Celebrating World Public Service Day 2025

The European Labour Authority aims to support the Member States in the application and implementation of EU law in the area of worker labour mobility. Its main duty will be to act in situations in which the smooth operation of the Single Market is at risk. It shall not only coordinate joint and concerted inspections between the Member States but also be able to launch them.

Javier Jordán de Urries Sagarna broadly welcomes the creation of the new European Labour Authority: “Social partners in the Member States will have the possibility to report both cases of known or suspected illegal practices to the European Labour Authority.

This is a new and valuable communication channel to raise concerns about cross-border abusive labour and employment conditions in Europe.”

He added: “I am particularly glad that the advisory Stakeholder Group of the new authority will be open to all European social partners and that there must be a competitive selection procedure among all European social partner organisations, horizontal and sectoral alike and regardless of their size, to distribute the ten available seats in the group, based on who is ‘most concerned’ by labour mobility challenges. It will be the authority’s Management Board to ensure a neutral and objective selection.”

CESI has been a long-standing proponent of trade unionism pluralism and inclusive social dialogue.

For more information: Trilogue agreement on February 14

Picture: CESI Employment and Social Affairs Commission President Javier Jordán de Urries Sagarna (CSIF) © CESI 2019

I welcome the outcome of these negotiations and am glad that the European Union is becoming somewhat more social. The European Labour Authority will close a gap in the world of European labour mobility, and will protect cross-border workers from exploitation by criminal networks.

These are the main characteristics of the new European Labour Authority:

The European Labour Authority aims to support the member states in the application and implementation of EU law in the area of worker labour mobility. Its main duty will be to act in situations in which the smooth operation of the Single Market is at risk. The dangers represented by shell companies, fraudulent business practices and bogus self-employment for the Single Market are listed below:

The European Labour Authority shall not only coordinate joint and concerted inspections between the member states – it shall also be able to launch them. The social partners in the member states have the right to report both cases of known or suspected illegal practices to the European Labour Authority.

The European Labour Authority’s Management Board is composed of two representatives of the Commission, one representative from each member state and one expert nominated by the European Parliament.

In addition, there will be a Stakeholder Group composed of ten representatives of the social partners as well as two members of the European Commission. Its main duty will be to provide expert advice to the Authority.

The EURES Coordination Office will be integrated into the European Labour Authority, but not the EURES cross-border partnership services. The Secretariat of the European Platform against Undeclared Work will migrate to the European Labour Authority, although the Platform itself shall remain as such.

The European Labour Authority is not intended to become an advisory centre for individuals. On this point, the EURES cross-border partnerships do valuable work, which is why their future funding must be secured.

At the same time, I must admit that the concrete set-up of the new authority does not meet my personal expectations. These were the most important concessions that the European Parliament had to make during the trilogue negotiations:

Member states that do not want to participate in the concerted or joint inspections do not have to provide a justification for their position, nor do they have to make a proposal as to how to solve the problem differently.

The European Labour Authority will not be granted the power to make political recommendations to the Commission nor to demand the implementation of proceedings in the event of contract breaches.

No social partners will be represented on the European Labour Authority’s Management Board.

All in all, the new European Labour Authority can help make it more difficult for shell companies, bogus self-employment and other fraudulent business models to circumvent the confusing regulations of the individual EU member states. I believe in the close cooperation with trade unions in order to fight dubious dealings under the veneer of labour mobility.

Picture: Terry Reintke © CESI Cornelis Gollhardt 2019

In the frame of an extensive exchange of views, the situation for employees in the public sector in Luxembourg, the economic-political situation and challenges in the European Union, the current status in the Brexit negotiations and not least the upcoming European elections of May were discussed.

Romain Wolff stressed the need to highlight the many successes of the European unification process: “We don’t have to all be hurrah European and burn EU sceptics as heretics, but we have to keep on realising how unique the unification process has been, and that, despite all dysfunctions and weaknesses, the EU is something formidable.

It is a construct that puts compromise and respect over intimidation and power. Especially for me, as citizen of a smaller country, this shall never be forgotten.”

Secretary-General Klaus Heeger stressed the importance of the public sector in Europe. “Efficient public services foster the well-being of people. They stand for freedom and non-discrimination, security and safety, education and health, labour and social protection. And they stand for a reliable and fair EU. This should not be forgotten”, Heeger stated.

Both Wolff and Heeger agreed on the need to better communicate the many success stories of the EU and not least to advertise the potential a strong Pillar of Social Rights, in Luxembourg and the other Member States.

The meeting with Prime Minister Bettel was also an opportunity to present the recently launched CESI 2019 campaign in support of the European Parliament to mobilize citizens for the May elections.

For more information:

CESI EU elections campaign: For Europe, and for a better Europe!

Picture: CESI President Romain Wolff, Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel, CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger, CGFP Secretary General Steve Heiliger © CESI 2019

As a European trade union umbrella confederation, during the past months, we have accompanied this dossier very closely, in steady dialogue with the Commission and the EU Parliament, and based on our opinion submitted to the Commission consultation procedure, we strongly objected a flat-rate public sector exclusion from the scope of the Directive.

To our dismay, the EP’s first draft report foresaw a public worker’s flat rate exclusion, yet this clause has been swiftly removed, not least following strong protests by CESI. In this regard, I would like to thank the MEPs for their constant availability and attention, especially Mr Calvet, to remove such clause from the directive.

Regrettably, certain groups of workers may still be excluded from some of the provisions, e.g. civil servants, armed forces, emergency services or law enforcement services.

I remember the intense discussions at CESI about (politically realistic) exclusions which would least affect our members.

We came to the conclusions that the articles and chapters concerned should be as scarce as possible, that the groups of professions concerned should be as limited as possible, and finally that exclusion should always be based on “objective grounds”, requiring an explicit (objective) justification and the respect of proportionality.

Especially the addition “on objective grounds” was a much advocated addition from CESI, since we believed that such obligation could open a considerable room of manoeuvre for our national trade unions in order to strictly limit exclusions (regarding both the professions and the articles concerned) to cases where they are absolutely necessary and unavoidable; establishing “objective grounds” by the member states authorities may often be tricky, legally and politically.

For instance, it may be difficult to state objective reasons for a worker from the above-mentioned group – e.g. a civil servant, a police officer or even a soldier – to be excluded from the right to training (mentioned in Chapter III), as such exclusion may eventually not make sense.

On the other hand, derogations may not be totally unfounded either, if you think for instance of a longer probationary period for judges. (However, particularly in this latter case, it appears as an overzealous precaution to exclude groups of workers from the chapter, if the Member States maintain the possibility to extend the duration of the probation period for certain workers).

Altogether, we can, therefore, deplore that the current agreement does not totally reflect our expectations. But it is a political realistic compromise that draws limits to exclusions and opens major rooms of manoeuvre for trade unions at the national level, in particular when moulding it into national law.

Despite all pros and cons: This directive should pave the way for more secure (not only transparent) and predictable work, and will allow more determined action against precariousness in all forms of employment.

And this, we can only welcome with the expectation that this provisional agreement will be adopted definitively as quickly as possible.

Because all workers count!

For more information:
Provisional agreement on a new Directive to create more transparent and predictable working conditions
CESI contributions to the first phase social partner consultations on access to social protection and a possible revision of the Written Statement Directive
CESI contributions to the second phase social partner consultations on access to social protection and a possible revision of the Written Statement Directive

Picture: CESI Employment and Social Affairs Commission President Javier Jordán de Urries Sagarna (CSIF) © CESI 2018

The work priorities were set for all of CESI’s Commissions and Trade Councils against the background of the general agenda of the European institutions and the CESI General Secretariat. The further implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the broader ‘Future of work’ agenda will be fundamental priorities for all sectors.

The individual Trade Councils and Commissions will in particular focus on the following topics:

• Commission ‘Employment and Social Affairs’: EU directive on transparent and predictable working conditions, implications of Brexit on jobs and employment in the Member States; future strategic orientations of trade unionism and trade unions in the remit of Work 4.0; European Parliament election campaigning (together with the Commission ‘Women’s Rights and Gender Equality’)

• Commission ‘Women’s Rights and Gender Equality’: Gender-neutral digitalisation, effective right to part-time work (and return to full employment), professional glass ceilings for women, gender pay and pension gaps, mobbing and harassment at work, protection and labour market integration of women migrants

• Trade Councils ‘Central Administration and Finances’ and ‘Local and Regional Administration’: Third-party violence against administration personnel, improvement of employment and working conditions in the public services, fighting tax fraud and tax avoidance

• Trade Councils ‘Justice’ and ‘Security’: Safety equipment for justice and security sector personnel, third-party violence against justice and security sector personnel, adverse effects of privatisation of prisons on employment in the sector

• Trade Council ‘Education, Training and Research’: Improvement of employment and working conditions in the education sector, consideration of teachers in the European Education Area 2025

• Trade Council ‘Health Services’: Impacts of Brexit on health professionals of EU Member States working in the UK; safety aspects of healthcare professionals in the preparation and administration of dangerous medicines

• Trade Council ‘Post and Telecoms’: Implementation of the new EU Regulation on cross-border parcel delivery services; evaluation of the EU postal services direcitve

• Trade Council ‘Defence’: Establishment of a social dimension in the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in defence

Further information is available in the dedicated website section on each of the Commissions and Trade Councils.

As in every year, CESI’s Trade Councils and Commissions will each meet up to two times in 2018, hearing and discussing with a variety experts and representatives from think tanks, academia and the EU Institutions. As such, the Commissions and Trade Council play an instrumental role in CESI’s interest representation and advocacy work.

