A4-0311/95

Resolution on the Medium-Term Social Action Programme 1995-1997 (COM(95)0134 - C4-0160/95)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament and to the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a medium-term social action programme 1995-1997 (COM(95)0134 - C4-0160/94),

- having regard its resolution of 3 May 1994 on the Green Paper entitled: 'European Social Policy - Options for the Union' ((OJ C 205, 25.7.1994, p. 78.)),

- having regard its resolution of 19 January 1995 on the White Paper on European Social Policy - A way forward for the Union ((OJ C 43, 20.2.1995, p. 63.)),

- having regard to the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers,

- having regard to the Council resolution of 6 December 1994 on certain aspects for a European Union social policy: a contribution to economic and social convergence in the Union ((OJ C 368, 23.12.1994, p. 6.)),

- having regard to the Agreement on social policy, annexed to Protocol 14 on social policy, annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Social Affairs and Employment and the opinions of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection, the Committee on Women's Rights, the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media and the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights (A4-0311/95),

A. whereas the Union Treaty offers new foundations for social policy subject to the provisions of the social Protocol annexed to the Treaty,

B. whereas, in the light of the meeting of the Social Affairs Council in December 1995, its failure to adopt the action programme to combat social exclusion and promote solidarity, thereby ignoring the plight of more than 52 million people in the Union living below the poverty line, and its rejection of the Decision on Community support for actions in favour of older people (at the end of 1994, the European Union comprised 70 million people over the age of 60), a new Europe-wide debate on these major social issues must be urgently and immediately opened up in order to identify the scope for new actions at Union level, including the possibilities afforded by the 1996 IGC, the annual budget procedure and the new INTEGRA Community initiative,

C. whereas a Community-wide action in the area of social policy in accordance with the provisions of the Social Charter is necessary,

D. whereas the principles of subsidiarity and social cohesion permit the development of economic and social progress for the Union's citizens, especially in the context of the internal market where the Union has committed itself to the development of social flanking measures,

E. whereas vocational training should be geared to the employment markets of the future,

F. whereas the Union has exclusive social objectives such as : free movement of workers, the promotion of minimum social standards, social measures accompanying the transition to, and achievement of, Economic and Monetary Union, economic and social cohesion between Member States, as well as international aspects of social policy,

G. whereas the Union must ensure that further progress is made to achieve real equality of opportunity for men and women,

H. whereas the Union has to combat the trends towards a 'dual¨ society split into a wealth producing active population and a growing unemployed and socially excluded population,

I. whereas specific policies and actions should be agreed between the social partners at the European, national and local level, the Member States, the institutions of the Union, local and regional authorities and the non- governmental sector,

J. whereas employment policy and social policy are closely linked, as clearly stated in the first chapter of the social action programme, and must be pursued in close coordination with the implementation of the White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment,

K. whereas the existence of high labour standards is a condition for the operation of the single market,

L. whereas the information society is having profound effects on the organization and nature of work and is bringing with it a new work culture; whereas there is therefore a risk that social disparities will grow,

M. whereas the problems and opportunities arising from the internationalization and globalization of the economy compel the Union to take action to limit social dumping and enforce minimum social standards to protect employees, and to promote equal opportunities between men and women,

N. whereas with the consolidation of EU social legislation implementation measures have acquired greater importance,

O. whereas due attention should be paid to the employment effects of modifications of national tax and social security systems,

P. whereas the representatives of SMEs must also be included as a formal social partner in all relevant social dialogue negotiations,

Part I - Employment

1. Recognizes the efforts the Commission has made to develop a European approach to employment policy and believes, as is the focus of the jobs chapter of the Social Action Programme, that what is required is not new actions but the implementation and monitoring of the process begun by the White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment and culminating in the Essen decisions for Member State action in five key areas of employment policy as well as the proper application of initiatives already taken;

