Employment policy guidelines: fit for purpose and specific

Last week, in plenary, we voted in favour of the Report on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States. To a varied degree, the Union’s employment policy has existed since 1997, and the updated guidelines we have adopted this time form part of the European Semester package. This means that the guidelines are set depending on the actual needs that emerge in a given calendar year. From the outset of this term, we have stressed the importance of social policies, whether in relation to the green transition or in the context of ensuring adequate standards for all citizens of the Union. The focus on social policies has brought us from the very successful 2021 Porto Social Summit to the adoption of a new Action Plan for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights.

This time, we are setting new, significantly revised guidelines for Member States’ employment policies for 2022, as the successful functioning of the semester cycle is more important than ever.  As expected, we are updating the guidelines in response to the changed environment left behind by COVID-19, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and, finally, the continuing drive to achieve a just green transition, also in the light of the current energy crisis, so that Member States can respond successfully to all challenges. The report adds four new guidelines to those previously set out (Guidelines 5-8):

Guideline 5: Boosting the demand for labour

The main objective of this guideline is to encourage Member States to move towards a sustainable social market economy, while supporting investment in the creation of quality jobs by reducing barriers to employment, fostering responsible entrepreneurship and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises. Another important aspect is the promotion of the social economy and the strengthening of business models which create job opportunities in the circular economy. We also particularly stress the importance of reducing working hours and supporting employment restructuring mechanisms along the lines of the model used actively during the pandemic. At that time, we discovered that considerable benefits and potential could be derived by departing from the existing working time schemes, and now it is time to apply the knowledge and take the necessary step further.

Guideline 6: Enhancing labour supply and improving access to employment, skills and competences

This guideline focuses in particular on achieving the objectives of the digital and green transition, tackling demographic change and the war in Ukraine. In the light of life-long skills acquisition, Member States should promote sustainability, productivity, employability and human capital in their employment policies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has designated 2023 as the Year of Skills, a point which is particularly emphasised in this guideline. We believe that the key to tackling employment policies lies in increased investment in education and training systems – vocational education and training, access to digital learning and language training will be the measures to ensure that the workforce can adequately and appropriately adapt to current and future labour market needs. The whole process must be geared towards harnessing the potential of individuals, supporting access to education for all and increasing the attractiveness of vocational education. We also need to ensure a smooth transition to the labour market, through work-based learning and paid apprenticeships or traineeships. The measures to reduce youth unemployment continue to be advocated as an important objective.

Guideline 7: Enhancing the functioning of labour markets and the effectiveness of social dialogue

This guideline calls on Member States to reduce and prevent labour market segmentation as well as to fight undeclared work and bogus self-employment effectively. Employment policy must strive for modernisation, which is why we need to regulate the field in such a way as to allow flexible work arrangements for employees, such as teleworking, but considering workers’ working hours, appropriate working conditions and work-life balance. With increasing digitalisation, new forms of employment and employment relationships are being created, and Member States must strive to tackle atypical contracts, which are the most frequently exploited and lead to precarious working conditions.

Guideline 8: Promoting equal opportunities for all, fostering social inclusion and fighting poverty

Countries must promote inclusive labour markets by putting in place effective measures to fight all forms of discrimination. As in most Members States social protection systems are outdated and not adapted to the current situation, they should be modernised in order to provide adequate, effective and sustainable social protection throughout all stages of life. Adequate measures must be in place to eradicate poverty and social exclusion — including in-work poverty and child poverty. The universal provision of basic services and basic income can be an important measure that will do just that. In setting the targets, we have not forgotten about a clean and fair energy transition, where we particularly stress that Member States must take special care of socially disadvantaged populations. I am extremely pleased that the report also mentions the provision of adequate and sustainable pension schemes for employees. We have been talking for years about a solution for adequate long-term care provision in Slovenia, and every time it gets stuck at the funding — the inclusion of adequate employee pension schemes is the measure that will help to make it happen.

In addition to setting out the main objectives, the Report on the guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States also underlines the importance of using the resources of the Next Generation EU and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which, together with the implementation of the national plans and the planned reforms, will be an important instrument for the implementation of the defined guidelines.

I believe that an important step towards tackling financial issues can be taken by setting up a temporary European social resilience package proposed in the report, which aims to coordinate a set of measures and means to strengthen social welfare and social protection systems.

I am pleased with the adopted report, the guidelines are fit for purpose and the objectives are specific. If properly implemented, all citizens of the Union will live better lives.