Picture: CESI Programme Commission © CESI 2019

Against the backdrop of digitalising work patterns, manifested also in the growth of the platform economy, CESI and the Saxony Liaison Office Brussels hosted a debate with stakeholders, practitioners and politicians on the role of interest representation and trade unions in the digital economy.

An expert panel with practitioners, stakeholders and politicians

Following a welcome address by Hartmut Mangold, State Secretary at the Saxon Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport, Mehtap Akgüç, research fellow at the Brussels-based Centre for the European Policy (CEPS) think tank presented the findings of her latest study on industrial relations and social dialogue in the age of the collaborative economy which CESI was involved in as one of the partners.

This was followed-up on by a panel debate with practitioners, stakeholders and politicians:

• Hartmut Mangold
• Agnes Jongerius, a longstanding Dutch trade unionst and since 2014 an engaged MEP for a regulation of employment in the digital economy

• Filippo Chiricozzi, co-founder of the Italian food delivery platform ‘Moovenda’ which has been recognised for its efforts to ensure decent work through employee contracts with minimum remuneration and social security
• Lorenzo Repetti, adviser at the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) which has been running first projects to reach out to and represent digital and platform economy workers

During the debate, fundamental questions were addressed relating to how employment in the digital economy can be regularised and how trade unions could become involved in this process and increasinly represent digital workers, such as:

• At which level should decent work and adequate social protection for those in the digital and platform economy be ensured? Via social and employment standards set by the legislator, via social partners and trade unions, or a combination of both?
• Can trade unions open up to digital workers, which are often technically self-employed?
• To what extent do digital workers feel the need to be represented by trade unions? What services do trade unions need to offer them to become attractive in case social dialogue is not a practical format for interest representation in the sector?

During the debate it emerged that flat-rate and general answers are difficult given the fragmentation and variety of facets governing the digital work sector. At the same time, it became obvious that there is a clear need for the legislator to set effective minimum standards for decent work in the sector. It was specified that there is a particular case for EU measures, given that the digital economy takes place ‘in the cloud’ and across different jurisdictions and Member States and that in this context EU legislation would complement the single market, at least partially, with a much-needed social dimension.

It was added that trade unions can play an important supportive role in this and open up, where possible, to digital workers and represent them. It was stressed that becoming (more) attractive for digital workers trade unions would require new services beyond social dialogue, including individual legal assistance, advice on income and social security and support for a self-organisation in online platforms. As CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger put it in his concluding remarks: “The digital work sector is growing and suffers from a lack of representation. This means that there is a big playing field for trade unions, in particular against the background of ageing and decreasing memberships that many trade unions suffer.”

Picture: CESI@noon © CESI 2019

The financial players involved belonged to the shares markets, both before (Cum) and after (Ex) the maturity date for the payment of dividends. The losses allegedly total 55 billion Euros, of which 31.8 billion in Germany, 17 billion in France, 4.5 billion in Italy, 1.7 billion in Denmark, 201 million in Belgium and 10 million in Luxembourg, where only one case has been revealed so far.

In order to make their profits off the back of State treasuries, the fraudsters used two methods: either they applied the exemption of withholding tax on dividends (in the case of high-value shares) followed by a request for reimbursement, or they applied they settled the withholding tax on the dividends, followed by one or several requests for its reimbursement. The short selling of shares by means of forward contracts when the payment of dividends did not allow the tax officials to identify who had paid the withholding tax on dividends and who was entitled to a reimbursement thereof. These reimbursements, however, were only permitted upon the presentation of a bank certificate justifying the equity portfolio, and if applicable, the payment of the withheld sums on the dividends. Therefore, the role played by the fifty-odd banks involved in the scandal is significant.

As member of the Platform for Tax Good Governance assisting the European Commission in its tax policies, we urge the judicial authorities of the countries concerned by the “Cum-Ex” case to shed light on these fraudulent procedures, and that the shareholders, company managers and bank should be investigated. We demand that the political authorities, tax authorities and institutions responsible for monitoring banks to modify the legislation and internal audits, so as to prevent such acts in future.

In difficult times for public finances in European countries, it is necessary to ensure that the social budgets are met and stop public funds from being misappropriated and pocketed by shareholders.

Picture: Fernand Muller © UFE 2019

‘Precarious work and lack of access to social rights:
The particular case of fixed-term contracts’

Tuesday, March 5 2019 – 10.00 to 15.00
Light lunch 12.00-13.30

European Economic and Social Committee (room VMA 3), Rue van Maerlant 2, 1000 Brussels

The current initiatives under the Pillar of Social Rights show an increased determination to fight precarious work and improve access to social rights. In particular, the recent proposals on access to social protection, transparent and predictable working conditions and better work-life balance point undoubtedly into the right direction.

However, more reflection is needed to fully understand the link between precarious work and the lack of access to employment protection and labour law, interest representation and social protection. Many workers find themselves in a catch-22 situation, accepting any kind of atypical form of employment in order to avoid the downsides of unemployment, yet risking to end up having even less access to social rights by choosing this ‘compromise’.
The European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI) and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) invite you to a stimulating discussion on the impact of precarious work on access to social rights.
The event also aims at responding in particular to the concerns of various trade union representatives from all over Europe faced with the particularity of precariousness at work in the form of (repeated) fixed-term contracts.

Register for the event here

Opening 10.00

Romain Wolff, President, CESI

Marie Lagarrigue, Deputy Head of Unit, Unit EMPL.B2., Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

Javi López, Member of the European Parliament (S&D, ES)

Franz Eiffe, Researcher, Eurofound

10.30-12.30 – Panel 1

The link between precarious work and the absence of social rights: Type of gaps and interplays

Christian Moos, Divisional Director of European and International Affairs, German Federation of Civil Servants (DBB, DE), Member of the EESC

Lucie Davoine, Policy Officer, European Commission

Laura Agea, Member of the European Parliament (Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Group, IT)

Matthäus Fandrejewski, CESI Youth Representative

Closing remarks panel 1

Luca Jahier, President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

12.30-13.30 – Light lunch & coffee break

13.30-15.00 – Panel 2
Concrete proposals for improving protection, security and social and economic stability

Franca Salis Madinier, Member of the Workers’ Group, EESC

Brando Benifei, Member of the European Parliament, (S&D, IT)

Javier Jordan de Urries Sagarna, Independent Trade Union of Civil Servants (CSIF, ES)

Marcello Pacifico, President of the Professional Trade Union Association (ANIEF, IT)

Klaus Heeger, Secretary General, CESI

Moderator
Pierre Baussand, Head of the Brussels Liaison Office, Eurofound

Conclusions
Klaus Heeger, Secretary General, CESI

The Davos Forum has been intensively criticised since its creation in 1971 for being too elitist and for show-casing the will of the few (the financial elite of the world) to the detriment of other stakeholders and social partners. Although the list of participants has been recently diversified to include also civil society, social actors, academia and media, the Forum continues to give a voice to just the few, while disregarding the huge social disparities worldwide and the majority of the population concerned. As the prime minister of Canada Justin Trudeau mentioned in his 2018 Davos address: “We cannot neglect our responsibility to the people who matter most – to the people who aren’t here in Davos and never will be.”

This being said, it is important to acknowledge the role that illuminated leadership can have in the world and what change could be brought forward if ideas, resource and political will are brought together. The Davos encounters are unique because they facilitate public-private partnerships and they showcase a different outlook on issues such as growth, welfare and sustainability.

They foster innovation, but at what expense? For example, it is worth mentioning the approach to growth of New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern:

“GDP may say your country is thriving, but it’s not thriving if it’s also degrading the environment and contributing to CO2 emissions. (…) “This year, for the first time, we will be undertaking a wellbeing budget, where we’re embedding that notion of making decisions that aren’t just about growth for growth’s sake, but how are our people faring. How is their overall wellbeing and their mental health [and] how is our environment doing? These are the measures that will give us a true measure of our success.”

This perspective should be promoted more. “A stronger voice should be given to social actors and trade unions at Davos”, CESI Secretary-General Klaus Heeger comments. “We know by now that equality is an important element for growth and sustainability. Let’s see how to achieve it more.” After experiencing the Gilet Jaunes protests against an increased government-tax on fuel it is clear that balancing labour, taxation and income distribution is very difficult. Precisely for this kind of reasons CESI President Romain Wolff supports “the idea of more trade-union representation of workers in all forms of dialogues and negotiations in order to reach more consensuses and goals.”

CESI continues to follow the agenda-setting taking place each year in Davos and calls for more substantive discussions on matters of general interest such as social dumping, precarious work and persistent broader socio-economic and gender inequalities.

Picture: Davos sun © weflive.com 2019

Klaus Heeger stressed: “The future challenges are tremendous! If we miss the train now, it will be too late. We are therefore very pleased by the endeavour of the European Commission to place education at the top of the EU agenda”.

Despite education being mainly a national competence, CESI has always advocated a strong European commitment for the quality of training and education. “The technological revolution leads to a gigantic societal upheaval which will not only require totally new skills, but an increased need for orientation, values and identity. This challenge cannot be tackled at the Member State level alone and the Commission can count on our assistance”, Klaus Heeger said. “In the end, it will be about investments in education and the unconditional valorisation and support of teachers and schools!”

