In a report on what the EU should do to boost jobs and achieve sustainable growth, the EU executive advocates a combination of flexibility and security, or "flexicurity (Scotsman, 20/11/06)
EU to call for more labour-law flexibility By Jan Strupczewski BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union should modernise labour laws to meet the economy's need of greater flexibility, but also seek to maximise worker protection, the European Commission will say this week. In a report on what the EU should do to boost jobs and achieve sustainable growth, the EU executive advocates a combination of flexibility and security, or "flexicurity," to help the European labour market take on the double challenge of fierce Asian competition and an ageing society. "Rapid technological progress, increased competition stemming from globalisation, changing consumer demand and significant growth of the services sector have shown the need for increased flexibility," the report, to be adopted by the Commission on Wednesday, said. "The traditional model of the employment relationship may not prove well suited to all workers on regular permanent contracts facing the challenge of adapting to change and seizing the opportunities that globalisation offers," it said. "Overly protective terms and conditions can deter employers from hiring during economic upturns," it said. The report, meant to spark an open public debate about the changes necessary to labour laws over the next four months, comes at a time when Europe is seeking ways to adjust its economy to global competition. The European Commission has made improving the EU's labour market its top priority as it seeks to raise economic growth rates and productivity of the 25-nation bloc, now lagging behind other large economies alike the United States. But attempt to diminish worker protection laws in France earlier this year sparked violent street protests, showing how politically difficult such changes can be. LOOKING TO SCANDINAVIA The Commission noted in the report that stringent employment protection was not the answer, because it led to lower dynamism of the labour market and worsened employment prospects for women, youths and older workers. "Workers feel better protected by unemployment benefit than by employment protection legislation," it said in an apparent reference to the Scandinavian model of protecting the worker, not the job. The report also signals the need for an EU-wide legal definition of a worker in response to greater workforce mobility and changes to EU working time laws. It also highlights the problem of "black" or undeclared work, which it calls a particularly worrying and enduring feature of today's labour markets, often across borders. "Being the main contributing factor to social dumping, it is responsible not only for the exploitation of workers but also for distortions to competition," the report said. It calls, therefore, for more effective cooperation between government enforcement agencies in EU member states to reduce the incentives to undeclared work. One of the steps towards greater flexibility was a wider choice of work contracts -- part-time, fixed-term, and self- employed, in addition to the standard full-time permanent jobs. The Commission said the number of workers who did not have a full-time permanent contract has increased to almost 40 percent of the EU's workforce last year from 36 percent in 2001. But it also warned that there was a risk associated with the growing popularity of other types of contracts. "There is a risk that part of the workforce gets trapped in a succession of short-term, low-quality jobs with inadequate social protection leaving them in a vulnerable position," it said. (c) Reuters 2006. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world. This article: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1717002006
Workers at the Amazon.co.uk warehouse
north of London, November 17, 2006.
REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
Mon 20 Nov 2006
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