Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Employment support measures
Date: 2004-02-26
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: EU employment policy, European Employment Strategy, employment aid, fight against unemployment, job mobility, vocational training, youth unemployment

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Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Employment support measures

(2004/C 110/22)

On 17 July 2003, the European Economic and Social Committee decided to draw up an opinion, in
accordance with Rule 29(2) of its Rules of Procedure, on Employment support measures.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee's work on this subject, adopted its opinion on 4 February 2004. The rapporteur was
Mrs Hornung-Draus. The co-rapporteur was Mr Greif.

At its 406th plenary session, held on 25 and 26 February 2004 (meeting of 26 February), the European
Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 102 votes to 10 with 11 abstentions:

1. Summary and overall appraisal

The EESC welcomes the report of the Employment Taskforce,
chaired by Wim Kok, which has succeeded in presenting a
largely balanced analysis of
facing
employment policy. The report graphically demonstrates to the
Member States the pressing need for reform.

the current challenges

1.1
The method adopted by the Taskforce, namely using
benchmarking and the identification of good practice to make
specific proposals for improvements to employment-policy
measures,
is a welcome approach. The EESC considers the
following measures referred to by the Taskforce as particularly
important with a view to strengthening the EU's international
competitiveness, in a manner which safeguards social stability,
and creating more jobs:

— promotion of an entrepreneurial culture and reduction of
excessive administrative and regulatory obstacles to new
company start-ups and entrepreneurial activity;

— strengthening of innovation and research by stepping up
investment
the same time,
in these fields, whilst, at
promoting a climate which is favourable to innovation;

— creation of greater flexibility for workers and employers,
without losing sight of the necessary balance between flex-
ibility and job security on the labour market, it being parti-
cularly important to link new forms of labour market flex-
ibility with new forms of job security;

— setting of taxes and social security contributions in such a
way that they do not act as a brake on recruitment, as long
as this does not jeopardise the financial basis and the social
function of social security systems;

— increasing the participation rate of women by creating
favourable conditions for combining family and career,
particularly with regard to childcare;

— creation of incentives for workers to retire later and for
employers to take on and retain older workers by means of
appropriate general personnel policy and labour market
conditions;

— raising the basic level of education, efforts to improve basic
education in schools and basic vocational training, together
with endeavours to coordinate university education more
effectively with the requirements of the labour market;

— promotion of lifelong learning, involving all relevant actors

– government, individuals and business;

— urgently needed stepping-up of measures to combat unem-
ployment at all levels: in the EU, at national level and at
local level;

— strengthening the role of national parliaments and the
social partners in the process of drawing up national action
plans.

The EESC is glad that

1.2
the Taskforce deals with the
implementation of the proposed reforms. In this area in par-
ticular increased efforts are needed in many cases. More needs
to be done than hitherto to convince the public that economic-
ally and socially balanced structural reforms result
in the
strengthening of Europe and the improvement of the labour-
market situation.

The EESC also regards certain aspects of the Taskforce's report
critically:

— it would have been a good idea for the Taskforce, in some
parts of its report, to have dealt more comprehensively
with the employment-policy challenges, e.g. by focusing
more sharply on the teaching of science and the imparting
of key social
to
successful entrepreneurial activity;

the reduction of obstacles

skills or

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— the report fails to give due acknowledgement to the fact
that, in addition to structural measures with regard to the
labour market, a successful employment policy depends on
growth and employment-orientated macroeconomic policy;

of the autonomous labour market partners at all levels and at
the European Employment Strategy from the
all stages of
formulation of the strategy right through to its implementation
and its appraisal, and by involving national parliaments in the
corresponding procedures at national level. In order to make
this possible, the respective timetables will have to be aligned.