The Commission’s package entails a series of measures aimed at strengthening key competences, digital skills, and the European dimension of teaching. More specifically, it consists of three initiatives:

• a Council Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning which updates the 2006 Recommendation on Key Competences, giving further emphasis to transversal skills like civic and entrepreneurship competences;
• a Digital Education Action Plan which sets out the priorities of making better use of digital technology for teaching and learning, and developing relevant digital skills and competences; and
• a Council Recommendation on common values, inclusive education and the European dimension of teaching which recommends Member States a.o. to take steps to boost citizenship education, critical thinking and media literacy skills. This recommendation is the result of a public consultation carried out last summer in which CESI took part.

One of CESI’s 2018 sectoral focus lies on education. Among others, an EU-financed project shall aim at establishing key demands for a better valorisation of teachers and training and education institutions.

Picture: European Education Area 2025 visual © mnsociety.live 2018

The Swiss federal government is considering a corporate tax reform in order to fulfil the international tax requirements. However, with good reason, the government is meeting strong resistance from trade unions and civil servant organisations.

The federal government’s proposal aims to lift the privileges awarded to foreign income, while at the same time massively lowering the tax burden of all businesses by means of tax policy measures and a steep drop in corporate income tax rates in the cantons. By proceeding in this manner, the government hopes to prevent businesses that benefited from former tax regulations from moving out of the country.

Tax deficit estimates predict drastic funding problems in public services. The tax deficits resulting from the tax policy measures and drop in corporate income tax across all cantons and on the federal level are estimated to be over 4 billion Swiss francs (ca. 3,5 billion euros).

It is hard to imagine the consequences of this deficit on the funding of public services in Switzerland.

The Zentralverband (ZV) Öffentliches Personal Schweiz welcomes the elimination of harmful tax practices (tax privileges) in corporate taxation, but it stands against the planned drastic cut to corporate income tax rates. The ZV believes that the ensuing tax deficit will be the result of an irresponsible decision.

The Swiss are critical of corporate tax reforms

Many political parties and civil servant trade unions have already fought this ‘Corporate Tax Reform III’ proposed by the federal government by means of a popular referendum. With President Urs Stauffer at its head, the Zentralverband Öffentliches Personal Schweiz has been on the frontline of this fight.

Swiss voters clearly rejected the Corporate Tax Reform III with a 59.1% NO vote. In addition to tax regulation reforms made on the federal level, the cantons are allowed to adapt the corporate income tax rates on the basis of their fiscal sovereignty. The Canton of Bern was one of the first cantons to cut corporate taxes by over 20% by means of a corporate income tax reduction. In this case too, public service trade unions fought against this move alongside politicians by organising a referendum. The population followed suit by voting against the amendments to the tax laws in the Canton of Bern with 53.6% of voters rejecting them. Here too, the President of the Zentralverband Öffentlichen Personals Schweiz did a lot of political and communication work to convince the public.

In May 2019, there will be another national referendum against a new harmful ‘TP17/TRAF’ tax proposal.

Towards higher taxes and worse public services for cititzens

The combination of the tax policy measures defined by the federal government and the cantons’ corporate income tax cuts will hit towns and cities the hardest.

By means of estimates for the town of Biel, calculations show that the tax policy measures under the TP17/TRAF tax proposal combined with the canton’s corporate income tax cut affecting legal persons (businesses) will lead to a tax deficit of 50%, i.e. between 12 and 15% of the overall tax revenue.

Direct taxes are fundamentally important for the budget of towns and cities. It will be practically impossible to finance the town of Biel as before in a few years due to the predicted tax losses.

The same will happen to other Swiss towns and communes that have invested millions to attract companies – mainly through taxing the citizens – and create thousands of jobs, in the view that the corporate taxes would balance the initial investments out.

The consequences of this tax policy influenced by the federal level will lead to cuts in public services, a deterioration of quality of life linked to tax hikes – which will mainly have to be supported by the citizens.

In the future, the citizens will not approve of investments related to corporations if school and playschool infrastructures cannot be maintained, if there are cuts in the cultural field, or if open-air or public pools have to be closed.

Not only must the cantons’ tax law reforms leading to corporate income tax cuts be fought against, it is necessary to resist the Federal Government’s TP17/TRAF tax law proposal which paves the way for the cantons’ tax law reforms.

The Zentralverband Öffentliches Personal Schweiz and its President Urs Stauffer must once again commit fully to this struggle.

The ZV Öffentliches Personal Schweiz is a member organisation of CESI and its President Urs Stauffer the current Treasurer of CESI.

A video clip with an interview with Urs Stauffer, produced by the Swiss Jusos, is available here.

Picture: Urs Stauffer © ZV 2019

How will the Romanian presidency try to advance the social dossiers in the next months? In the current economic and social climate it is important to highlight how the Single Market, digitalisation, and taxation can positively impact on workers’ rights. Entrepreneurship and job creation are fundamental for Europe’s economy, but decent employment and fundamental social rights must be emphasised.

Under Pillar Four of its priorities, the Romanian Presidency aims at “promoting and supporting the legislative initiatives focusing on social progress and reducing development gaps, equal opportunities between men and women, and ensure access to education and training for the disadvantaged.”

According the Presidency’s work programme, priority files to be handled will include a currently negotiated revised EU regulation for a better coordination of social security systems, a proposal of the European Commission on a new European Labour Authority to help fight abusive employment in Europe. First negotiations with the European Parliament – so-called trilogues – have started January 15 and it is up for the Romanian Presidency to work towards an agreement on these key issues between the Council and the European Parliament.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger underlined that the Romanian Council Presidency should take this opportunity to also bring forward Europe’s social agenda: “The Romanian Presidency should not only focus on the creation of employment, but also push for a ‘decent work’ agenda. This includes, among others, the fight against precarious work, good working conditions, better work-like balance and genuine access to social rights for all.”

The full priorities and the entire work programme are available on the Romanian Council Presidency’s website here and here. Also follow on Twitter the work of the #RO2019EU Presidency for a more #SocialEurope.

Logo: Romanian Presidency logo © Romanian Presidency 2019

One of the key consequences of a change from unanimous voting to QMV in the Council is that decision-taking can no longer be blocked unilaterally and, often, egoistically by single Member States. Politically, thus, the lowest common denominators needed for decisions can, in theory, be raised, which means that this could pave the way for more ambitious legislation in the social field, leading to higher minimum standards. With the EU being a supranational integration project, QMV would help take effective European approaches and decisions in the common interest.

Moving from a special legislative (e.g. consultation) procedure to the ordinary legislative (i.e. co-decision) procedure means that the European Parliament becomes a real co-legislator on an equally powerful footing with the Member States in the Council, instead of being just consulted. In the past, the European Parliament has often shown to be more socially progressive and ambitious than many Member States in the Council. An introduction of the ordinary legislative procedure in EU social policy may therefore promise more socially ambitious EU legislation.

CESI therefore believes that QMV and the ordinary legislative procedure should be introduced in as many social policy subfields as is possible under the EU Treaties’ passerelle clause provisions, namely:

• combatting discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation;
• measures on social security or social protection for citizens exercising free movement;
• social security and social protection of workers;
• protection of workers where their employment contract is terminated;
• representation and collective defence of the interests of workers and employers; and
• conditions of employment for third country nationals legally residing in the Union.

While being aware of the competences and prerogatives of the Member States in social affairs, moving on to QMV and the ordinary legislative procedure in social policy would also respond to the need long advocated by independent trade unions to complement the advanced economic integration and the completion of the EU single market with a real social dimension which responds to permanently evolving realities on the labour market. More and more flexible, mobile and digital work and the spread of -mostly still unregulated- new forms of employment across borders in the EU necessitate certain binding and ambitious minimum social standards for workers and employees beyond national legal orders. This is in the spirit of the ‘Triple Social A-Ranking for the EU’ which Commission President Juncker announced at start of his mandate and must be an essential feature of the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. Delivering on this is also vital to maintain the citizens’ trust in institutions which are capable of responding to the concrete needs of the citizens, which clearly are of social nature at the European level as well.

CESI’s full response to the European Commission’s roadmap on more efficient law-making in social policy is available on the European Commission’s website.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “At the upcoming European elections in May, the future of our open-minded, liberal, democratic and solidary Europe is at stake. We encourage our members and affiliates as well as all European citizens to stand up for a Europe which puts societal tolerance, equality and of course worker rights first. In our pro-European election awareness-raising campaign, we want to specially highlight the contributions made by workers, not only but in particular from the public sector, to make Europe a worthy place to live for everyone.”

Promotional visuals are available for download here (copyright: © CESI 2018). Samples:

‘Digital world of work: What role for interest representation?’

Tuesday, January 29 2019 – 12.00 to 14.00
Light lunch 13.30-14.00

CESI, Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée 1-5, 1040 Brussels

Register for the event here

Digitalisation has long become a buzzword for one of the most profound social and economic transformations since the industrial revolution, a transformation which also spans to the world of work, employment and social security. While established modes of employment are being challenged and new forms of work evolve and spread, trade unions and civil society organisations are still struggling to get to grips with their role.

Indeed, to remain powerful and popular actors, they need to face and address questions which touch on the very foundations of their traditional raison d’être in society and for workers: How can they reach out to, attract and effectively organise new members if target groups are increasingly active online and in decentralised and individual patterns? Will the traditional services which trade unions have offered -collective bargaining and collective agreements- continue to be demanded or do workers increasingly need more individualised services and secure social and labour standards? How do civil society organisations and trade unions need to adjust their internal organisation and working methods and tools in order to remain strong, attractive and demanded in a rapidly digitalising world?

