Annexes to COM(2005)13 - Draft Joint Employment Report 2004/2005 - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2005)13 - Draft Joint Employment Report 2004/2005. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2005)13  |
| date | January 27, 2005 |
3.1 INCREASING ADAPTABILITY OF WORKERS AND ENTERPRISES
Promoting flexibility combined with security in the labour market
Increasingly, Member States seek to promote a balance between flexibility and security, often through discussion with social partners. Adapting working time is used to better reflect company and individual needs. Modernising work organisation is highlighted in FI and SE. However, labour market segmentation is not significantly addressed across the EU and major differences exist between types of contracts, occupational status and age groups. In particular, a lot remains to be done to improve work organisation, facilitate mobility and labour market transitions, especially for young people.
Ten Member States received a specific recommendation on the modernisation of labour law. Most of the new Member States are introducing more working time and contractual diversity. Raising the attractiveness of part-time work is increasingly seen as a priority, but still remains underused. The implementation of the labour code reform in PT opens the possibility to better control fixed term contracts and self employment. The high share of fixed-term contracts needs to be addressed through social dialogue in ES in the near future, by adjusting levels of protection in standard jobs to make them more attractive. IT still needs to implement major parts of reforms aimed at preventing and tackling labour market segmentation. Policy action has only begun in FR.
Three Member States received a specific recommendation on the modernisation of work organisation and the dissemination of innovation. This remains a considerable challenge, particularly for SMEs. The involvement of the social partners is essential for genuine progress. Reporting on action taken to improve working conditions is generally weak, although the setting of national targets for health and safety and reductions in accidents at work[iii] is welcome.
Facilitating business development
Member States displayed overall a good response to improve their business environment, concentrating on reducing administrative and regulatory obstacles for setting up new firms, with less attention being given to business expansion and sustainability. DK, NL and SE have worked together on measuring the administrative burden of regulations.
Ten Member States received a specific recommendation. The development of one-stop shops, on-line services and business advisory support is progressing, but poor access to finance and low investment in innovation and R&D remain significant constraints. Therefore, despite the fact that most Member States have adopted measures to promote entrepreneurship, as well as self-employment, their performance needs to be improved. Moreover, the priority given to reducing administrative burdens has to be fully implemented, in particular by easing the procedures for the hiring of staff.
Ensuring employment-friendly labour costs
In 2003/2004, overall wage developments were broadly in line with productivity developments and price stability in the medium term, and efforts were sustained to reduce or maintain non-wage labour costs.
Nine Member States received a specific recommendation on wage developments and wage bargaining systems. Some positive steps are noticeable in countries which received a country specific recommendation, but progress should be monitored. Despite the call to review the wage-setting mechanisms, no major initiatives are reported in ES and IT, where responsibility is shifted to social partners. In DE, the flexibility allowed in collective agreements is increasingly being used to address the issue.
Fourteen Member States received a specific recommendation to reduce non-wage labour costs, especially for low-wage earners. Most have taken steps, in particular as regards employer social security contributions. Progress nevertheless remains limited, notably in many of the new Member States.
Anticipating and managing economic restructuring
The need for a positive management of restructuring, especially for collective lay-offs, is highlighted in many NAPs, but much more needs to be done. Steps are taken to improve the capacity of public authorities to anticipate and respond in a coordinated manner. In SI, the establishment of "labour funds" is designed to offer services for workers at risk of redundancy.
Five Member States received a specific recommendation. BE, FR and PT have called upon the social partners, with varying degrees of success, to implement effective mechanisms at sectoral and local levels.
Transforming undeclared work into regular employment
Efforts to transform undeclared work into regular employment are patchy. FR demonstrates a particular effort to better document the nature of undeclared work.
Eight Member States received a specific recommendation. Initial progress is reported in IT and LV. The low priority given to this issue in many of the new Member States is a concern.
3.2 ATTRACTING MORE PEOPLE TO ENTER AND REMAIN ON THE LABOUR MARKET: MAKING WORK A REAL OPTION FOR ALL
Strengthen active labour market policies (ALMP)
Progress in the provision of preventative services for the unemployed is mixed. Ten Member States meet the 25% target for activation of the long-term unemployed[iv], although in AT, DK, DE, FR, UK, SI[v] a lower proportion participated in an active measure than last year. Ten Member States fail to provide comparative data[vi].
Twenty Member States received a recommendation to modernise the public employment services (PES) and improve access to ALMPs, also to facilitate integration of disadvantaged people and improve occupational and geographic mobility. PES are being reformed but the response is uneven for ALMPs. This is particularly worrying in a context of rising unemployment, especially of young people.