— the report does not address in appropriate detail the key
issue of promoting the sustained integration of young
people into the labour market. Furthermore, the report fails
to address – over and above the undisputed role played by
the social partners in this field – the importance of social
bodies such as NGOs, welfare associations and cooperatives,
which work on behalf of unemployed persons and the
victims of social exclusion;

— statutory compulsory contributions from all companies are
suggested as one of the possible solutions to the problem of
the allocation between employers of the costs of investment
in human capital. In view of the specific features of the
respective Member States
is, however, questionable
it
whether adopting such an approach, throughout the EU, is
the right way to promote investment in human capital. It
would be desirable in some cases, rather to promote wider
use of voluntary solutions involving the use of pools and
funds,
including agreements between the social partners,
e.g. at local, regional, sectoral or national levels, in order to
enable, in particular SMEs, to step up their investment in
human resources;

— whilst a balance has been found in the thematic chapters of
the report between the promotion of labour-market flex-
ibility and security, the right balance is not struck in, in par-
ticular, the concluding Chapter 5 on governance, to the
detriment of the necessary security, which a flexible labour
market needs to have;

— the question as to the impact of EU-level legislation on the

current employment situation is not addressed;

— the Report fails adequately to address the relation between
active measures to stimulate increased employment – as
mentioned in the Report – which are bound to result in
additional costs to be met by the public purse, and the
demand that
these reforms be implemented within the
budgetary constraints deriving from the Growth and Stabi-
lity Pact.

1.3
The employment trend is a key issue for the EESC; it
intends to keep a very close watching brief on the situation and
to actively follow up developments. The EESC hopes that its
above observations will be taken into account in the ensuing
discussions on this issue.

1.4
In this context the EESC reiterates its firm belief, which
it has already expressed on many occasions, namely that the
chief way to achieve this goal is through the close involvement

2. Introduction

A high level of employment is a vital basis for sustain-
2.1
able development in society. Employment is a key prerequisite
for moulding the various social groups into a functioning
social system and it makes an essential contribution to social
integration. Employment also bridges
the generation gap
between young and old and brings together people from
various
totals are high
throughout the EU; safeguarding employment, enhancing the
quality of employment and increasing the number of jobs are
therefore pressing tasks.

regions and social

Jobless

strata.

Persistently high levels of unemployment - which are
2.2
now once again on the increase - in many EU Member States,
are giving rise to pressing economic and social problems. All
Member States are called upon to give the highest priority to
measures to improve the labour market situation by promoting
economic growth and a growth in employment and by redu-
cing the high level of unemployment. The aim is to translate
into reality the objectives for the EU defined in Lisbon in 2000.
According to these objectives, the EU should by 2010 become
‘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 goal
embraces the fields of economic growth (3 % per annum), jobs
(setting, in particular, the target of achieving an employment
rate of 70 %) and social cohesion.

2.2.1
The EESC has not wavered in its view that, when
compared with the Lisbon objectives – which it endorsed and
supported – considerable weaknesses and gaps remain in many
Member States, particularly with regard to the rate of employ-
ment, measures to combat unemployment, and productivity. (1)
In order to fill these gaps, there is also a need to start by exam-
ining the causes of the current situation. One of the factors
involved is the increasing pace of technological change which
makes it necessary for knowledge to be constantly adapted to
bring it into line with new requirements. Another factor is the
failure of the EU Member States to respond adequately to the
advance of globalisation which also obliges enterprises to make
structural adjustments with ever
increasing frequency and
speed, in order to remain competitive. Yet another factor is the
sometimes inadequate forecasting of skills requirements and
provision of the requisite training.

(1) EESC opinion on the European Employment Strategy (OJ C 133,

6.6.2003)

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2.2.2
problems,
addressed:

If there is to be an appropriate response to these
in particular, need to be

the following issues,

that

‘without

— measures to promote economic growth: coordinating the
timing of employment-policy guidelines and the broad
guidelines
for economic policies provides a means of
backing up the Lisbon objectives. A further means of
promoting these objectives is by seeking to interlink the
contents of the processes to a greater extent. The EESC
strong and sustainable
firmly believes
economic growth it will be difficult to achieve the [Lisbon]
objectives’. (2) The Lisbon objectives necessitate a stronger
orientation of EU economic policy towards the goal of
achieving a higher level of employment. Attention needs to
be paid not only to employment policy measures and
labour market policy measures but
also to general
economic policy in order to give a new impetus to growth
in Europe, as a prerequisite for improving the employment
the broad guidelines of
situation, by
economic policy in a more purposeful and effective way in
practice and by incorporating these guidelines more effec-
tively in other policy areas (3);

