de France continued to pursue its long-term 
adaptation strategy, the objective of which is the complete closure of the Lorraine collieries 
by 2005. Moreover, the last iron ore mine was closed in this year. 
Against a market of decreasing demand, the French steel sector was obliged to focus its 
industrial strategy on reducing its costs, which involved essentially a review of its production 
capacity, the areas particularly affected by these steps were those of long products and, to 
a lesser extent, flat products. Despite the acute nature of the economic crisis, recourse to 
unemployment measures were few, by virtue of the application by the main undertaking 
Usinor Sacilor of the convention on employment as incorporated into the 1993 social plan. 
Under this agreement, redundancies without any form of outplacement effort are forbidden. 
Each worker receives the proposal of a solution tailored to his particular situation and, in 
1993, many workers were transferred directly into new employment. 
24 
Greece 
In the Greek steel sector there arc five steel undertakings, of which, in 1993, one, Hellenic 
Steel, embarked upon a restructuring plan This focused on reorganisation at both production 
and management level and permanent cutbacks in production The ECSC contributes to 
increase the unemployment benefits for the workers affected, which are relatively low and for 
a relatively short duration. New legislation to introduce more positive social measures is 
under preparation 
Italy 
In 1993 the Italian steel sector was largely preoccupied by plans for a new wave of 
restructuring against the background of moves -to privatise the various plants and subsidiaries 
of the main undertaking ILVA. Already, in 1992, the major steel producers had set in motion 
a series of restructuring programmes geared to greater specialisation. On top of these plans 
came moves in 1993 towards a concerted wave of closures. However, the impact of these 
steps on jobs will only be felt in 1994. 
ECSC Readaptation Aid in 1993 was granted to workers taking early retirement, 
unemployment and also those undergoing a period of partial unemployment under the Cassa 
Integrazione Guadagni Straordinaria (CIGS), a public fund allowing for a special level of 
social protection for such workers who also retain their employment contract In addition, a 
large number of people were retrained and transferred internally within their companies 
As of 1992, by law Italian steel producers have had to contribute more to the cost of early 
retirement for their employees. Whereas in the past they had only to make up 30% of the 
total allowances, now they must match the national government aid for these measures. 
Employers must also foot more of the bill for unemployment benefit too, which is guaranteed 
for a period of between 12 and 48 months (or even 60 months in the Mezzogiorno region), 
depending on the age of the redundant worker. 
Luxembourg 
The Luxembourg steel sector saw significant changes to production activities in 1993 Of key 
importance was the transfer of steelmaking away from the traditional blast furnace route to 
electric arc furnace production. Some 380 workers received ECSC aid as a result of these 
changes, all of them benefitting from early retirement measures. 
Netherlands 
The steel sector in the Netherlands is dominated by a sole undertaking, Hoogovens Groep 
BV, which employed some 15,000 people as at end 1992. In 1992/93 restructuring measures 
focused on the drive for greater product quality in an increasingly demanding market Over 
this two year period some 3,400 jobs were lost, many of which by natural wastage. However, 
the vast majority of workers leaving the industry, notably those over 55 years, took voluntary 
25 
redundancy with an early retirement package. While the normal eligible age for early 
retirement is 57 1/2, it was reduced to ensure a more socially acceptable reduction of the 
workforce. Unemployed workers were assisted by outplacement efforts co-financed by 
employer and employee contributions, with no state intervention. In addition, internal 
reconversion training was carried out at Hoogovens. This was extensive, given the increased 
attention to quality and new skills required by workers to manage new production processes. 
With the exception of the outplacement efforts, ECSC aid co-financed all these measures. 
Portugal 
In the context of the introduction of natural gas to Portugal and, in particular, to the thermal 
centre of Tapada do Outeiro, it has been decided to close the coal mine with production being 
completely terminated by the end of 1994. To this end a gradual reduction in the workforce 
has been underway for several years. In the period 1992/93 some 200 workers were made 
redundant, leaving 500 in the industry. While certain early retirement packages have been 
offered to those workers old enough to benefit, the majority of ex-miners have been given 
severance payments and made unemployed. Efforts are being made to assist some people to 
set up their own businesses where possible, with ECSC assistance. 
In 1993, in the steel sector, a new four-year restructuring plan was drawn up for the main 
Portuguese steel undertaking, Siderurgia Nacional. This will involve both capacity reductions 
and changes in production processes. Most importantly, production is to be transferred away 
from the blast furnace route over to the electric arc furnace process. Significant social 
measures are to be implemented to cushion the impact of this reorganisation, including the 
possibility for workers to take time off to following re-training courses, before they leave the 
company's employment 
United Kingdom 
In the United Kingdom, the market for coal is steadily in decline. It is envisaged that sales 
to the electricity generators, coal's main consumer, will continue to fall. In 1992 the United 
Kingdom's principle coal undertaking British Coal concluded that 31 of its 50 remaining 
collieries should be closed, as 10 were loss-making and 21 were unable to secure a market 
for their coal. After a government review to examine the prospects for those deemed to have 
no market, it was concluded that 12 out of the 21 should nonetheless be market tested to 
assess whether low cost, high quality output could be optimised. 
In 1992 and 1993 there were, nonetheless, significant job losses at all 31 of the above 
collieries and also at others, which continued to seek efficiency in the severely restricted 
market. By far the majority of workers who left the industry received compensation in the 
form of a substantial lump-sum redundancy grant, based on age and years of service. In view 
of the low average age in the industry, few early retirement measures were possible. While 
training is available to workers on leaving the industry, the length and therefore costs of this 
are fairly limited. As such, ECSC co-finance is assured solely under the supplementary coal 
programme. 
26 
In the British steel sector, 1992/93 saw several capacity closures, the largest being at the 
British Steel Kavenscraig plant. Many of the smaller independent producers were also forced 
to cut back jobs, in ongoing efforts to improve efficiency and react to changes in demand 
towards higher quality and different product ranges. By far the majority of workers let go 
benefitted from the generous training and redeployment package offered under the national 
Iron and Steel Employees Readaptation Scheme. Ex-steelworkers may receive up to 52 weeks 
of training and also 26 weeks wage compensation, if their new employment is less well 
remunerated than their previous job In 1994, unfortunately, the ISERBS programme was 
terminated, with the diminishing ECSC contribution to total costs being cited as an 
instrumental factor in this decision 
27 
VII. PAYMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS OF AID IN 1993 
VI. 1. Payments 
In 1993, total payments of aid, made on the basis of earlier commitments, amounted to 137.2 
million ECUs for the traditional aid programme, 28.5 million ECUs for the complementary 
steel programme and 35.4 million ECUs for the ECSC complement to REG IAR A marked 
acceleration in the rhythm of payments has been noted in recent years, which is extremely 
positive. While, in 1989, just 11% of traditional aid committed was paid after one year, this 
percentage had risen to some 27% in 1992 (see table 16). 