Making work pay
There has been a significant policy response across Member States but the outcomes are mixed. Many are committed to improve the combined impact of taxes and benefits on employment and their link with activation. There is also a more visible commitment to tackle the issue of working poor through in-work benefits and rises in minimum wages. Improving work incentives in benefit systems, including eligibility rules and related financial incentives (such as transportand housing costs), are less forcefully addressed.
Fifteen Member States received a specific recommendation. Most of them have taken steps. For a number of new ones, progress is essential to reduce undeclared work. For others, the focus is placed on reform of sickness and disability benefit systems.
Increasing the participation of women
The employment rate for women is increasing, and the provision of childcare and other care services has improved. The gender pay gap remains stubbornly high and weakly addressed. National targets exist in half of the Member States[vii]. A gender mainstreaming policy is only visible in SE.
Seven Member States received a specific recommendation. Gender gaps in employment and unemployment are largely neglected as objectives. Although the gender pay gap is widely recognised as a serious problem, new concrete targets and action are rare. The reconciliation of work and private life receives widespread attention but the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men is overlooked.
Building comprehensive active ageing strategies
Despite some progress, the EU is falling far short of the 2010 employment rate target for older workers and policies are below expectations. The employment rate in the EU now exceeds 40% but it remains stubbornly low in many Member States, especially for women.
Most Member States received a specific recommendation. There are efforts to define national active ageing strategies[viii] but action often relies on piecemeal measures in the area of tax-benefit and pension reforms discouraging early retirement rather than on increasing employability and participation throughout the lifecycle, including young people. There seems to be a high degree of reliance on the impact of pension reforms (FR, IT). Moreover, the commitment of some Member States was essentially limited to proposals for tripartite social dialogue (BE, LU).
Promoting the integration of immigrants and people at a disadvantage
The potential of migrants and disadvantaged people, such as minorities and the disabled, is still insufficiently recognised and exclusion from the labour market remains an issue.
Six Member States received a specific recommendation. Some Member States have developed strategies to increase labour participation of all underrepresented groups in the labour market. Specific policies for the integration of migrants and minorities are being developed with a focus on assimilation and access to the labour market, including language training, literacy programmes or vocational guidance. The burden, however, is often placed on individuals to adapt. The Roma or migrants for example often seem to be portrayed largely responsible for their own situation.
3.3 INVESTING MORE AND MORE EFFECTIVELY IN HUMAN CAPITAL AND LIFELONG LEARNING
Developing lifelong learning strategies and investment in human capital
The EU does not deliver the "increased investment in human resources" called for. The NAPs provide little systematic information on levels or efficiency of resources. Public investment in this area only shows a very slight increase (5.1% GDP for EU15). This varies from 8.5% in DK to 3.9% in EL and LU.
SE, FI and DK deliver performance as measured by the EU benchmarks, and commit to investment levels, well above the EU average. The converse is also true. Member States with poor performance tend to invest lower levels and have under-developed strategies to raise human capital.
While there is recognition that actors must share responsibility, no Member States demonstrate a truly comprehensive approach. Some adopt a levy approach to encourage employers (particularly for SMEs) to invest. Sectors funds are also used (BE, IT, NL). Tax reform is considered in other Member States (EE, IE, SK, UK).
Many Member States received a specific recommendation. Action is still largely in the design and development stage. It is important to move more rapidly to implementation as most of them still need to put in place systems and capacities to deliver lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Broadening participation in, and supply of, education and training
The target set for the EU for 2010 that 85% of 22 year olds should have completed upper secondary level education represents a major challenge. The EU average (76.7% in 2003) has hardly progressed since 2000. Wide disparities exist, with rates ranging from 94.1% in SK to 43% in MT. Completion rates are also very low in ES, IT, LU and PT.
Despite encouraging recent progress, the 2010 objective of a 12.5% rate of adult participation in lifelong learning will require continued efforts. Further policy reforms are needed to encourage participation in most Member States. Participation rates have seen a steady increase since 2001 (7.9%) to the current level of 9.3% (2003). However, participation remains particularly low in CZ, EL, IT, LT, MT, PT and SK and varies widely by age and attainment level.
A systematic commitment to address the situation of disadvantaged people is missing. The case of SE is a notable exception, where municipalities are obliged to offer upper secondary education to all young people up to the age of 20. After that age, they can obtain qualifications in adult education, with all employees entitled to study leave.
