Commission to cancel Labour Market Communication[fr][de] 

In the latest draft for a revised Green Paper on labour law , which EurActiv has seen, any reference to the Communication that was going to be published at the same time has been deleted. Instead, the Commission now plans to hold the consultation based on the Green Paper only. The communication, the purpose of which, according to an earlier draft , was to look into "how existing policies can be made more effective in order to ensure a better functioning European labour market", has been cancelled. The Commission plans to use part of the text for a Communication on flexicurity to be published in June 2007 (see "Positions"). 

The consultation will be open for three months, as opposed to the original plan's four. It will be followed by a Communication on the flexicurity approach to labour market issues, to be presented in 2007. This second Communication, which, according to the Commission, "will set out to develop the arguments in favour of the 'flexicurity' approach and to outline a set of common principles to help member states steer the reform efforts", was already foreseen in the Commission's initial proposal. It could be published towards the end of the German Presidency, in mid-2007. 

Reacting to business concerns on earlier drafts of the Green Paper, the paper has undergone a redraft that avoids reference to what was earlier-on called "the standard employment relationship model". Instead, it talks of the "blurring of boundaries between employment and self-employment and the proliferation of hybrid forms of employment that have proved difficult to capture through standard statistical and survey methods". A passage stating that, besides labour law, "other policy instruments are needed" has lost its normative wording and now merely points out that these other instruments, such as life-long learning and active labour market policies, exist. 

A passage has been added stating that "Overly protective terms and conditions can [...] deter employers from hiring during economic upturns." Another new paragraph points to "the evolving relationship between law and collective agreements", in which the latter "no longer play a merely auxiliary role in complementing working conditions already defined by law", but also "serve as important tools adjusting legal principles to specific economic situations and to the particular circumstances of specific sectors".  

A chapter formerly referring to "Disguised employment" is now called "Uncertainty with regard to the law", and what was called "Disguised self-employment" is now referred to as "Deliberate mis-classification of self-employment". 

However, business may still not be entirely happy with the new consultation paper. Many of the disputed passages have just been balanced, not removed, and in some cases the Commission added new paragraphs, possibly from the cancelled Communication, to make its point. 

Among the questions to be asked in the consultation are the following (for the first set of questions, see EurActiv, 4 October 2006):

1. Following a proposal made by the UK Permanent Representative for rewording the former question, the phrase "What would you consider to be the priorities for a reform agenda?" has been added. 

2. New: "How can the adaptation of labour law and collective agreements contribute to improved flexibility and employment security and a reduction in labour market segmentation?"  

3. New: "Do existing regulations, whether in the form of law and/or collective agreements, hinder or stimulate enterprises and employees seeking to avail of opportunities to increase productivity and adjust to the introduction of new technologies and changes linked to international competition? Can improvements be made in the quality of regulations affecting SMEs, while preserving their objectives?" 

4. New: "How might recruitment under permanent and temporary contracts be facilitated, whether by law or collective agreement, so as to allow for more flexibility within the framework of these contracts while also ensuring adequate standards of employment security and social protection for all?" 

8. New: Is there a need for a 'floor of rights' to safeguard the working conditions of all workers regardless of the form of their work contract? If so, what should those rights be? 

9. (Former question 7): Wording changed to delete implication that regulation might be needed to make employers honour commitments to workers. Do you think the responsibilities of the various parties within multiple employment relationships should be clarified to determine who is accountable for compliance with employment rights? Would subsidiary liability be an effective and feasible way to establish that responsibility in the case of sub-contractors? If not, do you see other ways to ensure adequate protection of workers in "three-way relationships"?  

11. New: How could minimum requirements concerning the organisation of working time be modified in order to provide greater flexibility for both employers and employees, while ensuring a high standard of protection of workers' health and safety? 

13. New: Do you think it is necessary to reinforce administrative co-operation between the relevant authorities to boost their effectiveness in enforcing Community Labour Law? Do you see a role for social partners in such cooperation?  

14. New: Do you consider that further initiatives are needed at an EU level to support action by member states to combat undeclared work?

Katharina von Schnurbein, spokeswoman to Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Vladimír Špidla, declared: "A look into the Work Programme of the Commission for 2006 shows that it was never forseen to publish a Communication on labour markets together with the green paper on labour law. In the process of drafting the Green Paper, Commission Services used an issues paper which merely describes and analyses the situation on the European labour market. This paper was used as a basis for discussion, for instance for a very fruitful debate at the Commissioners' breakfast meeting on 4 October 2006. I expect that various parts of the issue paper will be used for the Commission's Communication on flexicurity to be published in June 2007, together with contributions which we will receive from Member States, Social Partners and other stakeholders in the context of the green paper."  

In an interview with EurActiv, ETUC Confederal Secretary Catelene Passchier said about earlier drafts of the Green Paper: "We would also criticise the paper, but we would do so on the grounds that, in many fields, it does not provide proper analysis and is very weak in its suggested actions. For instance, there is a very simplistic and biased assumption in it that the cause of all the trouble is that the normal standard employment relationship is too well protected. We would clearly need to point out the fact that 'normal' workers are also increasingly under pressure of deregulation and cuts into social protection."

At the same time, UNICE Director for Social Affairs Thérèse de Liedekerke said: "[The draft Green Paper] doesn't announce policies as such, but it asks questions, which relate for example to the necessity of an EU-definition of an employee. This question seems to indicate that the solution to the EU's employment and growth problem is to have a harmonised definition at EU level of people with employment contracts. Everyone knows that every single directive at EU level always refers the definition of people with an employment contract back to the member states - for very good reasons, for it would not be possible to agree, on a European level, on such a definition."