2. Believes the most important initiative to be applied is the employment surveillance procedure to monitor Member State multi-annual programmes established pursuant to the Essen European Council; suggests that for such a procedure to work there must be understanding and agreement on its functioning, respect for deadlines, proper following-up mechanisms and, above all, multi-annual programmes to monitor; is disappointed that a number of Member States have yet to adopt their programmes but recommends, nevertheless, that for 1995 the Commission apply the procedure as best it can;

3. Supports the Commission's efforts to promote cooperation between actors whose policies have an impact on employment, especially actors who traditionally have not cooperated in the past; encourages, in particular, collaboration in the field of statistics and the observation and analysis of employment trends this being necessary for the development of the employment surveillance procedure towards quantitative target-setting;

4. Believes that the European Social Fund (ESF), the one real European employment policy instrument to help in particular employment for young people and the long-term unemployed, should be utilized to its full job- creating potential and that its operations should be aligned with the Essen decisions and Member State multi-annual programmes; proposes in this respect that the annual Structural Fund review process should be treated in parallel with the employment surveillance procedure with tougher controls on Member States not using ESF money in conformity with agreed employment objectives; calls for the review of the operation of the Structural Funds to include better tailoring of infrastructural investment to the objective of promoting employment and for greater emphasis on investment in human resources;

5. Notes the Commission's intention to encourage businesses to submit suggestions regarding job creation but considers that it is also necessary to listen to proposals made by the structures representing workers;

6. Considers that the transparency of the European Social Fund and the image of the European Union would be greatly enhanced in each of the Member States if they clearly identify as required the ESF element and percentage contribution in training allowances, on each occasion, taking into account the precedent established for the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund;

Part II - Education and Training

7. Calls on the Commission to qualify better the nature of the measures it envisages in its Programme, in particular with reference to the integration of young persons into the labour market, quality training and the promotion of lifelong learning; welcomes the Commission's intention to extend the recognition of diplomas and qualifications to those professions not already covered by existing legislation; insists that the Commission brings forward the relevant proposals as soon as possible;

8. Recalls in this context the principles set out in the White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment, in particular the need for common long-term objectives, and advocates the investigation of new ways of achieving the above; takes the view that the Commission should come forth with proposals or agreements which support Europe-wide training programmes on a larger scale than current programmes and that training initiatives in the Member States should be complemented by European-level action;

9. Takes the view that the forthcoming submission of the report on the implementation of Recommendation 93/404/EEC should provide the opportunity to promote a debate on and consider the adoption of a European agreement between the Social Partners on the right to training;

10. Believes that vocational training must not simply be seen as a means for increasing competitiveness in saturated markets but rather that it should be geared to the employment markets of the future and viewed as a response to new needs and sources of employment;

11. Is of the opinion that EU training programmes such as Leonardo and the ESF in general should closely follow the developments in the information society with a view to providing the relevant training; calls moreover on the Commission to provide, by means of a communication, a framework for helping to tackle the social impact of the introduction of the information superhighway on the employment of vulnerable groups;

12. Insists that measures should be taken to give women and young people - forming a high potential for a competitive economy - better access to qualified jobs, and to launch programmes aimed at reconciling working and family life for men and women; vocational training and lifelong learning should therefore be promoted, and particular emphasis should be placed on the need for all parties concerned to cooperate in this field;

13. Calls for Community programmes (Leonardo, Socrates, Youth for Europe, etc.) to be made as democratic as possible and to be opened to those people and categories most in need, possibly via the use of 'positive discrimination';

Part III - Labour Law - Labour Standards

14. Calls on the Commission to integrate the following policies into its Medium- Term Social Action Programme, so as to enable effective legislative proposals to be made, either through the legislative procedure or through the European social dialogue:

(a) if the social partners fail to reach a European collective agreement: a framework directive for measures relating to atypical working conditions (e.g. flexible employment, home-working) enshrining a number of clearly defined rights for those concerned and guaranteeing them equality in labour law with those in full-time employment;

