Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Council Decision on guidelines for Member States' employment policies for the year 2001"
Date: 2000-10-19
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: EU Member State, employment policy

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 14/75

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council Decision on
guidelines for Member States’ employment policies for the year 2001’

(2001/C 14/15)

On 28 September 2000 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under
Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 3 October 2000. The rapporteur was
Mr Beirnaert.

At its 376th plenary session on 19 October 2000, the Economic and Social Committee adopted the
following opinion with 104 votes in favour, no dissenting votes and two abstentions.

1.

Introduction

1.1.
Under Article 128 (2) of the Treaty, the Economic
and Social Committee must be consulted on proposals for
employment guidelines. As a forum of organised civil society,
the Committee attaches special importance to this consul-
tation. In this context, attention is drawn to the detailed ESC
opinions issued on the guidelines for 1999 and 2000 (1).

The Luxembourg process, based on the framing of guidelines
for employment policy and their transposition into national
action plans, is a key instrument of this strategy. The Lisbon
conclusions confirm and consolidate this process, while sug-
gesting a mid-term review which should ‘give a new impetus
to this process by enriching the guidelines and giving them
more concrete targets by establishing closer links with other
relevant policy areas and by defining more effective procedures
for involving the different actors.’

1.2.
The draft guidelines for 2001, the Joint Employment
Report for 2000 and the Member States’ recommendations
were adopted by the Commission on 6 September 2000.

1.5.
Following on from the conclusions of the Lisbon and
Feira Summits, the mid-term review and labour market trends,
the 2001 guidelines emphasise in particular:

1.3.
Although, in accordance with the referral, this opinion
will be limited to an appraisal of the new employment
guidelines, the Committee will also issue an own-initiative
opinion to assess the Luxembourg process mechanism in
connection with the Cardiff and Cologne processes. The
Committee believes that there should be a debate on the
procedures followed, the respective roles of the Community
institutions and the social partners, the number and structure
of the guidelines and the qualitative nature of the progress
recorded.

1.4.
The guidelines for 2001 are influenced by the con-
clusions of the Lisbon Summit, which set a strategy for the
decade ahead — to make the European Union ‘the most
competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the
world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and
better jobs and greater social cohesion’.
‘This strategy is
designed to enable the Union to regain the conditions for full
employment ...’.

(1) Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the Implemen-
tation of the Employment Policy Guidelines, OJ C 209, 22.7.1999
and OJ C 368, 20.12.1999.

— the catalyst key objective of full employment;

— the vital need for lifelong learning;

— closer involvement of the social partners in the process;

— the need for balanced implementation of the various

pillars;

— the need for quantitative and qualitative indicators.

The Committee fully endorses these key points, which it has
already highlighted in its earlier opinions.

2. General comments

2.1.
In 1999, 2,1 million new jobs were created, rep-
resenting a growth in employment of 1,4 %. The unemploy-
ment level dropped from 10 % in July 1998 to 9,3 % in
July 1999. However, this undoubtedly positive trend in the
employment markets cannot hide certain evident weaknesses
which call for special attention. For example:

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— despite an improvement in the employment situation for
women — 52 % of new jobs are occupied by women —
there remains a significant gap (19 %) in relation to that
of men;

— although the employment of older workers has benefited
to a modest extent from the general upturn, the level of
activity in the 50-64 age group remains limited to 48.6 %;

— the proportion of

long-term unemployed — which
includes the particularly vulnerable category of young
people unable to complete their studies — is still high:
46 % in 1999;

— tensions, or indeed bottlenecks, are increasingly found on
the labour markets as a result of a lack of skilled workers;

— the creation of a climate favourable to investment and

the growth of domestic demand;

— moderate wage rises and maintenance of the regulatory

function of collective wage agreements;

— a reduction of labour factor costs by cutting down on

statutory non-wage benefits;

— active measures in favour of employment, along with

incentives to take up work;

— structural reforms of the economy to improve competi-

tiveness.

— regional differences in unemployment rates continue to
be high — and are even tending to increase — in many
Member States.

3.