CESI and the Saxony Liaison Office Brussels invite you to discuss these and related questions together with representatives of the EU institutions, think tanks, trade unions and sharing economy platforms.

Welcome
Dr. Hartmut Mangold, Saxon State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport

Keynote address
Mehtap Akgüç, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)

Discussion with the participation of
MEP Agnes Jongerius, European Parliament
Filippo Chiricozzi, ‘Moovenda’ food delivery platform
Lorenzo Repetti, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
Dr. Hartmut Mangold, Saxon State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport

Moderator
Ariadne Mavronikola, Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB)

Conclusions
Klaus Heeger, European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI)

ABOUT THE PROJECT

• Planned project duration: February 2019 – February 2021
• Seminars
  • March 5 2019, Brussels – Invitation and agenda – Wrap-up report
  • September 19-20 2019, Palermo – Conference announcement
  • December 2020/January-February 2021, Berlin (Tbc)
  • In addition, 3 webinars during the duration of the project

The objectives of this project are to inform decision makers and stakeholders about challenges related to precarious work in Europe, to strengthen the voice of trade unions in their fight against precarious work by equipping them with corresponding (legal) information and tools, and to further develop the capacity of trade unions in this field and raise awareness on how the EU level -including both EU policies and the EU legal framework as well as a stronger connection among national trade unions at EU level- can contribute to their mission. In line with the project proposal and subject to feasibility, the project consists of a series of a kick-off conference and an opening and a closing event as well as an online platform for communication and training for CESI trade union members and EU workers in general. Further information: [email protected]

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The full interview is available on CESI’s Youtube channel.

Picture: Jeroen Lenaers © jeroenlenaers.nl 2018

The French FA-FP, the Fédération Autonome de la Fonction Publique, brings together three sections: The FA-FPE (state civil service staff), the FA-FPT (regional and local administration personnel) and the FA-FPH (hospital public service employees). The FA-FPT by itself was a member of CESI already for many years before the FA-FP as an umbrella organisation applied for membership at CESI, thereby additionally bringing in the FA-FPE and the FA-FPH. More information about the FA-FP

The SSDMRS, which has a national scope but is active especially in the region of Srpska represents physicians and dentists employed in the public health care system. The SSDMRS was already an observer at CESI before now becoming a full member. More information about the SSDMRS

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “I welcome the FA-FP and the SSDMRS in the CESI family. We have had ties with the FA-FPT before, and we have got to know the colleagues from the SSDMRS already during their time as an observer. Both organisations will be an asset for us and strengthen CESI in the government administration and health care sectors.”

Logos: CESI/FA-FP/SSDMRS © CESI 2018

The guidelines stem from increasing concerns among employees about experiences of third-party violence at work. Signing the guidelines, CESI joins other trade unions and social partners to provide its members, in particular in central government administrations, with concrete proposals to address, mitigate and prevent third-party violence and its consequences at work, and to develop, where not yet existent, new practical measures to this end.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “Third-party violence at work is a recurrent problem that many of our trade union affiliates experience. This includes workers in central government administrations but in fact extends to employees in other fields of the public sector, including police staff, teachers and health care personnel. The guidelines are an important step to equip our members with tools to address and, ideally, prevent violence against them in the first place.”

The guidelines assemble core elements needed for a suitable policy framework for employers, which include, for instance, an on-going violence-related information and consultation mechanism between managers and worker representatives, a risk assessment exercise to identify potentially problematic structures giving rise to violence, a procedure to monitor and investigate allegations of harassment and/or violence from third-parties, as well as appropriate training for management and employees which will includes general safety in relation to work tasks and the working environment and which may incorporate more specific skills such as techniques to avoid or manage conflicts.

Starting next year, given the importance CESI and its members attach to anti third-party violence, CESI will also implement a larger-scale capacity-building project for its members addressed at an exchange of best practices in this field, co-financed by the European Commission.

Full guidelines

Picture: CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger signs guidelines to tackle third-party violence and harassment related to works © CESI 2018

“It is with extreme sadness and unease that ATCEUC, the Air Traffic Controllers European Unions Coordination, addresses the recent decision from the Swiss Prosecutors of charging an Air Traffic Controller in the aftermath of an aviation incident where no injuries or damages were observed and after that the event having been properly investigated by the aviation authorities. It is the second time it has happened in Switzerland in less than one year,” says Volker Dick, President of ATCEUC.

“ATCEUC”, he continues, “since 2010, after the introduction of Just Culture through Reg. 691, and together with the other ATM Social Partners, has been working in a common effort to promote this Culture not only in the whole aviation domain but in all the High Consequence Industries.”
“Now this joint effort risks to be completely frustrated by the decision of Swiss Prosecutors”.
“The aim of the Just Culture is not to give to ATCOs and other ATM Professionals the freedom to do, during their job, what they want, it is the opposite!” says Jean-Denis Larrere, Vice President of ATCEUC. “A Just Culture is to give them the certainty they will not be punished for their honest mistakes because only after a deep analysis of those mistakes, shortcomings and inconsistencies of the rules can be identified and amended, whilst if neglected, they can lead to tragic consequences. This goal can be reached only if every Professional is encouraged to report any safety related issues she/he might commit, observe or predict”.“By acting in this way, Swiss Prosecutors are endangering not only the whole Swiss ATCOs community but the safety of Aviation across the European continent.”

ATCEUC while expressing the maximum solidarity and broader support for the involved ATCO and all their Swiss colleagues, is informing the European Commission of this risk.

At the same time, ATCEUC urges the Swiss Legislators to quickly review their national approach in similar cases, implementing the “Just Culture” principles in accordance with the highest international standards already ongoing in other States.

Ends

For questions or further information, please contact Jean-Denis Larerre, [email protected].

Full press release as PDF

Logos © Aerocontrol/ATCEUC/CESI 2018

In a joint statement following CESI’s Board meeting today in Brussels, where a moment of silence was held, CESI President Romain Wolff, Secretary General Klaus Heeger and Treasurer Urs Stauffer said:

“On behalf of all member organisations and affiliates, who as us learned about the decease of Pepe this morning, we express our deepest condolences to his family, friends and fellow trade unionists at CSIF. As a long-standing member of CESI’s central administration and finance trade council and, since 2015, as a Vice-President of CESI, Pepe showed extraordinary engagement and commitment in CESI. Pepe was a diplomatic, warm-hearted and humorous trade unionist, who stood up firmly for the defence of workers and for strong public services. He carried Europe in his heart, believing that more can be achieved together and that tolerance, mutual respect and cooperation are vital for the European cause. His passing is a great loss to our European trade union family and he will be dearly missed.”

CESI considers the EMU Completion Packages of the European Commission of December 2017 and its related implementation proposals of May 2018 to create a Reform Support Programme (RSP) and a European Investment Stabilisation Function (EISF) an important opportunity to rethink and rebalance the social priorities, public social investments possibilities as well as the scope of transparency, accountability and public legitimacy of the EU’s economic and fiscal governance structure.

An EMU more tailored to democratic legitimacy and vital public social investments

CESI’s objectives are threefold:
• putting social challenges at par with economic objectives, via the European Semester, the European Pillar of Social Rights and the newly proposed RSP;
• secondly, by making room for adequate levels of public social investments in the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) and the newly revised EISF; and
• thirdly, by putting in place more democratic, accountable and transparent governance structures, in particular through a deeper involvement of the European Parliament in the EMU and a more inclusive stakeholder engagement in the European Semester especially at the national levels.

Full position

A new European Education Area which puts teachers at its centre

In terms of the new forthcoming European Education Area, recently proposed by the European Commission, CESI calls on policy makers in particular:
• to strengthen social dialogue and the role of trade unions in the design and set-up of reforms under the European Education Area;
• to better support psycho-social and socio-educational staff to help prevent increasing occurrences of burnout of professionals, harassment and absenteeism among teachers
• priorities awareness-raising for a more positive image of the teaching profession and the role of teachers in educating responsible citizens of tomorrow; and
• to focus on stable and better material employment conditions for education professionals.

Full position

Towards less social dumping in the EU’s single market

According to CESI, a core reason for social dumping in the EU is that as long as the EU single market rules remain under the exclusive competence of the EU while social policies are primarily the responsibility of the Member States it will be difficult to achieve a balance between the single market freedoms and the social-political goals under the EU Treaties. Steps to help bring down social dumping should include a new effective European Labour Authority, more inclusive posting of worker rules, and revised social security coordination laws to ensure that mobile workers and cross-border frontier region workers and their families are not discriminated against in social security benefits vis-à vis domestic workers as a result of having exercised their right to free movement. According to CESI, the European Pillar of Social Rights should also become a reference framework for social policy making which is actually used by decision-makers.

Full text

The CESI Presidium vehemently condemns the terrorist attack of December 11 2018 in Strasbourg and offers its deepest sympathy to the families of the victims. It acknowledges the prompt and professional intervention of the French law enforcement officers and expresses its gratitude to the French law enforcement forces for the way they intervened to restore safety and public security in the aftermath of the attack.

According to the Presidium, it is now more important than ever to stand firmly for democracy and fundamental principles of the European Union and to efficiently fight radicalization and terrorism both through preventive and repressive measures while respecting fundamental rights and the rule of law as enshrined by national constitution and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

The European Agenda on Security should remain at the core of the approach and more efforts must be made to ensure mutual trust and cooperation between law enforcement authorities both within and among Member States, as mentioned in its 17^th Progress Report towards an effective and genuine Security Union, published on the day of the attack. In the report, tackling terrorism is identified as one of the main objectives of the EU.