Twenty Member States received a specific recommendation. CY is reforming its apprenticeship scheme. Faced with a lack of apprenticeship places, DE concluded a national agreement with industry to ensure that all young people who apply for vocational training get a place and HU announced a major increase in funding for adult education.
Reducing the number of pupils leaving school early
Despite recognition of the importance of the issue, action is often piecemeal. Most policies consist of special measures to support the most vulnerable students outside the mainstream education and training system.
Seventeen Member States received a specific recommendation. The proportion of early school leavers[ix] decreased slightly to 15.9% in 2003, well above the 2010 target of 10%. In seven Member States[x] rates have increased since 2002. Progress towards the EU target depends critically on progress in ES, IT, MT and PT, which levels are significantly above the EU average. Significant falls occurred in the Member States with the highest rates, notably PT and MT (with levels still above 40%).
3.4 ENSURING EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF REFORMS THROUGH BETTER GOVERNANCE
Building reform partnerships
The delivery of the Lisbon Strategy and of the EES requires coordinated action and public conviction over a fuller reform agenda, in particular as regards the management of economic change. The European Council called on Member States to establish partnerships for reforms. While partnership approaches exist in many Member States, IE was the only one to cite the establishment of reform partnerships in its NAP.
Promoting the role and visibility of National Action Plans
To have impact, NAPs need political legitimacy. The involvement of parliaments is insufficient, as they play hardly any role in the approval procedure, with the notable exception of MT. This low profile may be one reason why NAPs do not receive significant input or support from civil society.
The NAPs are mostly summing-up reports. They do, however, receive a higher profile in many of the new Member States where they tend to be more forward-looking and play a central role in the policy cycle. They must become attractive and accessible for dissemination (e.g. BE).
Defining national commitments and targets
Member States were recommended to define national targets to reflect those agreed at EU level. There have been some positive steps in 2004 with ES and seven of the new Member States setting national employment targets [xi]. Less than half set targets to increase the employment rate for older workers. Exit age targets already existed in FR, FI and PT and CY set a new target. More Member States have set targets for improving levels of human capital.
Adequacy, transparency and cost-effectiveness in the allocation of financial resources
Reforms must be backed by adequate financial means and effective use of public funds. The provision of information in the NAPs is insufficient. It should include actual expenditure, allocated budgets and prognoses for main measures.
About half of the Member States provide some comparable data on ALMP expenditure and, to a lesser extent, on human resource investment[xii]. DK and CY give a reasonable picture based on national data. A few Member States[xiii] provide financial data split by Guideline. The role of the European Social Fund (ESF) is highlighted but reporting is uneven.
Developing more effective mutual learning
Mutual learning and shared expertise serve to enrich policy-making. Some Member States compare their employment performances with the EU average and others' performances. The NAPs seldom quote examples of policies inspired by others' experiences. The new EU mutual learning programme provides an opportunity to strengthen this key element.
[i] The Joint Employment Report (JER) examines how Member States are progressing in the implementation of Employment Guidelines and Recommendations adopted on the basis of Article 128 of the Treaty. All the documents related to the European Employment Strategy, including the report of the Employment Taskforce, the EU Guidelines and Recommendations and the 2004 National Actions Plans for Employment are accessible at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/employment_strategy/index_en.htm
[ii] For a detailed analysis of recent trends and performances of the EU labour market, see European Commission "Employment in Europe 2004"
(http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/employment_analysis/employ_en.htm). For latest macro-economic updates, see European Commission "Economic Forecasts Autumn 2004" (http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/publications/european_economy/forecasts_en.htm). The source and methodology for the tables presented in this report are described in the accompanying Commission Staff Working Paper.
[iii] DK, CY, EL, FR, LV, PT and UK
[iv] BE, DE, ES, FI, IT, LU, LV, SE, UK, and FR (on the basis of figures for 2002).
[v] The figure for SI is subject to be confirmed
[vi] CY, CZ, EE, IE, MT, NL, PL, PT, SI, SK
[vii] AT, CY, EE, ES, FR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LV, PL, PT (EL has not confirmed the target set in its 2003 NAP)
[viii] CY, CZ, EE, FI, FR, LV, NL, PT, UK
[ix] CY, CZ, EE, FI, FR, LV, NL, PT, UK
[x] The percentage of 18-24 year olds having achieved lower secondary education or less and not attending further education or training leaving.
[xi] BE, CZ, CY, DE, DK, ES, FR
[xii] CY, EE, HU, LT, LV, SI, SK
[xiii] AT, BE, DE, EE, FI, FR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LV, PT, SE
[xiv] BE, ES, HU, IE, PL