(b) an agreed framework for the protection of health and safety at work including an appropriately subsidized Safety Action for Europe (SAFE), which could act as a working environment fund;

(c) a directive on minimum standards and works inspections procedures, and the creation of a group of senior officials from works inspectorate, employer's liability insurance association or similar bodies to provide effective monitoring for Member States' practices;

15. Welcomes the Commission's intention to iron out any problems arising in the transfer of pension rights for migrants within the European Union; calls on the Commission to examine and to put forward proposals for the problems of pension entitlements acquired during employment;

16. In relation to individual measures and taking account of the outcome of the dialogue between Parliament's Committee on Social Affairs and Employment and the services of the Commission :

(a) welcomes the agreement of the Commission to submit to the social partners a Communication for the information and consultation of employees in national undertakings employing more than 50 workers, which will examine means of making progress with the six pending proposals concerning the involvement of workers in company matters;

(b) welcomes the Commission's intention to clarify and develop the actions proposed in the Social Action Programme, in particular those concerning the free movement of third-country workers;

(c) welcomes the Commission's intention to convene, with Parliament, a joint hearing in 1996 to explore further the need for inclusion of a labour clause in public works contracts;

(d) welcomes the Commission's intention to examine, with the social partners, measures to introduce or to strengthen legal instruments in the Member States to guarantee trade union freedom and collective bargaining;

(e) expects that this cooperation will result ultimately in proposals for binding measures in these fields;

17. Asks the Commission to examine the possibility of introducing binding measures on the protection of teleworkers, on the protection of workers' privacy, on holiday and sick pay, on asset formation by employees in international firms, on the social protection of workers and members of their families resident in frontier regions, in particular if they have retired from active work, and on the protection of workers against dismissal;

Part IV - Equal opportunity for men and women

18. Points to the structural flaw in the Social Action Programme which has not respected the 'mainstreaming' principle by which all the actions in the social policy area must be evaluated for their effects on women and men; asks the Commission to apply this principle when it comes to evaluate the implementation of its Social Action Programme;

19. Takes the view that more flexible working hours must be introduced to enable men and women to combine their families with their work; believes also that women's employment prospects are greatly enhanced by the provision of proper and affordable childcare facilities; calls, therefore, on Member States to implement the 1993 Recommendation on childcare, but if such implementation is inadequate calls on the Commission to consider, following discussions with the social partners and Member States, a legally binding instrument; calls also on the Commission to assist with the adoption via the Social Protocol of the proposals on atypical work and reversal of the burden of proof;

20. Is concerned at the implications which the ECJ's ruling in the Kalanke case might have for women in the event of misinterpretation of the judgment; therefore urges the Commission to propose an amendment clarifying Directive 76/207/EEC so that employment promotion schemes for women may continue to be allowed;

21. Welcomes the idea of a Code of Practice on implementing the principle of equal pay for work of equal value but expects the Commission to take account of Parliament's views on that Code of Practice and the Memorandum on Equal Pay; insists that the issue of equal pay be kept constantly under review, with particular attention being given to the development of gender-free job evaluation and classification systems, and that the Commission examine appropriate measures for eliminating the disparities between male and female earnings, and consider action of a more binding nature should such measures be unsuccessful;

22. Urges the Commission in the implementation of its Fourth Health and Safety Programme to treat women as a category of worker with specific health and safety needs, paying particular attention to the emergence of new health and safety risks;

23. Calls for a review of the extent to which national social security and tax systems might be adjusted so that women and men are granted their own individual rights rather than rights derived from their partners and urges the Commission to begin without delay with the preparation of the communication on this subject planned for mid-1996;

24. Stresses the importance of holding a follow-up seminar to evaluate the conclusions of the UN World Conference on Women, at which NGOs, Member State governments and the European Parliament should be invited to draw up an action plan for implementation of the conference conclusions;

25. Welcomes the adoption of the fourth Community action programme for equal opportunities for women and men in the medium term, but deplores the attempt to halve its budget allocation;