CESI believes that the way forward should focus on two aspects. Firstly, to make better use of the visible progress made by the adoption of further legislation on the Schengen Information System, the Passenger Name Record and the use of other databases. In this context, it is important to reach agreement on the legislative proposals on the interoperability and exchange of data from EURODAC, the Visa Information System and the European Criminal Records Information System for third country nationals. Secondly, initiatives such as the Radicalisation Awareness Network Centre of Excellence (RAN) should be further supported. In fighting terrorism, the EU´s clear added value lies in efficient cross-border coordination and cooperation of police forces, criminal justice systems and the civil society.

The Presidium recalls CESI´s political demands for more investment in the law enforcement authorities both in terms of human and material resources. Efficient public security requires competent, equipped, well-resourced and motivated law enforcement officers.

The Presidium emphasises the importance of further strengthening mutual trust between EU and national law enforcement and judicial authorities so to strengthen the effectiveness of cross-border cooperation, joint investigation teams (JITS), EUROPOL, EUROJUST and the European Judicial Network. Finally, the Presidium also expresses its support for efforts which aim at the approximation of criminal procedural law and the definition of criminal offenses and sanctions for serious crimes with a cross-border dimension.

n a debate with a representative from the European Commission’s Directorate-General ‘Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs’ (DG GROW) on a forthcoming evaluation, and a possible subsequent revision, of the ‘EU directive 97/67/EC on common rules for the development of the internal market of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service’ (Postal services directive), the members of the trade council criticised the role of the directive in having contributed to the liberalisation of the sector, with subsequent deteriorations in the quality of delivery service and worsened working conditions for employees in the sector.

The trade council members emphasised in particular the key role of robust and extensive universal service obligations (USOs) for a continued maintenance of a high quality of postal delivery services.

More specifically, reflecting on their own trade unionist experiences of the consequences of market liberalisation, and referring moreover to a study on ‘Main developments in the postal sector between 2013 and 2016‘, authored by WIK-Consult and published earlier this year by the European Commission, the trade council members also criticised increasing subcontracted employment practices and spreading precarious work in the sector – something that needs to be brought up in the evaluation of the postal services directive.

It was agreed to continue to push for strong USOs and decent employment in the sector, potentially including together with UNI Europa, CESI’s partner on the employee side in the European postal services sectoral social dialogue committee.

The trade council also saw a welcome address by its former and now honorary President Willi Russ from CESI’s German member organisation dbb/DPVKOM as well as the adoption of topical resolutions on the role of financial services in postal enterprises, which advocates full access to traditional financial services provided by postal companies, and on the recently adopted EU Telecom Package, which calls for (1) a resumption of negotiations to set up a European body responsible for evaluating the consequences of regulation on jobs, social bodies, job quality, motivation and pay systems, (2) provisions for 5G network licences to prevent a competitive licensing war, (3) non-interference in pricing systems of telecommunications companies which leads to more competition in the sector; and (4) the integration of the new EU general data protection regulation in the package. Both resolutions will be made available soon in the resources section.

A video clip of the meeting is available on CESI’s Youtube channel. The next meeting of the trade council will take place in June 2019.

Picture: CESI Trade Council ‘Post & Telecoms’ © CESI 2018

The full interview is available on CESI’s Youtube channel.

Picture: Helga Trüpel © helgatruepel.de 2018

The position of the Council (‘general approach’) is the basis for negotiations with the European Parliament on final legislative provisions which would, after a transition period, become binding in all EU Member States.

According to the Council’s general approach, haulier enterprises should become obliged to:

• organise the drivers’ work schedules in such a way that they are able to return home at least every four weeks – or, if the driver chooses to take two reduced weekly rests, after three weeks on the road;
• ensure the provision of regular weekly rest for truck drivers outside the cabin (e.g. via hotel accomodation);
• implement the principle of the same pay for the same work at the same place, with the general rule being that if an operation is organised in such a way that the link between the driver’s work and the country of establishment remains intact, the driver should be excluded from the EU’s posting rules (e.g. in the case of bilateral transport operations or transit), but that for all other types of operations, including cabotage, the full posting regime would apply from the first day of the operation. An exception would be that on the way to the destination country and on the way back, one additional activity of loading/unloading is permitted in both directions without falling under the posting regime, or zero on the way out and up to two on the way back.

In a first reaction, CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “As CESI, we clearly welcome the Council’s decision as a step towards better employment conditions in road transport and for truck drivers, whose working conditions are often precarious.

We know hope for a swift negotiation mandate from the side of the European Parliament so that there is a prospect for better employment conditions in road transport and that truck drivers in Europe will enjoy real new benefits soon.” He added: “The propositions in the Council’s general approach would not end all problems of truck drivers but they are definitely a step in the right direction and to build on during negotiations with the European Parliament. They are a remarkable achievement of the Council, given the scope of the diverse concerns of different Member States that had to be reconciled. In the end the Council’s position is the result of finding a balance between a better protection of workers, demanded especially by Western Member States, and the maintenance of competitiveness of the hauliers, advocated mainly by Eastern Member States.”

More information is available on the Council’s website.

Picture: CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger © CESI 2018

ABOUT THE PROJECT

• Project duration: December 1 2018 – July 1 2020 (extended due to Covid19 pandemic until 31 December 2020)
• Seminars
  • March 29 2019, Berlin – Agenda – Wrap-up report
  • June 21 2019, Madrid – Agenda
  • October 25 2019, Budapest – Agenda
  • October 30 2020, Follow Up Meeting (Online)

The objective of this project is to raise awareness about developing trivialisations or acceptances of violence against state representatives, to build capacity improved occupational prevention and repression tools at work which also focus on the protection of victims of violence, and to discuss possible policy solutions for efficient legislation for improved occupational safety and health as well as an effective defence of the interests and rights of victims and more stringent sanctions of violence committed against state agents.

Manifesto #NoViolenceAtWork (PDF)

Project Manager: Marcella Migliori

Further information: [email protected]

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More than ever before, education is a key issue on the agenda of all political decision makers. It is a stated objective of the European Commission to help close gaps between education systems and the labour markets in Europe. At the same time, some young people continue to fall victim to radicalisation and radical political parties are on the rise in Europe – a stark reminder that merely training the future workers of Europe is insufficient: Future responsible citizens must also be formed.

Over two days, the Europe Academy, CESI’s internal training and capacity-building centre, addressed this challenge with the help of contributions of speakers from the European Commission, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop).

In panel discussions, participants discussed data and information on education and teaching in Europe, the role of teachers in the future European Education Area 2025, the scope of the European Semester in national education policies and the importance of investments in education and quality working and employment conditions for teachers. Case studies were presented on education experiences in Finland, Spain and the Netherlands. The symposium culminated in the development of a “Teachers’ Manifesto: Horizon 2025” which CESI will be publish next year.

In his opening address, CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger outlined the two major challenges today’s education is facing, the digital revolution of our economic, social, professional and personal lives and the acceleration and radicalisation of our discourse culture. “The digital revolution is happening and for now it is bringing more questions than answers. What is certain is that the education of the future should provide young students not only with the necessary professional and digital skills but also equip them with a solid set of knowledge and give a base for the development of values, to enable them to become tolerant and responsible citizens. We are very glad that we had an opportunity once again to gather our members and exchange views on these emerging challenges of the future. The positive feedback we received from our members gives us confidence on the value of our Europe Academy as an important trade union platform to exchange ideas and network with partners”, he said.

A video clip about the Lisbon Europe Academy symposium is available on here (teaser) a here (long version).

This conference was part of a broader project of the Europe Academy on “Education Professionals and Trade Unions: Horizon 2025”, co-financed by the European Commission, to help teachers and their trade unions develop European responses to better cope with common future professional challenges.

CESI has been running Europe Academy training and capacity building projects for many years with the objective to inform and engage its member trade union network on specific aspects of European policies and measures, in view of a better ownership of EU-level developments and stronger and more informed interest representation at the European and national levels.

Picture: At the Europe Academy symposium in Lisbon © CESI 2018

After having signed 17 Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) projects one year ago, the defence ministers agreed on additional 17 projects to foster cooperation within EU.

Thomas Sohst welcomed the additional projects: “Cooperation and training between armies is always a good tool to strengthen the common understanding and the trust in each other in light of future operations. Common developed and procured equipment on the one hand can save money on the long run.”

Yet, he also added with regard to the armed forces personnel of the member states working together in joint operations: “Don’t forget that PESCO should also have a social dimension, as we stated already in December 2018. Progress in this area should be evaluated by the defence ministers as well. The armed forces personnel has to be convinced that PESCO is of benefit for them as well, looking to comparable working conditions in peacetime as well during and after operations.”

The conclusions which the Council adopted the at the end of its meeting are available here.

Picture: Trade council ‘Defence’ President Thomas Sohst (DBwV) © CESI 2018

John Clinton, the President of the trade council ‘Justice’, introduced the topic of personal protective equipment (PPE) for justice and security personnel for debate in order “to get a common ground on what is needed to carry on their tasks and to get forward a standardised type of PPEs for workers in the prison sector across Europe.’ Jean-Claude Delage (Alliance Police Nationale, France) updated the trade council members on the use of PPEs in France, following the latest terrorist attacks, emphasising that since modern threats have escalated to new levels of sophistication, PPEs should also be adapted to the new tools and threats used.