This welcome change is the result of both improved dialogue between the Commission and 
the national administrations and the swift solutions sought to overcome initial problems 
resulting from the introduction of the new bilateral conventions. The strict application of the 
requirement for final payment request to be made within four years after commitment of aid, 
under Article 13 of the bilateral conventions, has also assisted in this respect 
In parallel with the accelerated rhythm of payments, an improvement in the quality of 
information to be provided with payment requests has also been noted Certain problems do, 
however, remain with the processing of these requests. Notably, there have been certain 
cases where beneficiaries declared ineligible under the decision to grant aid have, nonetheless, 
been presented for receipt of aid at payments stage. Also, there is sometimes a lack of clear 
reference between a payment request and the original decision to commit aid 
Moreover, with the collaboration of other Commission services, DGV has taken steps to 
avoid undue administrative burdens, where the programme of social measures as presented 
at payments stage diverges somewhat from the original forecasts. In addition, an improved 
accounting system set up in 1992 (which enhanced that already developed as documented in 
the 1990 Activity Report) has led to a better follow-up of aid committed. Above all, 
commitments are clearly linked to a particular calendar year and no transfer between the 
accounts holding these credits is possible. An internal Commission audit carried out in 1993 
found this system to be adequate to the needs of the service and to contain a very low margin 
of error (in accordance with the norms established by the International Standards 
Organisation). The table below shows the accelerated evolution as regards aid committed 
between 1989 and 1992 
Figure 16:Rhythm of payments of traditional Readaptation Aid between 1989 and 1992 
YEAR OF AID PAYMENTS MADE AFTER -
COMMITMENT 1 YEAR 2 YEARS 3 YEARS 4 YEARS + 
1989 10.9% 34.6% 63.2% 83.9% 
1990 10.4% 47.4% 69.7% n.a. 
1991 26.7% 32.6% > n.a. n.a. 
1992 26.8% n.a. n.a. n.a. 
n.a.: not applicable 
28 
Since the entry into force of the new bilateral conventions in 1989, implementation reports 
have been received with the final payment request These are an important source of 
information for evaluation purposes and enable the Commission to verify that the aid it has 
disbursed has been employed for the measures intended The content and form of these 
reports varies considerably and, wi.th this in mind, the Commission has pressed member states 
to agree on a precise framework A simplified version was drawn up after the 1993 annual 
meeting with the national administrations. The presentation of this implementation report will 
in future be obligatory. 
Regular control missions are carried out by the Commission to verify that aid payments have 
been used in the correct manner and that there are no problems of eligibility In 1993, 12 
control missions were carried out in 7 member states, certain of them being joint missions 
with other Commission services or the Court of Auditors In one case only anomolies were 
found to exist and the Commission was forced to recover monies paid. 
VI.2 Cancellations 
While there is indeed a notable improvement in the rate of payments, nonetheless, the level 
of cancellations in 1993 remained high. Some 51.2 million ECUs were cancelled under the 
traditional aid programme and a total of 14.7 million ECUs for the supplementary steel 
programme. A global assessment has been made of cancellations of aid committed in 1989, 
the first year of the new harmonised conventions. This indicates that the level of utilisation 
of commitments stands at 90.7% for the coal sector, but just 76.4% for steel The tables 
below show this situation by member state. 
Figure 17:LeveI of utilisation of 1989 commitments for the steel sector 
100% -
80% + 
60% 
40% 
20% 
0% —L 
ESP GR NIL UK EUR 12 
Payments • Cancellations 
As a % of credits committed by member state 
29 
Figure 18:LcvcI of utilisation of 1989 commitments for the coal sector 
100% , 
90% J 
80% -
70% -
60% ' 
50% • 
40% t 
30% -
20% -
10% -
0% -
ESP JK EU-R 12 
Payments • Cancellations 
As a % of credits committed by member state 
Given that certain member states may be pinpointed as having registered significant and 
repeated cancellations, the Commission is tackling this problem largely on a bilateral level 
with those concerned. Assurances have already been given from some national 
administrations that greater attention will be paid to this issue in future It is, however, fair 
to state that a substantial part of the problem relates to delays in programmes for which, under 
the strict terms of the bilateral conventions, aid granted had to be cancelled and re-committed. 
In such cases the national administrations are largely powerless to avoid the necessary 
cancellations. A solution to this particular problem is being sought between the Commission 
services. A further reason for cancellations is the establishment of aid applications by 
member states on the basis of forward estimates of job losses, which inevitably engenders 
risk There is, however, a growing trend to present applications for programmes of the 
previous year, which will increase even more in the light of the earlier deadline for 
submission of applications as recently introduced by the Commission 
Moreover, within the Commission a tighter scrutiny has been applied, whereby forecasts of 
the number of beneficiaries presented under an application for aid are being verified more 
closely before any aid is actually committed. 
With this in mind, it is anticipated that in the near future a marked improvement to the level 
of cancellations may be noted. 
30 
VIII. OTHER ACTIVITIES 
In addition to the operational running of the Readaptation Aid programme, other activities arc 
carried out which contribute to enhance the policy choices in the framework of this 
programme Hence, in the course of 1993, the Commission organised various meetings, 
conferences and studies and was able to draw on the fruit of these activities It also took the 
opportunity to produce a publication 
VIH.l. Committees 
VUI.1.1 Joint Committee for the Harmonisation of Working Conditions in the Steel 
Industry 
A joint committee brings together workers and employers of the steel industry to debate 
issues relating to working conditions. This committee also produces reports on the socio­
economic developments in the industry, contributions which are valuable to DGV in its six-
monthly employment assessments for the Commission's forward programme for steel In 
1993, the work of this committee, which meets on a bi-annual basis, focused largely on the 
impact on jobs of the new wave of restructuring required in the steel sector Other topics 
discussed included vocational training within the industry, a debate stimulated by a 
presentation from the Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund on its recently completed study 
"Qualified for Quality" which examines the development of training needs in steel The joint 
committee also examined the conclusions of a study, which it commissioned in 1992, on the 
impact of demographic changes in the industry on the training needs of older workers See 
section VIII.4.1 for an elaboration of this study. 