Part V - Social protection, disabled persons, racism, xenophobia and anti-semitism and the integration of immigrants and ethnic minorities

26. Expects a communication on establishing a special legal basis within the body of the Treaty to consolidate the principles governing social policy at European level;

27. Asks the Commission to propose that the new Treaty resulting from the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference should incorporate a special clause on the principle of equal treatment banning all discrimination, irrespective of an individual's race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, language, age or disability;

28. Asks the Commission to review without delay the progress achieved in establishing a minimum income, and to put pressure on all the Member States to ensure that all citizens who are unemployed or who have reached retirement age but are not entitled to a pension or who have no other means of subsistence are given the necessary resources guaranteeing them a decent standard of living and social and health protection;

29. Calls on the Commission to draw up a directive on harmonizing humanitarian and technical assistance measures for disabled persons in the Member States in order to overcome the practical problems preventing freedom of movement for such individuals (workers or ordinary citizens) within the European Union (on the basis of Articles 8a, 48 and 49 of the EC Treaty); to endeavour to ensure that the HELIOS II programme is continued in an amended form while at the same time proceeding with all the necessary modifications to ensure that the programme becomes more effective (for example, making the European Disability Forum independent of the Commission); and to lay down plans and provide funding for an information campaign (to be incorporated into the HELIOS II programme or another initiative) in all the Member States aimed at overcoming prejudice against disabled persons;

30. Asks the Commission to submit a communication on shoring up the legal provisions in the Member States for combating racism and xenophobia by incorporating a specific reference to legally binding measures;

31. Urges the Commission to submit a directive on equal treatment of workers from third countries working legally in the Community, in accordance with Article 2(3), fourth indent, of the Agreement on social policy;

32. Calls on the Commission to take measures, as proposed in the Social Action Programme, with regard to free movement of workers and amendment of Regulation (EEC) 1408/71 on social security for migrant workers; calls for special attention to be devoted to eliminating the existing discrimination against frontier workers with regard to social security rights and taxation;

Part VI - Poverty and social exclusion, older people

33. Calls for the urgent adoption of a poverty action programme and the full utilization of appropriations entered in the budget for this programme, including the development of a specific initiative for housing the homeless and badly housed, comprising the encouragement of contact and cooperation between those responsible for housing policy, and the utilization of funds to increase training and education of the long-term unemployed, and other socially excluded groups to allow them to reintegrate into the working world;

34. Calls for the submission of a Communication concerning:

(a) the successes and failures of measures previously taken by the EU to eradicate poverty which would contribute to policy development,

(b) further information on the feasibility of the provision of a minimum income as a necessary corollary to a social integration process,

(c) measures providing for financial incentives for businesses which can create jobs or offer adequate vocational training,

(d) the creation of opportunities for social inclusion, taking account of the involvement of the social partners, NGOs and regional and local government;

35. Calls on the Commission to draw up a full, up-to-date and objective report on poverty in Europe in cooperation with those concerned and their organizations, taking account of the annual reports of the Observatory on national policies to combat social exclusion, and to devise a procedure for assessing the impact of draft legislation and support programmes on the situation of the least affluent in our society;

36. Insists also that the Commission should address the critical problem of social exclusion at European level in the framework of all Union policies as suggested in its White Paper on European Social Policy, a Way Forward for the Union;

37. Calls for the submission of a report on demographic trends and the position of families within the Union and a report on action taken by the Council to follow up its declaration of 6 December 1993, to mark the end of the European Year of the Elderly and Solidarity between Generations (1993), as well as for the urgent adoption of the Action Programme and follow-up Action Programme, to draw the attention of the general public in Europe not only to the serious demographic imbalances throughout the Community, in each of the Member States and between them, but also the socio-economic consequences thereof;

38. Considers it essential to hold a debate on the repercussions of social exclusion on children, with particular reference to their daily diet;