A European Commission representative from the Directorate-General Justice gave an overview of EU mechanisms to maintain the rule of law across Europe, with special attention to aspects related to the independence of the judiciary and the effectiveness of public prosecution.

Members of the Austriam GÖD trade union raised the question of what happens when the right to effective and timely judicial remedies is not fully respected. In reaction to a presentation on the recent EU Justice Scoreboard, CESI members pointed out that they stand on the side of the workers affected by the recent attacks on the independence of the judiciary in Poland, Hungary and Romania and on the academic freedom in Hungary.

In connection to this, Javier Jordán de Urríes from the Spanish CSIF trade union organisation made gave an update about the Spanish protocol set up to avoid violence in prisons. His overview highlighted challenges which are valid in many EU member states, including in the fields of ageing prison staff, workforce shortages, privatisation of prisons, radicalisation among inmates and lacking training of prison officers in social skills for conflict prevention) as well as insufficient rehabilitation programmes for inmates.

CSIF members are currently on strike to ask the government for their right to collective bargaining and for ‘equal pay for equal work’ rights. To support their cause, the members of the CESI Justice and Security trade councils adopted two resolutions, one for the workers in the justice sector and one for the prison staff.

A short video capturing the interventions made at the meeting are available on CESI’s youtube channel.

Picture: The trade councils ‘Justice’ and ‘Security’ in session © CESI 2018

One of the key consequences of a change from unanimous voting to QMV in the Council is that decision-taking can no longer be blocked unilaterally and, often, egoistically by single Member States. Politically, thus, the lowest common denominators needed for decisions can, in theory, be raised, which means that this could pave the way for more ambitious legislation in the social field, leading to higher minimum standards. With the EU being a supranational integration project, QMV would help take effective European approaches and decisions in the common interest.

Moving from a special legislative (e.g. consultation) procedure to the ordinary legislative (i.e. co-decision) procedure means that the European Parliament becomes a real co-legislator on an equally powerful footing with the Member States in the Council, instead of being just consulted. In the past, the European Parliament has often shown to be more socially progressive and ambitious than many Member States in the Council. An introduction of the ordinary legislative procedure in EU social policy may therefore promise more socially ambitious EU legislation.

CESI therefore believes that QMV and the ordinary legislative procedure should be introduced in as many social policy subfields as is possible under the EU Treaties’ passerelle clause provisions, namely:

• combatting discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation;
• measures on social security or social protection for citizens exercising free movement;
• social security and social protection of workers;
• protection of workers where their employment contract is terminated;
• representation and collective defence of the interests of workers and employers; and
• conditions of employment for third country nationals legally residing in the Union.

While being aware of the competences and prerogatives of the Member States in social affairs, moving on to QMV and the ordinary legislative procedure in social policy would also respond to the need long advocated by independent trade unions to complement the advanced economic integration and the completion of the EU single market with a real social dimension which responds to permanently evolving realities on the labour market. More and more flexible, mobile and digital work and the spread of -mostly still unregulated- new forms of employment across borders in the EU necessitate certain binding and ambitious minimum social standards for workers and employees beyond national legal orders. This is in the spirit of the ‘Triple Social A-Ranking for the EU’ which Commission President Juncker announced at start of his mandate and must be an essential feature of the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. Delivering on this is also vital to maintain the citizens’ trust in institutions which are capable of responding to the concrete needs of the citizens, which clearly are of social nature at the European level as well.

CESI’s full consultation statement can be accessed here.

The League of Nations, founded after World War I on the basis of internationalist ideas and along the credo ‘cooperation, dialogue and common efforts make conflicts less likely’, was in the end, for a multitude of reasons, not successful, with another -Second- War ravaging the continent and the entire globe and shattering peace to pieces once again. However, after 1945 it served to a considerable extent as a template for the creation of the United Nations, and post-1918 federalist ideas fed, in Europe, into the creation of the Council of Europe and into what later became the EU.

According to CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger, it is worth considering the intergovernmental cooperation and especially the economic and political integration which has evolved in Europe as the backbone of peace and the foundation of relative prosperity that we enjoy in our daily lives.

“Many tend lose sight of the fact that peace and cooperation are clearly intertwined. As we mark the 100-year anniversary of the end of the First World War, we should recall how far we have, in the end, come.”

He added: “In 1918 and again in 1945 other regions in the world were facing similar challenges as Europe -divided societies, mistrust among people, cultures and minorities. Europe’s response was cooperation and integration based on an remarkable extra will to trust each other for the common good in a situation where this was, admittedly, not easy to do. Other regions were not so lucky, and there the scars of war and conflict are visible still today. Many people there would be very glad to have something like an EU. They cannot enjoy peace, and therefore prosperity, as we do in the EU.”

Klaus Heeger concluded: “Today, we should take a step back and recall that even if the EU does have shortcomings, the response to addressing these cannot be to move towards nationalism and protectionism once again. This would be fatally short-sighted.”

Picture: Red poppy, a symbol of casualties of World War I © britishlegion.org.uk 2018

In the joined cases C-619/16 and C-684/16, the CJEU upheld that paid annual leave (and, as a consequence, after the termination of the employment relationship, the “corresponding absence of an allowance in lieu”) remains due by the employer even if the worker has not applied for it during the employment relationship. In the first case, C-619/16, a trainee with the Land of Berlin refrained from taking paid annual leave, whereas the second case, C-684/16, concerned an employment relationship with the German Max-Planck-Gesellschaft in the frame of which a worker requested the payment of an allowance instead of his annual leave not taken. The CJEU, in line with its settled case-law, also reconfirmed that the principles of its judgments “apply equally to employers which are public [] or private []”.

In the joined cases C-569/16 and C-570/16 two widows of former public and private sector employees had claimed, as their heirs, allowances ‘in lieu’ of the paid annual leave not taken by their husbands during their employment relationship.

The Court subsequently stated that “under EU law, a worker’s right to paid annual leave does not lapse upon his death” and that allowances may be claimed by his/her heirs. Here too, the Court upheld that “the heirs may directly rely on EU law, both against a public and a private employer”. The Court finally underlined that the right to annual leave is an essential principle of EU social law and a fundamental right guaranteed by the EU Charter and that this right includes the right to be paid during such leave.

Moreover, in its Matzak ruling, already in February this year the CJEU had delivered a landmark judgment on the ‘stand-by’ time of volunteer firefighters, taking an important stand in relation to the notion of working time and the scope of the working time directive and stating that the ‘stand-by’ time at home of a volunteer firefighter who is obliged to respond to calls from the employer within a short period must be regarded as ‘working time’. This judgement could have strong impacts on national systems of fire and civil protection services, but also on sectors characterised by the need of rapid interventions and hence on the intensive use of ‘on-call’ and ‘stand-by’ services, above all in the security and health sectors.

In a reaction, CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger welcomed the judgments: “The right of workers, whether in the public or the private sectors, have been further strengthened. The ECJ has recently shown a certain intransigence when it comes to the application of the Working Time Directive, and we particularly welcome that the Court increasingly bases its lines of argumentation on the EU Charter. It proves that the rights and principles enshrined therein are not toothless”.

Visual: Decent work. A human right © CESI 2018

Indeed, in 2017 and 2016 the EU Equal Pay Day was also on November 3. In 2015, it was on November 2. This shows just how slow progress towards wage equality is in Europe. Since the first EU Equal Pay Day in 2012, the pay gap between men and women in the EU has been stagnating between 17.5% and 16.2%. “On average, women continue to work almost 60 days for free year after year. Real progress is missing and this is just insufficient”, Kirsten Lühmann said.

In a joint statement issued in advance of this year’s EU Equal Pay Day, European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans and the Commissioners for Employment and for Justice, Marianne Thyssen and Věra Jourová, underlined that “We cannot accept this situation any longer”, but acknowledged at the same time that “There is no instant solution to fix this inequality.” According to Kirsten Lühmann, resignation can be no excuse for inactivity on policy makers.

She added: “I welcome the announcement made this week by the European Commission to pursue an evaluation of the Directive 2006/54/EC on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation. But work must not end with an evaluation. What is needed is swift real action. Trade unions have stressed for long that binding rules, for instance on pay transparency, can be very effective tools to mitigate pay discrimination.”

CESI and its member organisations and affiliates will continue to stand up for quick and substantial progress to close the gap.

Picture: Kirsten Lühmann © CESI 2018

ABOUT THE PROJECT

• Seminar: November 22-23 2018, Lisbon
• Agenda of the seminar: EN /
• Video sum-up clips: Short version / Long version – CESI Youtube Channel
• Manifesto for the teaching profession: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT

The education and vocational training sectors play a crucial role in overcoming the EU member states’ current challenges, including unemployment, job creation and the improvement of social cohesion. Indeed, the education sector is not only expected to transmit knowledge and skills, but also fundamental values such as social, civic and intercultural core values. Despite its important role, the education sector has suffered from budget cuts as a result of the crisis. This means that today, jobs in education are less secure and fewer investments are made than before. In this context, this project focused on teachers at all levels and on the promotion of their profession.

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CESI agrees with the overall objective to have targeted EU legislation which is free from unnecessary complexity or rules on challenges that are best dealt with by the EU Member States. As such, a tool for analysis and review, managed by the European Commission, about which rules and legislation are needed in which are obsolete can be a useful instrument for an efficient and effective EU policy design. There is a role for a ‘Better regulation‘ agenda.