Following its deliberations on vocational training and demographic changes, the Joint 
Committee adopted a common declaration. This proposes action, both by the industry and 
by the Commission, to make greater use of the experience gained by older workers, to 
develop a process of vocational "education", rather than merely training and to allow for 
greater flexibility in career development. 
VIH.l.2 Joint Committee for the Harmonisation of Working Conditions in the Coal 
Industry 
A joint committee also brings together workers and employers of the coal industry to debate 
similar issues to the steel committee. In 1993, the work of this committee, which also meets 
on a bi-annual basis, was centred on the elaboration of a questionnaire for a survey on general 
working conditions in the coal mining industry. 
Moreover, a report was prepared on the social accompanying measures existing in member 
states for cases of silicosis and pneumoconiosis. The committee also drew up a summary 
document on the incomes of miners who take early retirement 
This committee is also a valuable source of information to the Commission on general 
developments in the social situation in the industry. 
31 
VI11.1.3Aniuial meeting of national administrations 
In September 1993, the Commission met with representatives of the national administrations 
to discuss issues relating to the running of the Readaptation Aid programme Items of debate 
included the restructuring in the steel industry and the phasing-in of ECSC measures to the 
ESF Delegates were also informed of technical issues surrounding the granting of ECSC' aid, 
such as the deadline for applications and programme implementation reports 
This annual meeting of the member states and the Commission has come to serve as the joint 
committee for the interpretation of the bilateral convention, as laid down in Article 15 
VIII.2. Conferences 
VIII.2.1 Colloquium on the social impact of restructuring in the European Coal 
Industry 
In June 1993, the Commission organised a study day on the social consequences of 
restructuring in the European Union coal industry This colloquium brought together 
representatives from national governments and local authorities, coal producers, trade unions 
and interest groups. The meeting was largely prompted by a recently completed study on the 
social impact of restructuring9. A general debate was held, focusing on the current social 
situation in coal regions. This was followed by two round table discussions, one dealing with 
the value of human resources and the other concentrating on various means for combatting 
the problems arising from restructuring and the ensuing job losses. 
In conclusion, firstly, all participants called for a continued Commission financial participation 
focused specifically on mining regions to attenuate the social consequences both on miners 
themselves and their communities. Since this conference, the Commission has adopted 
proposals for RECHAR II and for an ECSC supplementary coal programme to complement 
RECHAR. 
Moreover, an enhanced cooperation between local, regional, national and Community 
authorities was deemed necessary, to ensure the most effective concerted action It was 
proposed that local consultative committees should be set up to allow for an optimum 
exchange of information and a more efficient channelling of Community aid This proposal 
has been taken up by the Commission in 1994. 
"Les conséquencs sociales des restructurations des bassins 
charbonniers de la Communauté" Entreprise et Personnel 1992. 
32 
VIII.3 Publications 
VIII.3.1 Practical reference manual on social management of industrial restructuring 
in the European coal and steel sectors 
In 1993, the Commission (DG V/A/4) produced a publication which documents the vast and 
rich experience gathered over 40 years of industrial restructuring in the European coal and 
steel sectors This publication was conceived to serve as a practical reference manual for 
all those involved in the social aspects of industrial restructuring processes 
The essential part of this manual focuses on some 20 models illustrating how the social 
consequences of industrial restructuring have been dealt with in eight key Community 
member states Each detailed description of a particular model is preceded by details on the 
background to the national industrial and employment contexts against which the programmes 
were implemented. In addition, the manual provides supporting information on the planning 
processes necessary to manage the social impact of industrial change, together with an 
overview of the various actors involved in the personnel planning and establishment of 
social programmes 
It is considered that the manual will be of use to human resource directors, trade unions, 
national and local authorities, enterprise agencies and all other organisations responsible in 
the development of a social component to industrial restructuring plans It is to be made 
available to individuals and organisations both in the European Union and in the countries 
of Central and Eastern Europe. 
VIII.4 Studies 
VTII.4.1 Study on social dialogue as a contribution to restructuring in the European 
Union steel industry 
In May 1993, during the establishment of a Community action programme to reinforce the 
competitiveness in the steel industry, the Commission was requested by the then Belgian 
Presidency of the Industry Council to carry out an examination of the social dialogue in this 
sector. The Presidency was concerned that, while the social measures were a key element of 
the Commission's action plan, they were in danger of being regarded exclusively from a 
quantitative approach. It was necessary to make a qualitative assessment of measures being 
implemented on the social level, with a view to stimulating innovation in the social 
negotiations and allowing for an optimum exchange of views between member states 
The Commission contracted the University of Warwick Industrial Relations Research Unit to 
carry out an initial research project. This study focused on the structures of social dialogue, 
developments and innovations over recent years and an assessment of the various national 
approaches to the social problems arising from steel restructuring. The resulting study is 
valuable in that it provides a comprehensive and in-depth report on the situation in each 
member state. It is also an up-to-the-minute piece of research, offering highlights of recent 
developments and innovations in this area. 
33 
As to the structures for carrying out social dialogue, the study finds that these differ quite 
substantially, with varying systems of collective bargaining, employee representation and 
legislative frameworks It finds few developments in the structural arrangements for social 
dialogue. Certain qualitative enhancements were noted and the regional and local dimension 
appears to be developing in some countries 
As to developments in the outcomes of social dialogue and an assessment of the various 
national approaches, the study addresses the issues of human resource planning and social 
accompanying measures In certain member states there is a trend towards individualised 
career planning which has helped to ease job transfers and reduce uncertainty. As to 
measures for employment reductions, early retirement appears to remain the key option 
favoured by unions and employers alike. Some degree of modified working time has been 
introduced, with a marginal incidence of job-sharing. 