39. Expects in the light of the opportunities afforded by the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference that consideration will be given to ways of strengthening the legal and institutional bases enabling our social policy to become truly European in scope, particularly the need to make the fight against poverty and exclusion a priority objective of the Union, and that corresponding measures in this vital area are made subject only to majority voting;

Part VII - International dimension

40. Calls on the Commission to continue its efforts to secure the inclusion in international agreements of social clauses based on the most essential ILO conventions, particularly those on child labour (Nos 5 and 138), the prohibition of forced labour (Nos 29 and 105), trade union rights and free collective bargaining (Nos 87 and 98) and the prohibition of discrimination (No 111);

41. Understands that these efforts must be made in particular in the context of the World Trade Organisation (WTO);

42. Calls on the Commission to draw up a report on the phenomenon of 'relocation' of enterprises outside the Union and to work for harmonized ratification of international labour conventions by the competing States and the Union, in order to reduce the threat of social dumping;

43. Calls on the Commission to make every effort to create the conditions to ensure that the social partners participate fully in all processes, in particular those which are taking place in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe; calls, moreover, for the experience acquired by the activities of the Turin European Training Foundation in Central and Eastern Europe to be used for similar training projects in the Mediterranean;

Part VIII - Application of EU social law

44. Regrets that the implementing measures put forward by the Commission mainly concern future EU social legislation; is concerned at the small impact these proposals might have in view of the current legislative blockage;

45. Criticizes the unstructured development of different bodies dealing with various aspects of health and safety at work;

46. Calls for the establishment of an operational framework for cooperation between the Commission and the Member States; regards the setting up of national contact points for each piece of EU social legislation merely as a step in the right direction;

47. Takes the view that the social partners and other actors in society have an increasingly important role to play in ensuring proper transposition and implementation of EU law; urges the Commission to promote this new role on the basis of the provisions of the Agreement on social policy;

48. Believes that particular attention should be given to the participation and needs of SMEs and VSEs, including the craft sector, in the implementation process; calls therefore on the Commission to provide the necessary technical and financial support, notably through the forthcoming SAFE programme;

49. Is convinced that an implementation strategy requires strengthened efforts, both at EU and national level, to produce, distribute and apply the relevant knowledge in a correct and socially effective way;

Part IX - Public Health

50. Calls on the Commission:

(a) to present, in its health data indicators programme, proposals for the proper harmonization of health definitions and data, set up a Community Epidemiology Unit, and determine the criteria for a minimum level of health protection which every Member State must guarantee its citizens;

(b) to draw up proposals to promote the rational use of pharmaceuticals, and to develop new forms of care geared to improving patients' quality of life, particularly that of the dependent elderly;

(c) to present guidelines on incorporating health protection requirements in the other Community policies;

(d) to present, under the proper procedures, the action programmes for rare diseases, pollution-related diseases, and voluntary and involuntary accidents and injuries;

(e) to incorporate into the medium-term social action programme new initiatives to combat cardio-vascular diseases, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease, ensure the safety of blood transfusions and self-sufficiency in blood supplies, and provide access to health care and health services for every citizen travelling within the European Union;

(f) to investigate how far the 'emergency social assistance' measures tried in some Member States with the aim of supporting victims of social exclusion can be extended to the whole of the Union;

(g) to study the possibility of introducing Union-level controls concerning minimum standards for the transport of organs;

FINAL CONCLUSIONS

51. Urges greater involvement of Parliament in proposals under consideration for the Social Protocol;

52. Is of the view that the forthcoming IGC should provide a specific legal basis for social policy that does not require unanimity in the Council; regrets the piecemeal manner in which EU social policy has advanced over the years due to frequent recourse to Article 235 which allows a minority to block the majority;

53. Expresses the wish that the Commission, in its forthcoming Work programme for 1996, will put forward legislative proposals on individual dismissals of workers, data protection for employees, holiday and sick pay, working time directives for those sectors excluded from the Working time Directive, as well as social dialogue actions;

54. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the European Council, the Council, the Commission, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the European social partners.