Employment and social affairs ministers are meeting for a three-day informal summit in Berlin, to discuss future social models in Europe and reforms necessary to reconcile the needs for flexibility and social security.
Ministers will discuss “Good jobs”, defined along the following lines:
- Fair wages;
- protection against health risks at work;
- workers’ rights to assert their interests and to participate;
- family-friendly working arrangements, and;
- enough jobs.
The German government points out that “good jobs” correspond to the concept of flexicurity and that major elements for good jobs are:
- Working conditions promoting lifelong learning and possibilties of vocational further training;
- adequate income;
- social dialogue, dependent on national traditions;
- participation and co-determniation in companies;
- safety, health protection and prevention measures at the workplace;
- balance between flexibility and security;
- compatibility of work and private life, and;
- in-company integration management for the disabled.
The Commission added that the concept of quality work also cover “how best to regulate new and atypical forms of employment so as to avoid labour market segmentation”.