In conclusion, the study finds that the Community has a key role to play in co-ordinating 
positive responses to restructuring, particularly with, for example, the promotion of 
infrastructure and diversification of employment at the local level The Commission intends 
to review this research project in the light of the recent Commission White Paper on Growth, 
Competitiveness and Employment and ultimately to distribute the results widely, in order to 
promote a good exchange of information. 
VIII.4.2 Study on the costs of readaptation aid and the participation of the ECSC in 
these costs 
In 1992, the Commission contracted the Belgian Hoger Instituut voor de Arbeid of the 
Catholic University in Leuven to carry out a study, with the double objective of calculating 
the gross costs of measures co-financed by ECSC Readaptation Aid and of assessing the 
level of additionality created by this co-finance. 
Using the relevant national social legislation as a starting point, it was possible to quantify 
all elements of the cost of all types of social measures and their duration By comparison 
between the costs of social protection for ECSC workers and the costs of general social 
protection (ie. the protection guaranteed to all workers) it was possible then to assess the 
additionality factor. The results of the study show that the social aspects of restructuring 
entail heavy financial implications, which vary substantially according to the type of measure 
implemented. In particular, the total costs of early retirement are very high, in view of the 
long duration and the elements of cost involved. In general, the total costs of other types of 
measures (training, redeployment etc.) were found to be much lower 
The study quantifies two different approaches to additionality. In the first, the comparison 
between the costs of sectorial and general protection illustrates that ECSC workers enjoy 
higher standards of social protection when affected by industrial events than do other workers. 
The second approach to additionality calculates the cost only of those elements of social 
protection to which the ECSC contributes, ie. only the elements listed in the bilateral 
conventions. From these results it can be seen that ECSC contributions can constitute an 
average of 13% of the costs of the elements to which it contributes (see table in section V.6) 
34 
VIII.4.3 Study on the demographic changes both within and outside the steel industry 
and the impact of these on the training and career needs of older workers. 
This study was commissioned by the Joint Committee for Steel In view of massive recourse 
to early retirement programmes in the 1980s and parallel low level of recruitment of young 
people, the internal age pyramid in the industry has been dramatically altered The study 
sets out to examine the impact of this phenomenon on older workers, particularly the over 45 
year olds 
The study confirms that, the majority of workers now fall into the age category of between 
30 and 45 As the age pyramid moves forward with time, the over-45s will account for an 
increasingly large percentage of the workforce. This phenomenon is to be viewed against the 
background of the reorganisation of recent years in the industry, which has impacted at all 
levels - on the structure of the company itself, on the structure of working methods and on 
training. The study examines whether any specific approach had been adopted for the training 
and career development of older workers and concludes that this was not the case and that 
rather there was a tendency for this category of workers to be regarded as a potential reserve 
for reducing manpower. 
The study recommends that the steel industry take a fresh look at its human resources 
strategies to seek a more flexible approach which takes account of the needs of both the 
company and the individual characteristics of older workers. Such a compromise approach 
would reflect demographic and economic developments together with the need for a highly 
qualified workforce, which is backed-up by know-how and transfer of experience and which 
must operate in a flexible work environment. 
VIII.4.4 Studies on restructuring in the coal and steel industries of the new German 
Lander 
In 1991, the Commission launched a series of seven studies concerning the restructuring 
process in the coal and steel sectors of the new German Lander. The results of this research 
were presented to a conference of German delegates in October 1992 The studies are briefly 
summarised as follows. 
Two studies focused on ECSC Readaptation Aid in the coal and steel sectors respectively 
These examined the effects of German unification on each sector and the national measures 
implemented to cushion the social impact of restructuring as they were co-financed by the 
ECSC. They proposed means for an integrated approach to channel national and ECSC 
efforts in a more concerted effort. Two further studies looked at the steel sector in particular 
The first examined the changes in the industry and the ensuing impact on employment and 
training needs. This gave an overview of the current needs as regards the organisation of 
labour and the level of qualification of the workforce. It then analysed the approach taken 
to reduce employment in this sector and made proposals as to how best continue the 
reductions with consideration to the social implications. The second study concentrated on 
one specific steelworks, Groditzer Stahlwerke in the Land of Sachsen. It examined the 
existing instruments in place to reduce manpower at the undertaking in line with the need to 
35 
achieve viability It went on to discuss the feasibility of improving these arrangements in 
agreement with workers' representatives 
A further study researched the situation of female employees at the 'Stahl und Walzwerk 
Brandenburg' (SWB). In 1993, the workforce had fallen from a 1989 level of 9,000 people 
(of which 3,000 female) to some 3,000 workers, with the female workforce having been 
particularly hard hit Using a sample of 176 female ex-workers of this steel plant, the study 
finds that, while women in general have been more badly affected than their male 
counterparts, considerable differences are also to be observed between several groups of these 
women There is a polarisation in labour market opportunities of, on the one hand, highly 
qualified women who may occupy relatively secure positions, and, on the other, a large group 
of poorly educated women, who only may qualify for traditional and badly paid jobs 
Of the remaining studies, one focused on the lignite industry in both the new and the former 
Lander. This research analysed the future development of the lignite industry in Germany with 
regard specifically to training needs in the areas of manufacturing, maintenance, research and 
management. The final study looked at the possibility of extending the Commission's 
successful social housing programme to the five new Lander (see 1993 Report on the 
Activities of ECSC Social Housing). 
The results of these studies were presented to a conference held in 1992 in Brussels. This 
conference brought together representatives from the Ministries, the companies and the trade 
unions of the new German Lander, who welcomed the valuable information contained in this 
research 
36 
IX. The Future of the ECSC 
IX.l Financial constraints and the future 
In 1991, the Commission addressed for the first time the issue of the expiry of the ECSC 
Treaty in the year 2002. It adopted a decision which provided for the maintenance of the 
treaty until that date, but which also stipulated that certain financial instruments and social 
provisions should be transposed into the EEC Treaty. In 1992, the Commission then outlined 
its priorities for the future financial activities of the ECSC, with an illustrative scenario laying 
down a possible phasing-out of budgetary expenditure up until 200210. On the basis of this 
Commission communication the Council discussed its approach on the future of the ECSC 
At its meeting of November 1992, the Industry Council, with consideration to the economic 
situation of the two industries, the financial requirements and the social needs, invited the 
Commission to take several steps, among which to ensure the continued reduction of the levy 
It was against this background that the 1994 ECSC operating budget was drawn up in 1993 
Furthermore, while the 1993 budget itself had been endowed with resources totalling 552 
million ECU, the outlook for 1994 was bleak with resources of just 393 million ECU. This 
sharp reduction reflected partly the gradual decline in levy revenue, amounting to just 0.23% 
of saleable output. 
