European Social Policy articles from March 2006

European Social Policy archives from March 2006

POSTED WORKERS SPECIAL : DRAFT PARLIAMENT REPORT POINTS UP PRACTICAL PROBLEMS.
March 30, 2006... The bid to scrap Articles 24 and 25 of the draft Services Directive, which deal with contracting out workers to provide services outside their home country, has refuelled the debate on the need to update the Posted Workers Directive which dates...

EMPLOYMENT : EU JOBLESS RATE STICKS AT 8.5% IN JANUARY.(European Union)(Brief article)
March 30, 2006... The seasonally-adjusted rate of unemployment in the EU averaged 8.5% in January 2006, unchanged on December 2005 but still well down on the 8.9% recorded in January 2005. According to estimates published by Eurostat on 1 March, 18.5 million...

SOCIAL POLICY : IS ACTION ON POSTED WORKERS POINTLESS?(Brief article)
March 30, 2006... As it stands, the draft report on seconded workers, obtained by Europolitics, resembles nothing more than a point-by-point and sometimes rather complex description of how the Posted Workers Directive has been applied in practice. A number of...

EMPLOYMENT : MEMBER STATES URGED TO BE MORE AMBITIOUS.
March 30, 2006... The Council of Employment and Social Affairs Ministers on 10 March is expected to adopt a series of key messages in preparation for the spring European Council. The meeting will in many ways resemble a ritual. The target of reaching "an...

TO TRANSLATE (EN) : POLITIQUE SOCIALE: ANCEMENT DE L'ANNEE EUROPEENNE DE LA MOBILITE.
March 30, 2006... Le lancement de "2006, annee europeenne de la mobilite" aura lieu les 20 et 21 fevrier, lors d'une conference internationale, intitulee "Mobilite des travailleurs: un droit, une option, une opportunite?". La conference se concentrera autour des...

RESTRUCTURING/GLOBALISATION ADJUSTMENT FUND : A DIFFICULT FUND TO IMPLEMENT.
March 30, 2006... The Globalisation Adjustment Fund proposed by the European Commission on 1 March outlines very strict conditions for intervention Dual economic and social criteria EU intervention will only be possible if two criteria are met. ...

BUSINESS RESTRUCTURING : ASSISTING 'SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE' RESTRUCTURING.
March 30, 2006... Following relocation on 15 March (see Europolitics 3046), MEPs sought on 16 March to extend the debate to restructuring in general. They voted by a large majority (463 to 142 with 58 abstentions) to adopt the report by French Socialist...

SOCIAL POLICY / 2006 WORK PROGRAMME : BEVY OF REPORTS ON SPECIALIST COMMITTEE AGENDAS.
March 30, 2006... The Social Protection Committee (SPC) will focus the majority of its efforts over 2006 on analysing and discussing the first reports on national social protection and social inclusion strategies. 2006 being the final year of the current...

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES : COMMISSION ADOPTS GENDER EQUALITY ROAD MAP FOR 2006-2010.(Brief article)
March 30, 2006... A rather different kind of road map, this time for equal opportunities between men and women over the period 2006-2010, is expected to be published by the European Commission on 3 March. Six priority areas have been singled out: economic...

SOCIAL DIALOGUE : CONFERENCE BRINGS TOGETHER ALL 31 SECTORS.(Brief article)
March 30, 2006... aA conference on the European sectoral social dialogue held in Brussels on 13 March, brought together representatives from the unions and employers in 31 sectors with sectoral dialogue committees (ranging from textile to agriculture and...

SECONDED WORKERS (DOSSIER) : DRAFT COMMISSION REPORT: PROBLEMS BEING IRONED OUT.
March 30, 2006... The posting of workers abroad is one of the most sensitive social issues, lying at the confluence of policies on the Internal Market, employment and services. Europolitics looks into the report being drafted by the European Commission and a...