implementing

— international

trade,

free trade systems, globalisation:

in
these areas there will be opportunities to boost economic
growth and employment but there will also be new chal-
lenges to be met. One of the consequences will be that
enterprises will have to make structural adjustments ever
more frequently and rapidly in order to remain competitive.
This
impact on
economic and social development in the EU. It will affect
not only large enterprises but also, and in particular, small
enterprises. The EESC has also addressed this issue in a
number of opinions (4);

requirement will have

significant

a

— structures having a bearing on employment in the indivi-
dual EU Member States: in its report of November 2003,
the Taskforce on Employment set out practical reform
measures to be addressed by the EU Member States as of
now. These issues are examined in this own-initiative
opinion of the EESC.

The EESC welcomes the establishment of the European
2.3
Employment Taskforce, chaired by Wim Kok. This Taskforce
was set up at the European Summit held last spring with a
view to pinpointing the challenges facing employment policy
and putting forward practical proposals for reform, at both EU
level and at the level of the Member States, with a view to
providing further input
the EU employment
strategy. The Taskforce impresses upon the governments the
urgent need for far-reaching reform and urges both the current
EU Member States and the future Member States also to imple-
ment these reforms in reality.

in respect of

2.3.1
the report addresses the following issues:

The Taskforce submitted its report in November 2003;

(2) EESC opinion on the Proposal for a Council Decision on guidelines
for the employment policies of the Member States OJ C 208 of
3.9.2003

(3) EESC opinion on the Broad economic policy guidelines for 2003
(OJ C 133 of 6.6.2003); see also the EESC opinion on Economic
governance in the EU (OJ C 85 of 8.4.2003) and the EESC opinion
on Broad economic policy guidelines of 11.12.2003

(4) EESC Information Report on Coping with globalisation EESC
opinion entitled ‘For a WTO with a human face: the EESC's propo-
sals’ (OJ C 133, 6.6.2003); opinion on the preparation of the Fifth
WTO Ministerial Conference (OJ No. C 234 of 30.9.2003)

— adaptability (promotion of the establishment of new enter-
job-creation, development and
prises, maximization of
dissemination of innovation and research, promotion of
flexibility and security on the labour market);

— labour markets (need to make work pay, strengthening of
active employment measures,
increasing the number of
women in gainful employment, strategies for reacting to
the problem of the ageing population, integration of mino-
rities and immigrants);

— investments in human resources (achievement of a higher
level of education, allocation of costs and responsibilities,
facilitating access to lifelong learning);

— reform through mobility (mobilisation of society,

imple-
mentation of reforms, improving the leverage exercised by
EU instruments).

2.3.2
are of vital
employment and productivity; these factors are as follows:

The Taskforce report pinpoints four key factors which
importance in bringing about an increase in

— increased adaptability on the part of both workers and

enterprises;

— the need to make the labour market more attractive to a

larger number of people;

— increased and more effective investment in human capital;

— more effective implementation of reforms through the

introduction of better employment measures.

2.3.3
The EESC broadly welcomes the report submitted by
the Taskforce. The Employment Taskforce has succeeded in
drawing up a largely balanced analysis of current employment-
policy challenges. The EESC is, however, critical of certain
aspects.

The report demonstrates to political decision-makers in the
Member States and at EU level how urgent it is to introduce
and implement reforms to enable the European Union to
achieve the objective set
in Lisbon of becoming the most
competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the
world by 2010, capable of sustainable economic growth with
more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.