Despite the reduced resources, nonetheless, the Commission with endorsement from the 
European Parliament11 and the ECSC Consultative Committee12 accorded a priority to the 
financing of social measures under Article 56. A total of 283 million ECU were allocated 
to the three ECSC Readaptation Aid programmes, representing some 70% of the total budget 
IX.2 Phasing-in to the European Social Fund 
As with the other programmes financed by the ECSC operational budget, possibilities of 
phasing in certain ECSC Readaptation Aid elements to the EEC regime are being sought. It 
is evident that the European Social Fund (ESF) would be able to accomodate, to some extent, 
certain measures currently financed by the ECSC. The activities deemed potentially eligible 
for such a transfer are vocational training and also employment support, such as self-
employment incentives, which are currently financed under the ECSC redeployment measure 
The Commission is accordingly assessing what changes are necessary to the bilateral 
conventions to effect the phasing-out of certain ECSC elements. 
10 
11 "The future of the ECSC Treaty Financial Activities" SEC(92)1889 
of 18.11.92 updated by SEC (93) 1596 
EP Resolution of 16.12.93 
Memorandum on the future of the ECSC Treaty, of 20.11.92 
37 
IX.3 Enlargement 
It is foreseen that four EFTA countries, Austria, Norway, Sweden and Finland will accede to 
the ECSC Treaty in 1995. While there is no relevant coal production in these countries, 
there is a significant combined level of steel production, in the region of 11 million tonnes 
As to employment levels, it is estimated that over 40,000 people are active in the steel sector. 
It has bee 
n judged that restructuring of a similar scale to that currently underway in the European 
Union could well be necessary in these countries. 
All four countries have indicated that they would be willing to pay the levy on production 
which feeds the ECSC operational budget. As such, the workers of their steel industries who 
are affected by industrial restructuring may be eligible for ECSC Readaptation Aid. In this 
respectait will be necessary to evaluate the social protection schemes available for 
steelworkers, in order to assess their eligibility under Article 56 (2)(b) of the ECSC Treaty. 
38 
X. Conclusions 
Once again, in 1993, ECSC Readaptation Aid has played a significant role in the process of 
social adjustment during industrial restructuring Both the coal and steel sectors arc 
entrenched in a period of acute difficulties, with extremely heavy job losses underway in each 
industry. In 1993, the European Union coal workforce was reduced by over 15%, its steel 
workforce by some 10%. The 1993 Readaptation Aid grants, totalling 292 million ECU, 
have assisted to cushion the impact of these job losses They have benefitted over 75,000 
people through measures of enhanced social protection and positive labour market policies 
Indeed, in 1993, the range and diversity of the Readaptation Aid programme continued to 
ensure that the quasi totality of situations in which redundant workers may find themselves 
are supported by ECSC co-finance. While the majority of workers were assisted with 
income support, through measures of early retirement and, to a lesser extent, unemployment, 
in all member states there were also significant active training and redeployment measures 
to assist workers back into new employment. Moreover, certain innovative measures, such 
as job-sharing and adaptation of working time were noted in some member states 
The ECSC makes a significant financial contribution to all these measures, a significance 
which, despite the current ECSC budget difficulties, should remain visible in order to help 
guarantee the maintenance of such enhanced levels of social protection. Indeed, in the current 
climate of tight national budgetary constraints, certain member states have lowered the 
financial burden of these measures to the public purse, with consequent increased costs to 
producers and, in some cases, to workers too. One member state has even terminated its 
special scheme for steel workers, citing a declining ECSC contribution to the total costs as 
a factor in this decision 
1993 was also marked by an increasing rapprochement to consideration of industrial policy 
guidelines under the ECSC Treaty. Notably, the implementation of the new supplementary 
measures for steel was strictly geared to the employment reductions resulting from capacity 
reductions in well-defined areas of production, as called for by the Commission Moreover, 
the Commission expressly stated that these measures should help to alleviate the financial 
burden on the steel producers themselves, further indication of the industrial policy objective 
behind this social programme. 
With the expiry of the ECSC Treaty in 2002, efforts were set in motion, already in 1993, to 
ensure the progressive transfer of ECSC Readaptation Aid measures to the Structural Funds 
These efforts were particularly welcome even at this early stage, in view of the severe 
budgetary constraints facing the ECSC operational budget. Indeed, these difficulties, the 
result both of the gradual reduction of the levy and of diminishing revenue from borrowing 
and lending activity, will only worsen in future years. To alleviate the budget burden, the 
Commission has ascertained that it will be possible to transfer all vocational training activities 
and certain external redeployment measures from the ECSC to the ESF as of 1995. This 
move has taken place in parallel with a shift in the priorities of ECSC budget resources 
towards the Readaptation Aid programme, which will continue to encompass the other 
measures such as early retirement and unemployment income support. There has been a 
39 
large consensus, at the level of all European Union institutions, to accord such a priority to 
the financing of this social aid. As such, some 70% of all resources in 1994 will be allocated 
to Readaptation Aid, compared with levels of around 50% in the past 
It is important that the phasing-in process is not carried out from a purely budgetary 
consideration, but that qualitative elements are evaluated too. While the current regimes 
which will accomodate the transfer of the ECSC aid have largely regional and horizontal 
objectives, it may be opportune nonetheless to assess the possibilities for maintaining the 
specific sectorial features particular to Readaptation Aid in some way Indeed, the 
Community Initiatives explore this direction to a certain extent 
Above all, it is clear that the Readaptation Aid programme has evolved oyer its forty year 
existence into an effective and valuable tool. In 1993, its impact may also be viewed against 
the background of Commission reflections in that year on growth, competitiveness and 
employment13. The Commission White Paper recognises fully the role of measures such as 
active re-employment geared to market demand and vocational training both as a pro-active 
labour market policy and as a requirement to meet the demands of new technologies 
Moreover, it endorses the notion of solidarity in meeting the burden of social costs, a 
solidarity which is integral to the ECSC system by means of the levy 
While, in the coming years, Readaptation Aid will be scaled down gradually with the transfer 
of certain activities into the EEC regime, it will continue to enhance the social protection of 
new waves of redundant workers in the coal and steel industries until the expiry of the Treaty 
in 2002 
Commission White Paper "Growth, Competitiveness, Employment 
The challenges and ways forward into the 21st Century", 1993. 
