SOCIAL POLICY - ROME TREATY

1
SOCIAL POLICY - ROME TREATY

• BINDING PROVISIONS  
• Freedom of Movement of Workers (Arts 4849)  
• Social Security for Migrant Workers (Art 51)  
• Freedom of Establishment (Arts 52-58)  
• Equal Pay for Male and Female Workers (Art 119)
   
• The European Social Fund (Arts 123 - 128)  
• Approximation of Provisions affecting Common
  Market (Art 100)

2
SOCIAL POLICY - ROME TREATY (con)

• NON-BINDING PROVISIONS  
• Standard of Living, Working Conditions Social
  Field in General (Arts 117 118)  
• Paid Holiday Schemes (Art 120)  
• Common Vocational Training Policy (Art 128)  
• Social Provisions relating to CAP and Transport
  Policy    

3
ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS - SEA

• BINDING PROVISIONS  
• Approximation of National Provisions relating to
  Health, Safety, Environmental Consumer
  Protection (Art. 100a)
• The Working Environment - Health Safety of
  Workers ( Art. 118a)
• Economic and Social Cohesion of Community (Arts.
  130a to 130e)    
• NON-BINDING
• A Dialogue between Management Labour which
  could lead to relations based on Agreement (Art.
  118b)

4
EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND

• Role - Art. 123 To render employment of workers
  easier and to increase their
• geographical and occupational mobility  
• Ist Fund 60-71
• - Inadequate financial provisions
• - Could only intervene retroactively
• - Distributed money unevenly  
• 2nd Fund 71-83
• - Had larger budget
• - Could assist private bodies and even firms
• - Greater control  
• Review 77
• - At least 50 to go to backward regions
• - New regulations governing young people
• - Subsidies for Work Experience
• - Public Work Projects

5
EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND (con)

• 3rd Fund 83-88
• - Further increase in funds
• - At least 40 of total to go to poorer regions
• - 75 of remainder to go to young people (under
  25)  
• Structural Funds (89 - 93 94 - 99)  
• ESF will support measures aimed at
• - Placing in young people in jobs and combating
  long-term unemployment
• - Providing workers with the vocational skills
  that promote stability of employment
• - Expanding employment opportunities

6
LABOUR LAW

• Directives
• - transfer of Undertakings (Feb. '77)
• - protection against dismissal solely on grounds
  of transfer
• - insolvency of employers (Oct '80)
• Equal Treatment Men and Women 
• - Equal treatment, access to employment,
  vocational training (Feb. '76)  
• - Equal treatment - social security (Dec. '78)
   
• - Equal Treatment for anyone self employed (Dec.
  '86)
•  

7
SOCIAL CHARTER - SUMMARY

• Right to freedom of movement (1 - 6)  
• - restrictions still on grounds of public order,
  public safety or public
• health
• - obstacles also due to lack of mutual
  recognition of qualifications    
• Employment and remuneration (7-9)  
• - provision for basic minimum wage
• - access to public placement services free of
  charge    
• Improvement of living and working conditions
  (8-12)  
• - provision of maximum hours
• - annual paid leave
• - right to contract of employment

8
SOCIAL CHARTER (con)

• Right to social protection (13)  
• - provision for minimum income and social
  assistance (unemployed
• and elderly)    
• Right to freedom of association and collective
  bargaining (14-16)  
• - right to join unions and promotion of
  collective agreement (under
• European Law if agreed)    
• Right to vocational training (17-18)  
• - right to continued vocational training
  throughout one's lifetime    
• Equal treatment for men and women (19)  
• - equality in remuneration, access to
  employment, social protection,
• education and vocational training and
  career development  

9
SOCIAL CHARTER (con)

• Right of workers to information, consultation and
  participation (20-21)  
• - especially where technology, restructuring and
  bankruptcies are
• involved    
• Right to health protection and safety in
  workplace (22)  
• - emphasis on further harmonisation    
• Protection of children and adolescents (23-26)  
  
• - minimum employment age fixed at 16
• - workers under 18 not to work more than 40
  hours or perform night
• work
• - entitlement to 2 years vocational training
  (during work hours)  

10
SOCIAL CHARTER (con)

• Elderly persons (27-28)  
• - entitled to minimum income (if not receiving a
  pension)    
• Disabled persons (29-31)  
• - improved integration in society
•  

11
SOCIAL ACTION PROGRAMMES

• Amsterdam Treaty gave fresh impetus to European
  Social Policy by incorporating the Social Chapter
  and incorporating a new Employment Chapter
• - by placing employment firmly on the agenda
• - by requiring member states to better
  coordinate economic and
• employment policies
• - launching initiatives on new aspects such as
  social exclusion and
• anti-discrimination
• - promoting equality between men and women in
  all aspects of social
• life

12
SOCIAL ACTION PROGRAMMES (con)

• Employment
• - at present 9 of workforce unemployed
• - lower level of employment in services than in
  the US
• - a gender gap only one half at work in EU
  compared to two thirds in
• US
• - age gap rate of employment from 55 65 too
  low
• - skills gap requirements (such as IT) not met
  by available supply
• - long term unemployment problem half of those
  unemployed out of
• work for more than a year
• - marked regional imbalances in unemployment
  being highest in less
• developed regions and declining
  industrial areas

13
VOCATIONAL TRAINING

• Art. 128 general provisions for the
  implementation of training policy
• April 63 10 general principles laid down for
  implementation of common policy
• Three Priorities
• - comparability of priorities
• - exchange of young workers
• - vocational guidance
• 1975 setting up of European Centre for
  Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) in
  Berlin
• Recent Years
• - mobility programmes (Erasmus, Socrates and
  Yes)
• - recommendations on training young people and
  women in-firm
• - recognition of diplomas

14
OTHER INIATIVES

• Programmes on Poverty
• - finance for pilot schemes
• - food aid
• - various measures for disadvantaged groups
• Research and Exchange Programmes
• - Esprit
• - Race
• - Comett
• - Erasmus
• - Yes
• Human Resources Iniative
• - Euroform (for unemployed)
• - Now (for women)
• - Horizon (for disabled)

15
SOCIAL POLICY AGENDA

• Approach now is to create more and better jobs
  and equal opportunities
• - Aim to cut unemployment significantly by 2010
  (increasing it from 64 t0
• 70 of working age population creating 22
  ml. jobs by 2010  
• European Employment Strategy
• - agreed guidelines and priorities for member
  states employment - each state produces its own
  action plan with progress assessed against 100
• indicators  
• European Social Fund
• - provides financial assistance with 60 million
  earmarked for expenditure
• between 2000 and 2006 (3 billion
  reserved for EQUAL Fund)  
• Minimum Standards for all
• - attention to social and environmental concerns
  - protection against safety and health risks -
  equal pay for equal work - broadly similar
  working conditions across Europe  

16
SOCIAL POLICY AGENDA (con)

• Pan European Mobility and Protection
• - the right to work anywhere in the EU - the
  right to receive social protection    
• Social Inclusion and Social Protection
• - to provide a social security net for everyone
  - make pensions safe and provide quality health
  care - promote social inclusion and fight
  poverty    
• Technical Back up
• - European agency for Health and Safety -
  European Foundation for Living and Working
  Conditions - European Monitoring Centre on
  Racism and Zenophopia