GENDER EQUALITY : EARLY MATERNITY LEAVE TO BE INCLUDED WHEN CALCULATING SENIORITY.(Brief article)
March 30, 2006... A pregnant woman who has passed the entrance exam for a public post but because of her pregnancy is unable to take up her duties immediately has the right to count these months of maternity leave as part of her seniority. Such was the finding...

POSTED WORKERS : ECJ TAKES THE SCALPEL TO ADMINISTRATIVE OBSTACLES.(Court of Justice of the European Communities)
March 30, 2006... EU Court of Justice Advocate-General Philippe Leger recommended on 23 February that Austria should be condemned for failing to fulfil its obligations by submitting European companies posting workers who are non-EU nationals in connection with...

EMPLOYMENT/SOCIAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL : EMPLOYMENT MINISTERS ENDORSE A RAFT OF REPORTS FOR SPRING SUMMIT.
March 30, 2006... As announced in our 9 March edition, EU's Employment and Social Affairs Ministers spent the majority of their Council session on 10 March adopting a series of reports to be submitted to the Spring European Council: the 2006 joint employment...

UNEMPLOYMENT : EU JOBLESS RATE STICKS AT 8.5% IN JANUARY.(Brief article)
March 30, 2006... The seasonally-adjusted rate of unemployment in the EU averaged 8.5% in January 2006, unchanged on December 2005 but still well down on the 8.9% recorded in January 2005. According to estimates published by Eurostat on 1 March, 18.5 million...

OPTICAL RADIATION DIRECTIVE : EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES OPTICAL RADIATION DIRECTIVE.(Brief article)
March 30, 2006... The European Parliament on 14 February approved an EU Directive designed to protect workers from exposure to optical radiation at third reading (see Europolitics 3012). MEPs voted 570 votes in favour, 16 against with 49 abstentions. The Council...

BUSINESS RELOCATIONS : FIRMS RELOCATING WITH EU FUNDS SHOULD BE PENALISED, SAYS EP.(Brief article)
March 30, 2006... The European Parliament voted by a large majority on 14 March to adopt an own initiative report on relocation in the context of regional development. Watered-down in committee (see Europolitics 3024), the report raised some difficulties when it...

FREE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE : FRANCE TO OPEN ITS DOORS TO EASTERN EUROPEAN WORKERS.(Brief article)
March 30, 2006... At the end of the seventh Interministerial Committee devoted to Europe, held in Paris on 10 March, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin announced that France's position with respect to the opening of the labour market to workers from Eastern...

SERVICES DIRECTIVE : GRUDGING CONSENSUS IN COUNCIL ON MEPS' REDRAFTED DIRECTIVE.
March 30, 2006... The draft Services Directive seems to be slowly edging towards approval. When EU Economics Ministers discussed it over dinner on the eve of the formal Competitiveness Council on 12 March, there was consensus that the amended draft voted by the...

WORKING TIME : HOLIDAY PAY CANNOT BE INCLUDED IN HOURLY OR DAILY REMUNERATION.
March 30, 2006... The European Court of Justice published a further judgement on the Working Time Directive on 16 March, this time concerning holiday pay, which is likely once again to set the cat among the pigeons in the member states. The court has ruled that...

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT / NON-DISCRIMINATION : IS IT OK TO DISCRIMINATE IN THE NAME OF EMPLOYMENT?
March 30, 2006... Will the 'Contrat de premiere embauche (CPE)' [the first job contract], one of the measures trumpeted by the French government to tackle the unemployment problem among young people, pass muster at European level? The answer seems...

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY : LIFE EXPECTANCY AND UNEMPLOYMENT BOTH HIGHER AMONG WOMEN.(Brief article)
March 30, 2006... To coincide with International Women's Day on 8 March, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the EuropeanaCommunities, has published detailed tables providing information on women in the EU, notably on living and working trends, showing...

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES : MEDIOCRE PROGRESS IN REDUCING DISCRIMINATION.
March 30, 2006... The European Commission has unveiled its latest progress report on the EU action programme in the fight against discrimination which highlight the "significant" yet unequal "progress" in terms of awareness and reinforcing the capabilities of...