Specific comments on the employment guidelines
for 2001

the fact

2.2.
The job market policies pursued in the Member States
must, therefore, pay particular attention to these aspects,
especially in view of
that pockets of structural
unemployment are accompanied by skill shortages. This
situation further highlights the importance of training and
retraining policies that are sufficiently geared to labour market
requirements. The Member States must therefore make it a
priority to adapt their policies in this area. The Committee
believes that policy success will depend on and be gauged by
close and effective cooperation between all training operators
and the social partners. The Committee would also stress the
valuable contribution to be made by NGOs in the area of
training.

3.1. On the thrust of the 2001 guidelines

While the Committee takes the view that maintaining the four
basic pillars is the right approach — it is desirable to allow
time for the measures taken at national level to have an effect
and to maintain consistency in policies — it does think it
necessary to emphasise additional new points taking account
of the objectives set by the Lisbon Summit and of sociological,
economic and social policy developments in the Member
States (health and safety, training, social exclusion etc.). The
Committee therefore supports the Commission’s approach.

2.3.
Labour market policies must be particularly attentive
to these more specific aspects. However, the Committee takes
the view that governments still need to base all their policies
on the promotion of employment. An integrated policy is
therefore required. On this note, the Lisbon Council was right
to emphasise the positive impact of research and development
Jobs can also be generated by a
policy in job creation.
legislative environment
is favourable to investment,
that
innovation and entrepreneurship. As the Committee opinion
on the 1999 employment guidelines pointed out, studies on
the preconditions for a successful employment policy point to
a number of factors (1):

— a comprehensive macro-economic approach;

(1) Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the implemen-
tation of the employment policy guidelines for 1999, OJ C 209,
22.7.1999.

3.1.1. I m p r o v i n g e m p l o y a b i l i t y

The Committee recalls the overall objective set by the Lisbon
‘to raise the employment rate from an average of
Summit:
61 % today to as close as possible to 70 % by 2010 and to
increase the number of women in employment from an
average of 51 % today to more than 60 % by 2010’.

Meeting this objective will require the Member States to
confront the unavoidable challenge of investing more in the
training of workers and jobseekers through lifelong training.
That training must meet the needs of companies in both
market and non-market sectors and be forward-looking. Such
efforts should boost the participation of young people, women
and older workers in the labour market. The Committee
therefore shares the Commission’s approach of prioritising
active measures in favour of employment, while stressing the
crucial importance for employment of training measures.

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3.1.1.1.
The Committee endorses the merging of guideline
1 (new start for young unemployed) with guideline 2 (new
start for unemployed adults) since this combination is intended
to stress the need for comprehensive preventive measures.
However, the Committee emphasises that the greater vulner-
ability of young people and adults threatened with long term
unemployment calls for increased efforts. Experience shows
that young people who leave school with poor qualifications
represent a particularly at-risk group. The guidelines therefore
call for appropriate assistance to be provided for these young
people. The Committee recommends that they be guided
towards suitable branches of education.

In the own-initiative opinion which it issued with
3.1.1.2.
a view to the Lisbon Summit, the Committee stressed the
importance of giving women greater access to new tech-
nologies. This is one of the most decisive ways of furthering
equality of opportunity in the information society. Weaknesses
in this field must be remedied to ensure that women are not
driven out of the labour market.

3.1.1.3.
Raising the level of employment depends in part
on improving the level of employment among older workers.
In the own-initiative opinion which the Committee is prepar-
ing on older workers, stress is laid on the need for a policy of
maintaining employability throughout
life and retraining
wage-earners over 40. The Committee is therefore pleased to
note that in the third guideline, the Commission proposes
positive measures to maintain the capacity and skills of
workers, introduce flexible working arrangements and raise
employers’ awareness of the potential of older workers. The
advantage of the guideline formula is that it entrusts Member
States with operational responsibilities through a joint frame-
work.

3.1.1.4.
The Committee has always been acutely aware of
the difficulties of underprivileged groups and individuals, such
as the disabled, ethnic minorities and migrant workers, where
the labour market is concerned. It is therefore fully in favour
of the call in the eighth guideline for a policy to combat
discrimination in access to the labour market. All the leading
players should be involved in this policy of opening up the
labour market. The Committee also supports the Commission’s
proposal to organise a European year for the disabled. It is of
the opinion, however, that the guidelines on employability
could have reflected the need to give special attention to the
disabled.

at risk, in order to avoid marginalisation, should involve the
associations concerned, especially those who work with the
disabled.