In order to assist the Lisbon Process, it is both important
2.4
and appropriate to carry out benchmarking as a learning
process at EU level, as part of
the European Employment
Strategy (EES), whilst leaving responsibility in the hands of the
individual Member States (5). The EU can propose a framework
to flesh it out. By
and encourage
pinpointing problems on the labour markets of the EU and
coordinating labour market measures at EU level,
the EES
makes a positive contribution towards providing a useful
framework and important stimuli for tackling challenges at
national and local levels. The Member States are urged to lose
no time in taking account of these stimuli in their policies.

the Member States

(5) EESC opinion on the European Employment Strategy (EES),
OJ C 133, 6.6.2003; EESC opinion on Employment policy guide-
lines, OJ C 208, 3.9.2003

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for

2.4.1
The new, medium-term orientation of the employ-
ment-policy guidelines, covering the period up to 2010, is the
right choice and one which makes sense (6). Greater stability
and a longer-term perspective serve to strengthen a policy
which seeks to back up short-term measures by adopting a
medium- and long-term orientation, thereby making it possible
fundamental pointers to the way forward. The
to set out
achievement of greater coherence and complementarity by
coordinating more effectively the time schedules
the
employment policy guidelines and the broad guidelines for
economic policies, together with the other processes covered
by the open method of
exclusion,
pensions, etc.) is helping to achieve the Lisbon objectives. In
the EESC's view efforts should be made to bring about a further
alignment of the contents of the coordination policies. At the
same time, even greater importance should be attached to the
aspects of implementing the guidelines in the Member States,
results and appraisal. The fact must also not be overlooked that
a successful European employment strategy, which boosts
employment, makes a key contribution to social integration. In
the objectives in
this context,
respect of economic employment and social policy set out at
the Lisbon European Council, form part of a coherent whole
and should not be considered in isolation.

the EESC would stress that

coordination (social

2.5
Europe is about to undergo major changes, not least
because of the forthcoming enlargement of the EU. The estab-
lishment of an internal market of over 450 million people, the
development of new markets, and the extension of cross-border
infrastructure will provide the whole of Europe with a new
economic impetus and also strongly influence developments in
the field of employment. The EU-wide employment objectives
set out in Lisbon are, in particular, about to be subjected to a
major test. The current Member States are therefore urged to
set national targets, also in the field of employment policy, in
such a way as to prepare themselves to meet the new chal-
lenges. The EU should, at the same time, pay particular atten-
tion to the needs of the new Member States when formulating
its employment strategy, so as to enable these states, too, to
achieve EU employment goals in reality. The EESC has already
addressed these issues in detail with representatives of orga-
nised civil society from the candidate countries within the
framework of the joint consultative committees. (7)

Measures for promoting employment

3. Increasing adaptability

Economic development and the employment trend are
3.1
closely linked. Economic growth and a climate which is propi-
tious for investment are the key prerequisites for the creation
of new jobs and the maintenance of existing employment.
Economic success provides the basis for sustained creation and
safeguarding of jobs. The establishment of a macro-economic
policy mix which promotes international competitiveness and
employment and embraces monetary, fiscal and wage policy

(6) EESC opinion on the employment policy guidelines (OJ C 208,

3.9.2003)

(7) See, amongst others, the following EESC documents: REX/130 –
2003 – Vocational training and lifelong learning and their impact
on employment in Estonia; REX/148 – 2003 – Joint declaration;
REX/087 – 2002 – The situation of the small and medium-sized
enterprises in Hungary compared to the SME policy of the EU

(whilst taking account of the responsibilities and autonomy of
is an essential prerequisite for
the various players involved)
bringing the EU economy back onto the road to growth in
such a way as to facilitate optimal exploitation of the growth
and employment potential of the EU.

3.2
To achieve this aim it is, in the EESC's view necessary to
provide enterprises with the general conditions which they
need in order to enhance their ability to act and to enable them
to focus on their core business activities and to create jobs,
whilst, at the same time, assuming their social responsibility (8).
With a view to enabling enterprises to exploit to the full their
potential to create jobs, the EESC draws attention to the call
made by the European Employment Taskforce for the establish-
ment and expansion of enterprises to be facilitated by, for
example, cutting down on excessive administrative and regula-
tory obstacles to the establishment and running of enterprises
and by providing these enterprises with a combination of
advice and support
through the establishment of one-stop
shops.