However, CESI raises doubts whether the structure of the tool is fit for purpose to arrive at ‘better’ regulation in the EU. CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said:”According to CESI, ‘better’ regulation should mean, in terms of processes, designing policies in the most transparent, impartial and inclusive manner possible and, in terms of content, having an open eye in policies for a sustainable balance between social, environmental and economic considerations. In both the process and the content-wise direction, the ‘Better regulation’ agenda needs improvement.”

For instance:

• Too often, it seems that the ‘Better regulation’ agenda, materialised via evaluations, roadmaps and impact assessments, is above all a biased tool for the European Commission to help it justify proposing to cut rules to reduce costs for economic actors and enterprises. However, according to CESI, the economic without the social can never be sustainable. Deregulation at the expense of workers is neither fair not expedient, as an adequate protection of workers is both an end in itself as well as an instrument to achieve sustainable economic growth and macroeconomic prosperity in the long term – even if it appears to some to be an “unnecessary cost” and harmful for “competitiveness” at first glance in the short term.

• The wording in consultation documents and the questions posed therein by the European Commission towards the stakeholders seem all too often biased towards the European Commission’s political objectives. The questions should not be narrowly framed but give space for stakeholders to actually provide new ideas beyond of where the European Commission obviously seems to want to head.

• The Regulatory Scrutiny Board, a body of seven members that advise the European Commission on impact assessments and evaluations of policies, should be independent but is instituted by the European Commission itself. It has immense power in the political and legislative field, yet is neither democratically legitimised nor controlled. According to CESI, evidence presented by the social partners (also the sectoral ones!), the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee, as well as information gathered in meaningful public consultations, should be the backbone of transparent and evidence-based policy drafting in the European Commission, not impact assessments drawn up by external consultancies according to the European Commission’s wishes and then rubberstamped in uncontrolled procedures.

CESI’s full consultation statement can be accessed here.

With regards to the Brexit negotiations, the President of the European Council Donald Tusk declared that no date for the Brexit transition period had been agreed upon, but that the proposal for a two-year phasing out period is considered ‘unanimously’.

For CESI, this leads to major open questions in terms of the timing of applicable workers’ rights for both UK residents in the EU and non-British EU citizens working in the UK. CESI President Romain Wolff stated that “Brexit will impact people and workers first and foremost. CESI stands firmly behind its trade union members working in UK in order to assist in the best way possible in this transition.”

In terms of migration, the European Council’s conclusions reveal a more security-based “comprehensive” approach, according to which efforts for better border control and migration management should be stepped up. In the area of internal security, the need to improve the capacity to respond to cyber threats was highlighted.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger expressed concerns whether the workers in the security sector will be sufficiently trained and staffed in order to deal with the new challenges: “As expressed on various occasions in our trade council meetings, we support the European Agenda on Security as long as tackling security threats is done with respect to the fundamental rights and rule of law. This should apply to the procedures involved but also to the status of the police and services involved.”

In its March 2018 resolution, the CESI’s Trade Council Security & Justice had already expressed the strong conviction that the delivery of the European Area of Freedom, Security and Justice is possible only by investing in human capital, i.e. in the workers.

The full conclusions of the European Council meeting of October 17-18 are available here.

Picture: European Council building © Consilium 2018

Under the heading ‘Reinforcing competitiveness, sustainable job creation and social fairness in the European Union’ the discussions of the Tripartite Social Summit this week focused on three main themes:

• The digital revolution and its potential for labour markets and the economy
• Implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights: stock-taking and way forward
• The Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 including InvestEU, ESF+ and the deepening of the EMU.

Luca Visentini, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), said: “We need a socially sustainable EU economic governance with increased public and private investment, social partners involved in the Semester and in European and national reforms, strengthened collective bargaining in all EU countries for a fair wage for working people.

A just transition must ensure workers hit by climate change and digitalisation are not left behind. EU legislation and the new EU MFF must support social cohesion and inclusion and full implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights.”

Klaus Heeger, Secretary General of CESI, the umbrella organisation of independent trade unions in Europe, commented: “We fully agree with Mr. Visentini’s statement. Minimum standards on labour law and social protection, fair mobility and transitions, the fight against precariousness and in-work poverty, investments in people and not least the proper interest representation of workers are a cornerstones of a social EU – especially in view of the emergence of new forms of work in the collaborative economy. CESI’s members attach great importance to this, because they are greatly concerned by it as well.”

CESI has continuously and consequently seized the principles established by the European Pillar of Social Rights, which picks up all of these challenges, by means of a plethora of advocacy initiatives, projects and conferences on core labour rights, adequate social protection and effective interest representation for all workers.

Accordingly, Klaus Heeger highlighted: “We are the ones who seize and implement the Pillar too! Since all workers count, more inclusive ways of policy deliberations have to be found. Because the future of work is also our future!”

Visual: The future of work – Our future © CESI 2018

At CESI, we are fully committed to ensuring the protection of personal data in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679). As a data controller, CESI follows the principles of transparency, fairness, and accountability in all our data processing activities.

Purpose of data collection:

We collect and process personal data for the purpose of fulfilling our organisational objectives, managing events, distributing newsletters, maintaining communication channels, and reporting on EU-funded projects. Personal data may include names, contact details, photographs, and other necessary information.

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CESI processes personal data based on the following legal grounds:

1. Consent: In cases where we ask for explicit consent, such as for newsletters, photographs, and video recording at events.

2. Contractual obligations: When processing is necessary to fulfill a contract or to provide services requested by individuals.

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We ensure that only the minimal necessary data is collected and processed, relevant to the specific purpose. Personal data is retained only for as long as necessary to fulfill the intended purpose or as required by law. When no longer needed, data will be securely erased.

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CESI recognises the rights of individuals under GDPR, including:

•The right to access personal data we hold.

•The right to request correction or deletion of data.

•The right to object to or restrict processing.

•The right to data portability.

•The right to withdraw consent at any time.

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We implement robust security measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, disclosure, or alteration. This includes encryption, secure storage solutions, and restricted access protocols.

Data collection at CESI events and events of our members and partners

CESI and its members organise events and meetings where we may collect personal data in the form of photos, videos, meeting recordings, and live streams. These materials are used for the following purposes:

-Event coverage and communication: We publish photos and videos on our social media platforms, website, and internal communication channels to provide event highlights and updates.

-Reporting for EU-funded projects: Photos, videos, and recordings may also be used in reports related to EU-funded projects. This may involve sharing such materials with the EU Institutions to fulfil our reporting obligations. Additionally, this material may be published in EU-related sources for the purpose of ensuring transparency and accountability in the use of EU funds.

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We are committed to processing personal data in accordance with the GDPR and upholding your rights, including:

-Right to information: We inform participants prior to events about the collection of media and its intended use. Participants are encouraged to ask any questions or request further details.

-Right of access and rectification: You may request access to your personal data, including media in which you appear, and request corrections if needed.

-Right to erasure and restriction of processing: Upon request, you may ask for the removal of your personal data from our published materials under certain conditions.

-Right to object: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data, especially when it comes to media that is shared publicly.

Data security and retention:

CESI applies strict security measures to safeguard the integrity and confidentiality of personal data. Media files are retained for the duration necessary to fulfil the purposes for which they were collected, in alignment with GDPR retention requirements.

For further enquiries or to exercise your rights regarding personal data, please contact us at [email protected].

When we compare that to the integration in the EU, it goes without saying that we are too impatient. The latest enlargement took place in 2013, and yet we expect the EU to be the most homogenous and happy club, with common views on how to achieve an ‘ever closer Union’. Clearly, this is not the case.

Given its heterogeneity, the EU lives of compromises, of respect and of empathy at all levels – between the EU level and the member states, between the South and North, the East and the West.

This, however, becomes increasingly tricky when we think of sensible issues such as taxation, migration, austerity measures or breaches of the Union’s liberal democratic values. In these cases, finding compromises or showing respect and empathy for the viewpoints of others seems difficult, as it leads to having to reconsider own core principles and identities.

Often, we only like the EU when we can ‘impose’ our way of living and thinking on others. Then we fight for the ‘ever closer Union’ and consider ourselves as good Europeans. The moment someone else’s idea may get imposed on us we speak of intrusion, we scourge the bureaucratic monster in Brussels for its unworldliness, we call for more solidarity and the respect of (our) values, and we speak of subsidiarity, brandishing our endangered identity against bloodthirsty ‘eurocrats’.

We should be aware that compromises are not a sign of weakness but that compromise means respect and equality, that it precludes submission, that it is needed if we want the EU to survive.

***

Last Sunday, October 7, was International Decent Work Day. Taking its roots in Article 7 of the UN’s International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, just and favourable work conditions should be ensured for everyone.

Those include fair and equal wages, safe and healthy working conditions, equal opportunities, a limitation of working hours, and adequate holidays. In the light of the 20 principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, solemnly proclaimed by the Council of the EU, the European Parliament and the Commission on November 17 2017, the need to ‘deliver’ “fair working conditions” is more urgent than ever.

CESI has continuously and consequently ‘seized’ these principles – through a plethora of advocacy initiatives, projects and conferences on core labour rights, adequate social protection and effective interest representation for all workers. According to CESI, ‘all workers count’, and in the EU’s common market a basic level-playing field in employment and social affairs is essential to prevent competition and race-to-the-bottoms between Member States at the expense of workers. European minimum standards should apply for everyone, be it on information and consultation rights, posting conditions, paternity leave rights or working time.

This ‘seizure’ is part of our daily work. Not only on October 7. Because decent work is a human right.