40 
ECSC READAPTATION AID - SUPPLEMENTARY STEEL MEASURES AND RECHAR - AID COMMITTED AND NUMBER OF BENEFICIAIRES 
lUMBMftôXauï NfelimftLAMM 
AttOtUtt 
•tillable Amount 
made 
available Amount 
made 
available Number 
of 
worker» Amount 
made 
available Number 
or 
workers Number 
of 
wortcrs Number 
of 
workers mtWbmcMd Amount 
made 
Mailable Number 
of 
»drk<tfa TOTALHSC 
Amount 
made 
aviigabte Number 
of 
ttorkcfs 
Suppl. Steel I 
Suppl. Steel II 
Suppl. Steel *87 
Suppl. Steel 88 
Suppl. Steel '89 
Suppl. Steel 90 
Suppl. Steel 91 (1ère tr.) 
Suppl. Steel 91 (2èmc tr.) 
Suppl. Steel 93 (1ère tr.) 
Total steel industry 
Suppl. Coal '84 
Total Suppl. programmes 
for both industries 1.358.000 
1,880.000 
987,750 
1.854.750 
1.050.890 
1.331.625 
584.704 
1.027.296 
10.075.015 
10.075,015 3.100 
T.OOO 
623 
652 
555 
513 
569 
9.0! ; 
9.012 2.418.000 
580.000 
472.500 
625.250 
473.935 
756.000 
205.685 
5,531.370 
5,531.370 4,500 
724 
298 
216 
234 
252 
80 
6,304 
6,304 
RECHAR '90 
RECHAR '91 
RECHAR '92 
RECHAR '93 
Total RECHAR 232.000 
1.273.500 
1.392,340 
600,000 
210,015 
368.985 
664,453 
4,741,293 
4,741,293 
29,800 
100.310 
70,478 
118,667 
319,255 171 
610 
756 
200 
193 
283 
2.213 
2,213 
15 
40 
30 
50 
135 6.426,750 
12.795.750 
3.282.450 
4,986.000 
391,737 
688.263 
18,001.559 
46.572.509 
46,572,509 
809,777 
1,544.000 
8.351,942 
6,841.481 
17,547,200 4,054 
4.440 
1,633 
1.662 
360 
10,712 
22,861 
22,861 
253 
369 
4.032 
4,167 
8,821 67,370,000 
7.360.000 
501,500 
310,250 
760,725 
1,649,000 
545,893 
959.107 
1.571,970 
81,028.445 
23.100.000 
104,128,445 
5,518.046 
7,495,233 
16.062,294 
16,018,387 
45,093,960 54,400 
4,603 
500 
160 
387 
614 
637 
517 
61.818 
12.347 
74,165 
9,634 
17,791 
23.810 
23,058 
74,293 212.000,000 
62,500,000 
34,000.000 
50,000,000 
25.000,000 
45.216,070 
20.000,000 
46.191.600 
60,000,000 
554.907,670 
60.000.000 
614,907,670 
40,000.000 
35.693.258 
50.000.000 
50.000,000 
175,693,258 127.934 
28.158 
23.360 
19.549 
14.735 
17.268 
18.093 
6.565 
23.856 
279.518 
27.092 
306,610 
20,267 
27,204 
37.957 
36.384 
121.812 
2r>/05/SH '.STATDGV\r,T AIDES 
m 
ECSC READAPTATION AID - SUPPLEMENTARY STEEL MEASURES AND RECHAR - AID COMMITTED AND NUMBER OF BENEFICIAIRES 
Amount 
made 
available MNMARK 
Amount 
made 
available JKANCE 
Amount 
made 
available Amount 
made 
available TKHCAW lTAtV 
Amount 
made 
available Number 
workers Number 
or 
workers I Number 
of 
I Workers GERMANY 
Amount 
made 
aVaSàble Number 
of 
workers Number 
or 
workers Amount 
made 
available Number 
of 
worker» Number 
of 
vorkérs 
Suppl. Steel I 
Suppl. Steel D 
Suppl. Steel '87 
Suppl. Steel '88 
Suppl. Steel '89 
Suppl. Steel '90 
Suppl. Steel 91 (1ère tr.) 
Suppl. Steel '91 (2ème tr.) 
Suppl. Steel '93 (1ère tr.) 