3.3
In addition to the promotion of existing businesses, in
particular SMEs, special attention should, in the EESC's view,
also be paid to developing the entrepreneurial spirit and
promoting business start-ups (9). The foundations of the entre-
preneurial spirit could already be laid while students are still
undergoing training. In 2000, the European Charter for Small
Enterprises set out key requirements which needed to be imple-
mented in order to strengthen small enterprises (10). The EESC
welcomes the fact that the Employment Taskforce is taking a
close look at the conditions which need to be met in order to
facilitate the establishment of enterprises. The Report rightly
highlights the particular need to reduce the amount of time it
takes to set up enterprises and the costs involved. There are
quite considerable differences between the Member States in
this context; these differences should be removed. The Report
of the Taskforce also identifies important general conditions
which need to be in place in order to promote the development
of SMEs, such as access to finance. Furthermore the consider-
able employment potential offered by SMEs should be exploited
and expanded. Attention should also be paid in this context to
promoting employment in micro-enterprises. In order to enable
people to set
themselves up in business as self-employed
persons and to prepare them for this activity, appropriate
training and support should be provided for the persons
concerned. By way of example, ‘one-stop shops’ for information
should be
should take
established. Young entrepreneurs
account of the development potential of particular sectors, such
as the care sector and the environmental sector. In this context,
the EESC has already drawn attention to the growing employ-
ment potential of the social economy (11). In its report the Task-
force calls upon the Member States to promote a culture of
entrepreneurship and to remove the stigma attached to busi-
ness failure. In the view of the EESC, too, these proposals for
tackling the issues involved are of key importance.

(8) EESC opinion of 20.3.2002 on the Green Paper entitled ‘Promoting
a European framework for corporate social responsibility’ (OJ C 125
of 27.5.2002)

(9) EESC opinion on the Green Paper on Entrepreneurship in Europe
(10) European Charter for Small Enterprises, June 2000; EESC opinion
on a European Charter for Small Enterprises, OJ C 204, 18.7.2002
(11) See the EESC opinion on the social economy and the single market

(OJ C 117 of 26.4.2000)

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report

In its

the Taskforce addresses

3.4
the issue of
promoting innovation and research and disseminating informa-
tion on this subject; the EESC also regards this approach as
making a key contribution towards boosting adaptability and
improving the quality of work. As a result of the increasing
level of integration brought about by globalisation, the ability
to innovate provides a key competitive advantage, for both
enterprises and workers. In this respect the EESC welcomes the
call made by the Taskforce for expenditure on R&D in the
Member States to be increased in accordance with the targets
set at the March 2003 European Council (3 % of GDP). It is,
however, also necessary to promote the creation of a climate
which is favourable to the transformation of ideas and research
into innovation.

3.5
The Member States are called upon to take the necessary
measures – in accordance with their respective national struc-
tures – to enable both enterprises and workers to respond
more effectively to the gathering pace of change. In the EESC's
view, it is important, in this context, to strike the right balance
between flexibility and security on the labour markets in order
to ensure that, on the one hand, enterprises are able to offer
more employment and that, on the other hand, workers are
provided with the requisite security. The EESC welcomes the
balanced approach adopted by the Taskforce on employment
in the chapter of its report dealing with the promotion of flex-
ibility and security on the labour market. Although social and
structural conditions differ from Member State to Member
State, they do have aspects in common, to which, in the EESC's
view, particular importance should be attached, namely:

— the modernisation and improvement of social security
systems, in order to bring them into line with the present
circumstances whilst, at the same time, maintaining their
social protection functions;

— enhancing entrepreneurial

flexibility by stepping up the
adjustment of the general conditions in order to bring them
into line with the needs of enterprises and their workforces
whilst, at the same time, ensuring adequate job security for
workers;

— promoting and consolidating flexible forms of employment,
such as temporary work, which may, if workers so wish,
serve as a springboard for providing access to lasting
employment; in this context, equal treatment and worker
protection provisions should also be respected. It is also
to promote innovative forms of organising
important
employment (e.g. teleworking). New forms of flexibility on
the labour market should go hand in hand with new forms
of security. In this context, the social partners have a very
important role to play in establishing the appropriate
inter alia in respect of collective
general conditions,
bargaining policy;

— promoting geographical mobility between EU Member
the respective
States and within the labour markets of
Member States, e.g. by taking steps to overcome linguistic
and cultural problems and to remove administrative
barriers.