3.1.2. D e v e l o p i n g e n t r e p r e n e u r s h i p

3.1.2.1.
A policy of business creation is a key element of
any successful employment policy. It has to be noted that,
despite undoubted improvements, the proliferation of red tape
continues to dissuade people from setting up firms. It also
slows down the growth of small and large companies, which
In the
also have to face increasingly tough competition.
opinion issued with a view to the Lisbon Summit,
the
Committee stressed the need to remove the obstacles to
company formation and development (1). This argument is in
line with the concerns expressed in the European Charter
for Small Enterprises, which the Committee supports and
according to which small businesses are an irreplaceable source
of jobs, especially in the services sector (2). In this context the
Committee also wishes to highlight the full importance of
cutting red tape and reducing administrative charges so as
to promote the setting-up of businesses in unemployment
blackspot regions.

As the Commission noted, efforts to reduce fiscal
3.1.2.2.
labour costs remain slow in many of the
and para-fiscal
Member States. Reducing these costs has proved to be an
important factor, among others, in promoting employment in
several countries. Like the Commission, the Committee feels
that these reforms must be implemented without jeopardising
the financial balance of the social security systems.

3.1.3. E n c o u r a g i n g a d a p t a b i l i t y o f b u s i n e s s -

e s a n d t h e i r e m p l o y e e s

3.1.3.1.
The Committee shares the Commission’s view that
the ‘adaptability pillar’ should receive more attention from the
Member States and the social partners, whose important role
the Commission is right to emphasise. Organisation of work
is still too bound up with traditional patterns which block or

The Committee believes that the guideline’s invitation to
Member States to develop pathways consisting of effective
measures to promote the integration of groups and individuals

(1) Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on Employment,
economic reform and social cohesion — Towards a Europe of
innovation and knowledge, OJ C 117, 26.4.2000, p. 62.

(2) Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the European

Charter for Small Companies, OJ C 204, 18.7.2000.

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slow down the necessary adaptation to market fluctuations; in
parallel, protection of social rights must take account of
society’s changing values. Career breaks, leave of absence for
domestic reasons, time credit and part-time working formulae,
for example, must allow for social and family concerns and for
lifelong training.

3.1.3.2.
In its opinion on safety and health in the workplace,
the Committee took the view that this subject should be
covered by one of the employment guidelines. ‘An effective
health and safety policy is warranted not just for obvious
human reasons and because of the economic cost of accidents
and illness, but also because it enhances worker employability
and productivity and boosts employment (1)’. The Committee
is therefore pleased to note that the Commission has accom-
modated these concerns in its proposals.

3.1.4. S t r e n g t h e n i n g e q u a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s

In the Committee’s view, the guidelines must reflect the
conclusion of the Lisbon Summit in calling for the boosting of
all aspects of equal opportunities; this includes making it easier
to reconcile work and family life, in particular by setting a new
benchmark for improved child care provision. The Committee
also feels that it could be useful to follow more closely the
practical application of the directives on equal treatment of

(1) Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on Health and

safety in the workplace, OJ C 051, 23.2.2000, p. 33-41.

Brussels, 19 October 2000.

men and women. The Committee will address the issue of
equal treatment in access to employment in a separate opinion.

3.2.

Implementing mechanisms

3.2.1.
The Committee notes that despite the importance
attached by the Community institutions to involving the social
partners in the employment process (and not just in the
preparation and implementation of the national action plans),
in practice the same priority is not evident in all the Member
States, and particularly at the time when the national action
plans are assessed by the European Commission. It therefore
endorses the Lisbon appeal to involve the social partners more
closely in the Luxembourg process. Meanwhile, both the
Commission and Member States must leave the social partners
room to play out their role, by avoiding inappropriate or
their
premature intervention and enabling them to fulfil
responsibilities in their field of expertise.

3.2.2.
This role of the social partners is all the more justified
given the emphasis placed by the Lisbon Summit on a ‘new
open method of coordination as the means of spreading best
practice and achieving greater convergence towards the main
EU goals’. This method has indeed proved itself in the field of
employment policy, for which the primary responsibility rests
on the Member States.

3.2.3.
The Committee welcomes the growing consistency
and linkage between the priorities of the employment guide-
lines, the programming documents approved by the European
Social Fund committee and the main points of the social
agenda proposed by the Commission.

The president

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke FRERICHS