Total steel Industry 
Suppl. Coal 84 
Total Suppl. programmes 
for both industries 
RECHAR '90 
RECHAR 91 
RECHAR '92 
RECHAR 93 
Total RECHAR 22,786.000 
4,160.000 
1.280.250 
956.250 
44,445 
4.473.H42 
33.700,787 
1.000.000 
34,700,787 
10.348.429 
3,162.330 
1.925.980 
1,732.227 
17,168,966 6,850 
1.192 
832 
340 
279 
1.460 
10.953 1,638.000 
280.000 
198.250 1,284 
709 
125 
515 
11,468 2,116.250 
2,116,250 .118 
2,118 
3.392 
1,440 
985 
479 
6,296 68,517,000 
13.170,000 
10.304,250 
8,662,750 
5.525,490 
8,249.000 
2.361.000 
3.088.187 
119.877.677 
15,400.000 
135,277,677 
7.949.074 
9,071.385 
6.997.808 
6,602.477 
30,620,744 22,000 
4,648 
6,500 
3,826 
2,994 
2.891 
787 
1.134 
44.780 
4,480 
49,260 
2.306 
3.984 
3.900 
2.900 
13,090 29.997.000 
19,130.000 
10.653.000 
13.664,000 
5,398.625 
18.200.000 
12,760.478 
38.020.122 
31.994,304 
179.817.529 
20.500.000 
200,317,529 
15.344,874 
14.320.000 
16.591.498 
18.686,761 
64,943,133 20,400 
7,332 
8.400 
5.900 
4,460 
7.357 
13.576 
5.778 
9.670 
82.873 
9,750 
92,623 
4.667 
3.580 
5.200 
5,730 
19,177 29,920 
29,920 
29,920 16 
16 
16 17.916.000 
15.940.000 
2.943.750 
9.857.500 
7,085.625 
9.400,000 
5.507.173 
2.766.827 
71.416.875 
71.416,875 15,400 
5.950 
1.857 
3.405 
3.700 
3.500 
2.758 
36.570 
36,570 
! 0/0 5 .'94 STATDG: 
/VKJNEXE 
ECSC READAPTATION AID - TRADITIONAL AID COMMITTED AND NUMBER OF BENEFICIAIRES 
COAL 1980 
INDUSTRY 1981 
1982 
1983 
1984 
1985 
1986 
1987 
1988 
1989 
1990 
1991 
1992 
1993 
TOTAL 
IRON & 1980 
STEEL 1981 
INDUSTRIES 1982 
1983 
1984 
1985 
1986 
1987 
1988 
1989 
1990 
1991 
1992 
1993 
TOTAL 
TOTAL 1980 
ECSC 1981 
INDUSTRIES 1982 
1983 
1984 
1985 
1986 
1987 
1988 
1989 
1990 
1991 
1992 
1993 
TOTAL MJUttUto 
Amount 
made 
available 
99,250 
4,278.250 
515,000 
14,223,000 
4,513,750 
9,242,322 
1,650,000 
2.382,000 
1.549,541 
58,453,113 
469.250 
2.444,250 
1.988,500 
3,218,000 
2.089,250 
9,283.000' 
251.500 
2.882.750 
831.250 
255.677 
795,366 
1,080.000 
6,062.381 
31,651,174 
568.500 
2,444.250 
1.988.500 
7,496,250 
2,604.250 
9,283.000 
251.500 
2,882.750 
35,054,250 
4.769.427 
10,037,688 
2.730.000 
2.382.000 
7.011.922 
90,104.287 Number 
of 
workers 
1,317 
10.470 
1,364 
3,125 
550 
794 
554 
18,174 
610 
2.354 
1.142 
1,756 
807 
4,285 
332 
1.716 
125 
141 
297 
360 
2,565 
16,490 
• 610 
2,354 
1,142 
3,073 
807 
4,285 
332 
1.716 
'10.595 
1.505 
3,422 
910 
794 
3.119 
34,664 ïtëNMAfe 
Amount 
made 
available 
1.857.500 
44.250 
1,901,750 
1,857,500 
44.250 
1.901,750 K 
Number 
of 
Workers 
709 
16 
725 
709 
16 
725 J^ANCE 
Amount 
made 
available 
4,866,250 
436,500 
21.129,250 
25,830.500 
17,000,000 
10,118.750 
35.720,000 
18,617,256 
14,521.029 
22.609,061 
6,707,331 
4,162,358 
181,718,285 
4,490,250 
1,986,000 
46,202,750 
7,455,000 
29,316.750 
55,934,433 
32,014.715 
4.634.693 
6.165,000 
188,199,591 
4,490,250 
4.866.250 
1.986,000 
436,500 
21,129,250 
72.033,250 
24,455.000 
10.118.750 
65,036,750 
74.551,689 
46,535,744 
22.609.061 
11.342,024 
10,327,358 
369,917,876 Number 
or 
workers 
1,059 
126 
4,510 
3,060 
5,403 
8,834 
4,195 
3,433 
3,506 
2,030 
1.490 
37,646 
7,278 
615 
17,062 
28,056 
10,336 
4,482 
1,359 
2,055 
71,243 
7,278 
1,059 
615 
126 
4.510 
20,122 
5.403 
36.890 
14,531 
7,915 
3,506 
3,389 
3,545 
108,889 Amount Number 
made of 
available workers 
6.748,500 
9,939.750 
20,394,000 
43,255,000 
14.105,250 
17.461,000 
22,682,000 
43.985,702 
13.031,357 
26,731.428 
29.718,024 
13.254.000 
261,306,011 
2.481.250 
16.543,500 
9.611,500 
16,054,750 
15,290,250 
17,219,250 
26.152,000 
3,520.000 
43,231.000 
15.905,081 
14.583,524 
36,920.611 
32,850,540 
40,811,852 
291,175,108 
2,481,250 
16,543,500 
16,360,000 
25.994,500 
35,684,250 
60,474,250 
40,257,250 
20,981.000 
65,913,000 
59,890,783 
27,614,881 
63,652.039 
62,568,564 
54.065,852 
552,481,119 5.852 
4.644 
8.079 
7.146 
10,676 
3,779 
5,143 
6,480 
10,862 
4,856 
15.193 
11.351 
4,418 
98,479 
3.656 
10.783 
8.264 
12,769 
9,332 
10.490 
9,133 
1.459 
13,162 
4,603 
5.411 
20,874 
18,085 
13,981 
142,002 
9,508 
10,783 
12,908 
20,848 
16.478 
21,166 
12,912 
6,602 
19,642 
15.465 
10.267 
36.067 
29,436 
18,399 
240,481 GREECE 
Amount 
made 
available 
460.000 
24,600 
86,000 
851,888 
134,000 
1,556,488 
460,000 
24.600 
86.000 
851.888 
134,000 
1,556,488 Number 
or 
workers 
357 
12 
43 
640 
67 
1,119 
357 
12 
43 
M0 
67 
1.119 IRELAND 
Amount Number 
made of 
aval|ab)» wdrkej$ 
339.000 
73,500 
713,500 
1,126,000 
339.000 
73.500 
713.500 
1,126,000 229 
156 
385 
229 
156 
i 
; 3N5 ITALY 
Amount 
made 
available 
916,250 
69,500 