4. Making the labour market more attractive to a larger

number of people

4.1
In calling for steps to be taken to ‘make work pay’, the
Employment Taskforce is addressing an important issue. Taxa-

tion and social security systems in the Member States should be
organised in such a way that it is worth their while for workers
who join the labour market to stay there and to advance their
careers. In the EESC's view, however, such a policy will only be
successful if it is backed up by measures to boost the number
of available jobs and - as pointed out by the Employment Task-
force – by measures to prevent people from being unable to
escape from badly paid or unskilled work or repeated periods
of unemployment. In this context, there is also an important
need to convert undeclared work into legal employment; as the
EESC already pointed out in its opinion on the future of the
European Employment Strategy (12),
this objective can be
attained by a combination of inspection measures and incen-
tives and also by cutting the tax on employment. Taxes, social
security contributions and the level of social security benefits
should be determined in such a way as to ensure that the
sound financial basis of the social security schemes and the
responsibilities of the State in the field of infrastructure are not
jeopardised.

as

employment

The EESC sees the promotion of active preventive
4.2
measures to assist unemployed persons and persons not in
gainful
a key objective. Labour-market
measures must be consistently geared to helping unemployed
persons to rejoin the mainstream labour market. Special impor-
tance should be attached to the evaluation of these measures. It
is also important to encourage unemployed persons to play an
active role themselves in seeking work. Obstacles to such an
active role should be removed, inter alia through the provision
of tailor-made services. Employment agencies have an impor-
tant role to play in this context. Efforts should be made to
achieve close collaboration between the employment services
and enterprises in order to facilitate flexible adjustments to
meet the changing requirements of the labour market. The
EESC also welcomes the recommendations made by the Task-
force in respect of prevention and encouraging unemployed
persons to play an active role in seeking work; in the event of
the restructuring of enterprises, priority should be given to
active, rather than passive, measures, including the provision of
information for employees and consultation of employees. The
European social partners have made an initial important contri-
bution in this context by publishing a document entitled
‘Orientations for reference in managing change and its social
consequences’ (13); this document is welcomed by the EESC.

4.3
It would have been desirable for the Taskforce to have
addressed more thoroughly the issue of measures to integrate
young people into the labour market and to combat youth
unemployment. Particularly against the background of a diffi-
cult economic situation and an overstretched labour market,
young people need to be provided with adequate assistance in
order to enable them to secure a foothold in the labour market.
With this aim in view, all of the labour-market players are
urged to carry out a review of their current contributions
towards combating young unemployment and their current
policies in this field. All training courses for young people,
particularly those geared towards
traditional occupations,
should include developing skills which are of importance in the
expanding knowledge-based society. The EESC has dealt with
this issue at length in a number of opinions (14).

(12) EESC opinion on the European Employment Strategy (OJ C 133 of

6.6.2003)

(13) Orientations for reference in managing change and its social conse-

quences – 16.10.2003, UNICE, ETUC, CEEP, UEAPME

(14) EESC Opinion on the European Commission White Paper entitled
‘A new impetus for European youth’ (OJ C 149 of 21.6.2002);
EESC Opinion on the White Paper on Youth Policy (OJ C 116 of
20.4.2001)

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4.4
Particular groups of individuals, such as persons with
together with particular
disabilities and less-skilled workers,
groups of immigrants, who have to contend with additional
difficulties on the labour market,
frequently require special
conditions to enable or to help them to find a job or remain in
employment. The integration of these people is an important
task for society. An active integration policy needs to be
pursued.
In order to enable the abovementioned groups of
people to join the labour market and to remain in employment,
there needs to be not just a change in the level of awareness of
all social groups, but the appropriate general economic and
personnel policy conditions also need to be created. Providing
these people with the requisite skills makes a valuable contribu-
tion towards enabling them to assert themselves. The over-
riding objective in this context should be to secure their lasting
integration into all forms of employment.

there is a need to have a labour market which also permits the
employment of older workers. With this aim in view, all
labour-market players need to take proactive measures,
including pursuing further training in order to improve qualifi-
cations and adopting flexible methods of organising work, as
pointed out in an investigation carried out by the Dublin-based
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and
Working Conditions (16). Special attention should be paid to
maintaining the working capacity of older workers. With this
aim in view, organisation of work and personnel management
in line with the needs of older people is just as important as
the need to take the requisite measures in the fields of health
and safety (17).