CHILD POVERTY : MEPS CALL FOR GREEN PAPER ON CHILD POVERTY.(Brief article)
March 30, 2006... Sittinga in plenary session on 15 March, the European Parliament voted by a large majority to adopt an own-initiative report by Slovakian Christian Democrat Edit Bauer (Hungarian Coalition Party) on social protection and social inclusion. ...

POSTED WORKERS (FEATURE) : MEPS FIRED UP AGAINST THE COMMISSION.(members of parliament)
March 30, 2006... Whereas the member states and the social partners have had copies of a draft Commission report on the posting of workers since late last year, MEPs on the European Parliament's Employment Committee had not been given the report by the end of...

WOMEN'S RIGHTS : MOVE TO STOP FORCED PROSTITUTION AT WORLD CUP.
March 30, 2006... With fans and footballers alike gearing up for this summer's World Cup football in Germany (9 June to 9 July), a campaign has been launched to prevent women being trafficked and forced to work as prostitutes there. Timed to coincide with...

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES : PARLIAMENT APPROVES CREATION OF AN INSTITUTE FOR GENDER EQUALITY.(European Parliament)
March 30, 2006... The European Parliament adopted a report in first reading on 14 March on plans to set up an independent European Institute for Gender Equality (362 votes to 263 with 18 abstentions). The majority of Members who spoke during the debate, almost...

SOCIAL SECURITY : PAYING CONTRIBUTIONS TWICE ON SAME INCOME NOT ILLEGAL.(Brief article)
March 30, 2006... aEach EU member state is master in its own house in determining what income should be subject to social security contributions. A Dutch national,aMr Piatkowski - resident in Belgium since 1996 and working as a company manager in both countries...

INTERNAL MARKET : SOCIALISTS URGE COMMISSION TO LEGISLATE ON PUBLIC SERVICES.(European Parliament )
March 30, 2006... Socialist Members of the European Parliament have taken the unusual step of drafting a Directive on services of general interest. While, legally speaking, the European Commission has the sole right to initiate such legislation, the Socialists...

POSTED WORKERS (FEATURE) : SOCIAL PARTNERS DIVIDED OVER NEED FOR ACTION.
March 30, 2006... The social partners, contacted by Europolitics, hold differing views regarding the review of Posted Workers Directive, with two notable exceptions (see inset). UNICE: leave things as they are The position paper released by the EU...

POSTED WORKERS (FEATURE) : THE PROBLEM OF CHECKING THE DAILY GRIND.
March 30, 2006... The work inspection services are experiencing significant difficulties in correctly controlling specific issues relating to the situation of foreign companies. Michel Aseglio, head of the Directorate-General for monitoring compliance with...

TO TRANSLATE (EN) : POLITIQUE SOCIALE: DES DEPUTES VEULENT MODIFIER LES REGLES SUR LES STOCKS ALIMENTAIRES.(Brief article)
March 30, 2006... Cinq eurodeputes - Philippe Busquin (PSE, Belgique), Marie-Arlette Carlotti (PSE France), Joseph Daul (PPE, France), Mario Mauro (PPE, Italie), Boguslaw Sonik (PPE, Pologne) - ont appele, dans une resolution signee par au moins 200 de leurs...

WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE : UK FOUND GUILTY OF FLOUTING WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE.(Brief article)
March 30, 2006... An Advocate General from the EU Court of Justice recommended on 9 March that the UK be found guilty of transposing one of its pet hates - the Working Time Directive - on two counts (case C-484/04). The United Kingdom was found to have taken...

GENDER EQUALITY : WOMEN EARN 15% LESS THAN MEN, SAYS ANNUAL REPORT.(Brief article)
March 30, 2006... "The high payagap between men and women shows no significant signs of narrowing." Evidence of this long-standing difference in pay between the two sexes was confirmed in the annual report on gender equality published recently by the European...