42.900.250 
16,334,500 
50,876.250 
10.382,724 
22.996.658 
41.678.654 
21,309.000 
16.823.013 
224,286,799 
916,250 
69,500 
42.900,250 
16.334,500 
50,876.250 
10.382,724 
22.996,658 
41,678,654 
21,309,000 
16.823.013 
224.286,799 Number 
of 
workers 
987 
20 
15.392 
7.078 
187 
18,684 
4.378 
9.172 
13.855 
7.103 
5.566 
82,422 
987 
20 
15.392 
7,078 
187 
18,684 
4,378 
9,172 
13.855 
7.103 
5.566 
82,422 
;TATDGV\ST AIDE.'; 
CO AI. 1980 
INDUSTRY 1981 
1982 
1983 
1984 
1985 
1986 
1987 
1988 
1989 
1990 
1991 
1992 
1993 
TOTAL 
IRON & 1980 
STEEL 1981 
INDUSTRIES 1982 
1983 
1984 
1985 
1986 
1987 
1988 
1989 
1990 
1991 
1992 
1993 
TOTAL 
TOTAL 1980 
ECSC 1981 
INDUSTRIES 1982 
1983 
1984 
1985 
1986 
1987 
1988 
1989 
1990 
1991 
1992 
1993 
TOTAL ECSC READAPTATION AID - TRADITIONAL AID COMMITTED AND NUMBER OF BENEFICIAIRES 
LUXEA1BO 
Amount 
made 
available 
2.859,500 
280,750 
9,055.500 
4.815.250 
3.326,000 
8,197,107 
3,486,000 
1,158.000 
33,178,107 
2.859,500 
280,750 
9.055,500 
4,815,250 
3.326.000 
8.197.107 
3,486,000 
1.158,000 
33.178.107 URG 
Number 
of 
workers 
450 
193 
6.087 
1.100 
3,217 
1.162 
386 
12,595 
450 
193 
6,087 
1.100 
1.217 
1.162 
386 
12.595 NEXUERb 
Amount 
made 
available 
1,750,000 
2,156,250 
1.457,500 
1.132,500 
5,807.250 
1.453.171 
3,045,788 
897,690 
3,392.074 
21,092,223 
1,750,000 
2,156,250 
1,457,500 
1,132,500 
5.807,250 
1.453.171 
3.045,788 
897.690 
1.392,074 
21.092,223 VNPS 
Number 
or 
workers 
700 
1,084 
874 
936 
2,325 
521 
1.338 
933 
257 
2,062 
11,030 
700 
1,084 
874 
936 
2,325 
521 
1,338 
933 
257 
2,062 
11,030 PORTWAJ 
Amount 
made 
available 
313.000 
137,400 
234,769 
210.000 
178.296 
250,052 
1,323,517 
2.223,750 
7,125.819 
3.791,636 
666,000 
1.137,274 
14,944,479 
2,536,750 
137,400 
7,360,588 
4,001.636 
844,296 
1.387,326 
16,267,996 L 
Number 
of 
workers 
123 
84 
135 
70 
70 
100 
582 
849 
4.477 
3.092 
222 
413. 
9,053 
972 
84 
4,612 
3.162 
292 
513 
9,635 SfAÏN 
Amount 
made 
available 
3,095,000 
3.458.180 
2.697,500 
3,357.000 
18.378.640 
8,452.802 
39,439,122 
68,571,000 
5,225.600 
4,369,277 
4,451,638 
2,103,000 
31,631,870 
116,352,385 
71,666.000 
8.681.780 
7.066,777 
7.808.638 
20.481.640 
40,084,672 
155,791,507 Number 
of 
workers 
997 
1,203 
1.099 
1.119 
6.136 
4,518 
15,072 
22,825 
1,633 
1,662 
1,580 
701 
14,762 
43,163 
23,822 
2.836 
2,761 
2.699 
6,837 
19,280 
58,235 UNÏÏËÏ3 KWGDOM 
Amount Number 
made. of 
available workers 
8,039,250 
8,986,000 
34,328,500 
28,644,750 
52.998,500 
4,096,500 
80,907,000 
38.784,750 
52,380,500 
30.378,611 
45,891.537 
15.385.325 
23,307,816 
42.621,000 
466,750,039 
48,244,750 
88,199,750 
60.337,000 
62,354.500 
14,445,000 
19.226,500 
9.706.750 
8.492.000 
7.420.500 
2.783.857 
5.253,232 
4.641,596 
10,810.364 
4,776.000 
346,691,799 
56,284,000 
97,185,750 
94,665.500 
90.999.250 
67,443,500 
23,323,000 
90,613,750 
47,276,750 
59.801,000 
33.162.468 
51.144,769 
20,026,921 
34,118,180 
47,397,000 
813,441,838 2,346 
2,426 
6,880 
5,495 
12,673 
481 
34,371 
18.496 
17,317 
24,703 
7.548 
11.661 
21.002 
165,399 
20.102 
29,258 
12,102 
7,392 
1,770 
4,477 
2.891 
2.161 
1,123 
595 
1,606 
1.675 
3,606 
1.592 
90,350 
22.448 
31.684 
18.982 
12.887 
14.443 
4.958 
37.262 
2.161 
19.619 
17.912 
26.309 
9,223 
15,267 
22,594 
255.749 ' TOTAL EE'C' 
Amount 
made 
available 
8,138.500 
13,852,250 
41.077.000 
43.299.250 
95,036,750 
73.182.000 
112.012.250 
66,364.500 
148,413,500 
101.090.899 
85,618.514 
69,942,814 
80,672,107 
70,289,753 
1,008,990,087 
58,884.000 
110,134,500 
73,923,000 
81,700,750 
44.963.250 
141,818,000 
59.899,750 
16,027,250 
212,108,000 
91.965,143 
98,381.486 
96,136.135 
74,123,175 
112.091.464 
1,272,155,903 
67.022.500 
123,986,750 
115.000,000 
125.000.000 
140.000,000 
215,000.000 
171,912,000 
82.391.750 
360.521,500 
193.056.042 
184,000.000 
166,078,949 
154,795.282 
J82.381.217 
! 2.281,145.990 Number 
ot 
workers 
8,198 
3,485 
11,524 
15,017 
24,329 
14,217 
43,553 
5,143 
45,400 
35.025 
37,351 
27,986 
32.042 
32.082 
335,352 
32.325 
44.275 
22.123 
21.917 
19.809 
52.736 
19.434 
6.459 
88,622 
22.219 
31,662 
43.574 
31,973 
43.449 
480,577 
40.523 
47,760 
33,647 
36,934 
44,138 
66,953 
62,987 
11,602 
134,022 
57,244 
69,013 
71,560 
64,015 
75,531 
815,929 
! 0/05/94 ' 3TATDGV 
7 
ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(94) 247 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 16 05 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-94-261-EN-C 
ISBN 92-77-70207-9 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
1^2985 Luxembourg 
US