4.5
The EESC also welcomes the fact that the Employment
Taskforce has addressed the issue of increasing the labour force
participation rate of women. The EESC urges the Member
States to continue with their efforts to make the world of work
compatible with family life. The Lisbon European Council set
out a target of raising the employment rate of women from
54 % (in 2000) to 60 %. If this objective is to be attained, the
general conditions need to be improved in order to enable
women to take up employment. This is a task for society as a
whole. In particular, the provision of child-minding facilities
makes it possible to reconcile family and occupational obliga-
tions and enables women to continue to work in gainful
employment, or to rejoin the labour market quickly after a
break. The EESC therefore welcomes the call made by the
Council of
the European Union to the Member States to
remove the barriers preventing women from joining the labour
market and also to make child-minding facilities available (15).
The EESC likewise welcomes the call made by the Employment
Taskforce to public authorities to ensure that such services are
made available and affordable to the general public. It is also
important for the Employment Taskforce to address the subject
of flexible working-time arrangements, such as part-time work.
The EESC also calls upon the parties to collective agreements to
respect the principle of equal treatment for men and women in
their agreements.

4.6
In view of the fact that the working population is both
declining in number and ageing, the EU Member States are
more than ever dependent upon the knowledge, wealth of
experience and ability of older workers in order to enable them
to maintain the capacity for innovation and competitiveness on
a permanent basis. The promotion of
is an
important issue for the EESC. The EESC therefore welcomes the
call made by the Employment Taskforce for incentives to be
provided, on the one hand, for workers to retire later and, on
the other hand, for employers to take on and retain older
workers. If this is to be achieved in reality, there is a need to
create general economic and political conditions providing
stronger incentives for longer working careers and also making
it easier for enterprises to employ older workers, in particular.
With a view to promoting the employment of older workers,

‘active ageing’

(15) Council Decision on guidelines for the employment policies of the

Member States (2003/578/EC)

4.7
In view of the EU's declining labour force, the EESC has
recently also drawn attention to the role which immigrants can
play in ensuring that the EU labour market has an adequate
potential supply of skilled workers (18).

5. Investment in human capital

5.1
A good school education backed up by good vocational
training provides the key to a successful career. Europe is chan-
ging and becoming a ‘knowledge-based Europe’. The EESC has,
in earlier opinions, repeatedly drawn attention to the impor-
tance of education and intensively addressed the issue (19). The
EESC welcomes the fact that the Employment Taskforce places
special emphasis on education. The foundations of education
are laid in schools. It is particularly important to reduce the
number of pupils dropping out of school without having
achieved an adequate level of skills and ability, as stressed by
the Employment Taskforce in its report. The aim is to ensure
that young people possess at
the basic qualifications
which are vital to ensuring that they have a successful start to
their working careers. In order to achieve this, there is a need
to make schools more attractive, without cutting back on the
quality of education. In the field of vocational training, too, in
which the social partners have traditionally played an impor-
tant role, it is essential to have an efficient system geared not to
just meeting the general educational objectives but also to
meeting the needs of the labour market.

least

(16) European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working
Conditions document entitled ‘Combating age barriers in employ-
ment’; in this context see also the EESC opinion on Older workers
(OJ C 14 of 16.1.2001

(17) EESC opinion of 20.3.2002 on the Green Paper entitled ‘Promoting
a European framework for corporate social responsibility’ (OJ C
125 of 27.5.2002)

(18) See the EESC opinion of 10.12.2003 on the Communication from
integration and employment

the Commission on immigration,
(SOC/138)

(19) See, amongst others, the EESC opinions on the following subjects:
The European dimension of education:
its nature, content and
prospects (OJ C 139, 11.5.2001); Lifelong learning (OJ C 311,
7.11.2001); European benchmarks in education and training (OJ C
133, 6.6.2003); the eLearning Action Plan – Designing tomorrow's
education (OJ C 36, 8.2.2002); and the eLearning Programme (OJ
C 133, 6.6.2003)

