Dear Mr/Mme Chair
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia* , the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Armenia, align themselves with this declaration.
We thank you for the interesting document submitted for discussion on this agenda point. As a contribution to the discussion the EU would like to make the following remarks.
The document gives a clear picture of the multiple dimensions of flexibility and security and their potential combinations. Moreover, it is rightly spelled out that the concept of flexicurity is about finding the mutual balance between flexibility and security in a dynamic way, within different contexts while including social partners and all other relevant stakeholders. Tailored, integrated strategies to enhance both flexibility and security appear useful in industrialized as well as in middle- and low-income countries. The EU fully supports that approach.
As is evident from the overview of the document, an integrated strategy to enhance, in a coordinated manner, both flexibility and security has been developed as a response to the challenges faced by globalization. Striking the right balance between flexibility and security has proven to be an issue of particular concern in times of crisis. By way of illustration the 2007 Employment in Europe Report highlights that internal flexibility may have a significant impact on labour market outcomes. Furthermore, in the current crisis partial unemployment subsidies and flexible working time arrangements have proven successful in containing unemployment levels, at least temporarily.
We have learnt from previous experience that the right policy mix of flexibility and security measures is highly relevant in the context of economic downturn. The common principles of flexicurity adopted by the European Council in December 2007, constitute such a combination of measures, promoting job transitions and employment security, two key aspects of flexicurity. The success of these measures is strengthened by the existence of sound conditions such as well-functioning employment services and labour inspection, developed industrial relations and a well-regulated labour market.In our view flexicurity aims above all at rapid reintegration into the labour market. We need to place priority on measures that facilitate the entry into the labour market and job-to-job transitions. And we have to make sure that we avoid measures which induce premature labour force withdrawal of those who have lost their job, as this results in costs for individuals and society as a whole. In times when companies are hit hard and entire industries are facing mass redundancies it is vital that companies have the ability to adapt to changing circumstances while policies should focus on the employability of individuals.
We welcome the proposal that future ILO work should address policies to help groups vulnerable to exclusion from the labour market. We should not forget that flexicurity measures also encompass these groups, through inter alia labour market policies and income support. Adjustment programmes should not be developed at the expense of individual workers. They should be targeted, timely and structurally motivated. In addition, employment generating measures should also stimulate demand for those who are furthest away from the labour market. At the same time, a variety of measures can be considered for those who lose or are at risk of losing their jobs, such as effective job search counselling, improved access to training and short-time working schemes, combined with skills development. In this context the role of the Employment Services, in particular Public Employment Services, is crucial.
Training and retraining, investment in human capital and upgrading of skills in order to ease transitions between school and work, and from inactivity and unemployment into the labour market, is central to the concept of flexicurity. In addition, matching of skills with existing and future jobs with good prospects is a key issue, and provides an essential tool to enable people to re-enter into the labour market when the economic situation improves.
Having said this, the EU suggests that the above policy examples and the role of institutions under different conditions could form part of further analysis by the ILO Office, also taking into account relevant ILO-conventions.
In regard to future Office work, we fully support the focus in the paper on policy coherence and sequencing. We note Office concerns over the lack of data for developing countries and strongly support further work in this area, particularly in data-gathering, to enable the development of evidence-based policies. We also welcome the paper’s indication that we must learn from each other and exchange experiences, including from labour market policies implemented in developing countries. We ask the Office to ensure it can demonstrate close working with other organisations such as the European Commission, the OECD and the World Bank, as it develops its policy framework and research plans.
An important aspect of flexicurity is that of gender equality, especially in times of crisis. We have noted the growth of more flexible forms of employment, as well as the increase of part-time work for women. The EU encourages further studies by the Office on the gender aspect of flexicurity, including measures to promote equal access to employment for women and men as well as measures to reconcile work, family life and private life as part of the adjustment programmes, including the access to easily affordable childcare.Flexicurity is not a static model; rather it must be constantly adapted according to what is politically possible and necessary. Flexicurity approaches should be adapted to the specific circumstances and labour market situations of each Member State. The burden of adaptation to changing labour circumstances should not lie with one group in particular and the necessary security for the workers should not be neglected. The social partners have, by virtue of collective bargaining, social dialogue and the need for local solutions, an important role to play in this context, as do other relevant stakeholders. Ensuring the engagement of the social partners in the design and implementation of integrated flexicurity policies remains crucial.
The EU believes that a combination of flexibility and security, if rightly conceived and correctly implemented, can harness the objectives of decent work. We look forward to the Office’s further work on this item.
Thank you, Mr/Mme Chair.
_______________* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process."