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Official Journal of the European Union

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5.2
The EESC calls for a further expansion of higher educa-
tion. The call made by the Employment Taskforce for measures
to be taken to enable a larger percentage of the population to
study at colleges or universities pinpoints a desirable objective.
There can, however, be no question of accepting a drop in the
quality of higher education. The establishment of a ‘European
Higher Education Area’ is a further important step. The EESC
has long been calling for efforts to establish a ‘European
Learning Area’ to be stepped up (20). Qualifications need to be
recognised throughout Europe and to be internationally trans-
parent. The EESC therefore welcomes the decision taken by the
European science ministers (21) to introduce the internationally
recognised university degrees of ‘master’ and ‘bachelor’ in the
next few years. With a view to making it easier for graduates to
embark upon their professional careers, curricula should be
examined to determine their relevance to the modern world of
work.

5.3
The field of lifelong learning has an important role to
play with regard to all groups of employees. The term ‘lifelong
learning’ covers, in particular, lifelong, systematic and proactive
endeavours by EU citizens to equip themselves, through educa-
tion, to meet the present-day needs of everyday life (22). In addi

tion to employees themselves, enterprises also have an interest
in recognising and increasing occupational abilities. The EESC
welcomes the fact that the Employment Taskforce also sees the
public authorities as key players in this field. The social part-
ners, too, have an important role to play here. As the benefits
of lifelong learning are enjoyed by workers, enterprises and
society as a whole, it is also natural that responsibility for orga-
nising lifelong learning and for meeting the attendant costs
should also be shared. The provision of high-quality initial and
further training gives employees the opportunity to acquire the
necessary skills, reduces the risk of unemployment, increases
the prospects of finding employment and therefore also helps
to combat social exclusion.
Investment in providing higher
qualifications and strategies for lifelong learning are key factors
with regard to the future competitiveness of European enter-
prises and are therefore rightly accorded a position of promi-
nence in the European Employment Strategy. There is a need
to strengthen initial and further training facilities, as regards
their ability to provide students with the relevant skills,
in
order to improve the career development prospects of workers
and to give them a better chance to find a job. The EESC
welcomes the fact that the social partners have pursued this
approach in the ‘Framework of Actions for the Lifelong Devel-
opment of Competences and Qualifications’ (23).

Brussels, 26 February 2004.

The President

of the European Economic and Social
Committee

Roger BRIESCH

(20) See, especially, the EESC opinion on the European Dimension of
Education: its nature, content and prospects (OJ C 139, 11.5.2001)
(21) Communiqué of the Conference of Ministers responsible for Higher

Education in Berlin on 19 September 2003

(22) Opinion of the EESC on lifelong learning (OJ C 311, 7.11.2001)

(23) Framework of Actions for the Lifelong Development of Compe-

tences and Qualifications, published on 14.3.2002

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Official Journal of the European Union

30.4.2004

APPENDIX

to the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee

Rejected amendment

The following amendment, which was supported by a quarter of the votes cast, was rejected in the course of the debate.

Point 3.5, third bullet point

‘promoting and consolidating flexible forms of employment, such as temporary work, which may, if workers so
wish, serve as a springboard for providing access to lasting employment; in this context, equal treatment and
worker protection provisions should also be respected. It is also important to promote innovative forms of orga-
nising employment (e.g. teleworking). New forms of flexibility on the labour market should go hand in hand with
new forms of security. In this context, the social partners have a very important role to play in establishing the
appropriate general conditions, inter alia in respect of collective bargaining policy;

Delete the first two sentences and change the following two sentences so that the text reads as follows:

‘New forms of flexibility on the labour market should go hand in hand with new forms of security. The general
conditions for this should be established by the social partners through collective bargaining.’

Reason

The statement to promote temporary work cannot be an acceptable policy. There are situations where such forms of
employment are necessary but the promotion should be for lasting employment. Flexible forms should be considered an
exception to this. The rules for flexible employment should always be a question for the social partners.

Voting:

For: 53, against: 67, abstentions: 4.