Picture: Klaus Heeger © CESI 2018

As established in Article 7 ICESCR, just and favorable work conditions for everyone should ensure:

• remuneration which provides all workers, as a minimum, with fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value without distinction of any kind, in particular women being guaranteed conditions of work not inferior to those enjoyed by men, with equal pay for equal work, and with a decent living for themselves and their families in accordance with the provisions of the present Covenant;
• safe and healthy working conditions;
• equal opportunity for everyone to be promoted in his employment to an appropriate higher level, subject to no considerations other than those of seniority and competence;
• rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays.

Of course, many of these principles are also inherent in national constitutions as well as in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (Fourth Chapter on Solidarity), the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers and the European Social Charter.

But in the light of the 20 principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, solemnly proclaimed by the Council of the EU, the European Parliament and the Commission on November 17 2017, the need to ‘deliver’ “fair working conditions” is more urgent than ever.

CESI has continuously and consequently ‘seized’ these principles – through a plethora or advocacy initiatives, projects and conferences on core labour rights, adequate social protection and effective interest representation for all workers. According to CESI all workers count, and in the EU’s common market a basic level-playing field in employment and social affairs is essential to prevent competition and race-to-the-bottoms between Member States at the expense of workers. European minimum standards should apply for everyone, be it on information and consultation rights, posting conditions, paternity leave rights or working time.

This ‘seizure’ is part of our daily work. Not only today. Because decent work is a human right.

Picture: Decent work, a human right © CESI 2018

The event was composed of two parts, the first one consisting of an internal meeting among CESI affiliates to discuss the major conflictual aspects of the judgment and the subsequent situation experienced at national levels. The second part was a public event, attended by a variety of stakeholders and interested parties.

The panel included the lawyer of plaintiff Rudy Matzak, Pierre Joassart; a legal officer from the European Commission, Andrea Grgic; the Vice-President of Avenir Secours and CESI affiliate Alain Laratta; the President of the Luxembourgish trade union FGFC and member of CESI Marco Thomé; and the Vice-President of the justice sector of the Spanish trade union CSIF and CESI member Javier Jordán de Urríes. The moderator, Pierre Baussand, led a through an active and lively discussion which focused in particular on the different professions which would be impacted by the judgment.

It appeared that not only firefighters could expect changes, but also any professions that are using the on-call working time can expected to be re-thought, or at least considered as being impacted by the ruling, including the health and social care sector.

The cumulation of working hours as a result of people pursuing different jobs at different employers and the exemptions of the EU working time directive in this regard were an unavoidable part to the debates. The discussion also addressed in particular the need for an organisational change of the national voluntary firefighting systems. It was mentioned that voluntary firefighters often accumulate more than 100 hours per week next to their main job, if their on-call home-based working time is to be indeed considered as working time. How could this possibly be reconciliated with legislation?

This also brought up the question of responsibility and remuneration. How will on-call time be financially compensated? Who is to be held accountable for the breach of the 48 hours per week limit under the EU working time directive, and how will it be possible for local authority to bear additional staff costs?

CESI will follow up on this event and this topic which will continue to be at the centre of this debate at the EU but certainly at the national levels too. A note by the CESI General Secretariat summarising the main arguments of the case and its implications is available here.

Find here a previous article published on CESI’s website on the subject matter and here the article that Pierre Joassart wrote on it. Further information is also available in the press release of the ECJ on the case. The full judgment is available here.

In an input presentation, Marco Thomé, President of CESI’s Luxembourgish member organisation FGFC presented the social aspects of a study conducted by the Luxembourgish government to reform its public administration system in the context of digitalising work and organisational processes. Benefits and concerns about the growing use of digital technology were mentioned, as well as the need for trade unions to address this subject and raise awareness on how to manage potentially adverse impacts that digitalisation could have on jobs, on people and the social sphere of our society at large.

With Lara Wolters from the S&D group at the European Parliament as a guest, the trade council members then deliberated on a (possible) exclusion of (certain) public sector workers from chapter III of the currently negotiated new EU directive of predictable and transparent working conditions.

The members made clear that possible flat-rate exclusions of all civil servants and all workers employed in public emergency services, the armed forces, the police authorities as well as judges, prosecutors, investigators and other law enforcement services, as suggested by certain actors, is unacceptable. If at all, exemptions should be carefully tied only to individual articles and apply only to personnel where this can clearly be justified, the members argued.

Susanne Kraatz from the European Parliament’s research service the presented a study recently commissioned by the European Parliament on ‘Employment in Privatized utilities: A higher risk of precariousness?‘, which showed a decrease of public administration staff and a great impact on jobs through privatisation of public utilities. An important discussion on the potential need to (re-)municipalise services followed. The trade council members agreed to continue to address this topic.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger also outlined the concept of a CESI@noon event for the next day on the organisation of working time in public services under EU law following the so-called ‘Matzak’ judgment of the European Court of Justice (CJEU) of February 21 2018 which had ruled that, under EU law, stand-by time of a worker at home who is obliged to respond to calls from the employer within a short period must be regarded as ‘working time’. discussion followed about the impact of the judgment on the system of firefighters in particular but also on other professions in sectors such as health and social care.

The next meeting of the trade council will take place in 2019.

Picture: At the meeting of the LRA Trade Council © CESI 2018

Sara Rinaudo from CESI’s Italian affiliate Confsal was elected a new member and welcomed to the Board as a new active voice for young trade unionists in Italy.

The Board also set up plans for an active and systematic participation of Board members in the different bodies and organs of CESI and for a broad participation of CESI Youth affiliates in the various activities and projects of the CESI Youth.

During the meeting plans were drawn up for a dedicated CESI Youth European Election Campaign as well as for a new project to gather opinions and positions of young trade unionists on ‘The future of work’.

The Board reiterated its motivation towards a dissemination, via its activities, of values such as democracy and equality as well as the promotion of civic participation of young people in the European and national spheres.

The CESI Youth thanks ANIEF, an affiliate of CESI’s Italian member organisation CISAL, for hosting and co-organising this Board meeting.

Picture: The CESI Youth Board in session © CESI 2018

His speech focused very much on topics which promise to be popular with the citizens – first of all, as we know from the news, the abolition of winter-summer-time-switching. It’s a safe topic. Other safe choices: new measures to prevent terrorism, more development cooperation with Africa to mitigate migration push-factors, fresh efforts to make Europe more of a political global player. However, new projects for increased economic and social equality were missing.

While Juncker spoke, CESI’s reflection group met to spell out proposals to sharpen CESI’s identity, improve the representation of CESI’s members and push forward the EU’s social agenda.

Yes. ‘All workers count’. CESI does more than represent its many member organisations and their 5 million affiliates. CESI defends the interests of the society as whole. And a pledge for more social fairness will become key ahead of the upcoming European elections in May 2019. A new visual identity for CESI with sharp slogans will help do that: ‘Yes, we care. We deliver – For a more social EU’.

While CESI Youth analyses best practices of how to recruit new young members, CESI, together with national and international partners, focuses on the interests of workers in the future world of work. To ensure their representation and their access to labour law and social protection. All workers count.

The principles of the much-noted European Pillar of Social Rights must and will be seized at all levels. And coherent approaches at EU level will be increasingly decisive to bring forward social standards and cohesion.

By the way: ‘Yes. We care.’ – This also means we will vote at the EU elections. For social fairness and pluralism at all levels.

This will be one of our main messages in the months to come.

Picture: Klaus Heeger © CESI 2018

Responding to recent political discussions within the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers, and based on a detailed position of CESI, the members engaged in a lively discussion on a (possible) exclusion of (certain) public sector workers from chapter III of the currently negotiated new EU directive of predictable and transparent working conditions with the European Parliament’s shadow rapporteur for the S&D group, MEP Javi Lopez.

Transparent and predictable working conditions: No flat-rate exclusion of public sector workers

CESI’s affiliates made clear that possible flat-rate exclusions of all civil servants and all workers employed in public emergency services, the armed forces, the police authorities as well as judges, prosecutors, investigators and other law enforcement services, as suggested by certain actors, is unacceptable.

If at all, exemptions should be carefully tied only to individual articles and apply only to personnel where this can clearly be justified, CESI’s members argued.

Access to social protection for all: Why no EU directive?

In a discussion with Ana Carla Pereira, Head of Unit in charge of national social security systems at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, CESI’s members warmly welcomed the content of the European Commission’s recent proposal on access to social protection for all. As already stipulated in a previous position of CESI, they however questioned the likely effectiveness of the measure, which will be a Council recommendation and not a binding directive. CESI’s affiliates mentioned that a proposal for a binding directive would have been legally possible under the EU treaties, and expressed hopes that the Member State governments will nevertheless take the initiative seriously.

Work-life balance: Do not water down the European Commission’s proposal

With the Austrian Council Presidency as a guest speaker on the European Commission’s legislative proposal on work-life balance for parents and carers, CESI’s affiliates voiced strong concerns over moves by the Council of Ministers to try to water down various provisions of the European Commission’s original proposal in negotiations with the European Parliament. They emphasised that the provisions of the European Commission’s proposal were minimum measures required to bring about a more equal sharing of domestic responsibilities between women and men. Hollowing out the proposal would jeopardise progress for more gender equality in Europe, CESI’s members argued.

CESI’s FEMM and SOC Commissions also heard a presentation of Aristea Koukiadaki from the University of Manchester on temporary contracts, precarious employment, employees’ fundamental rights and EU employment law, and, under the leadership of CESI’s Spanish member trade union organisation FASGA, deliberated on the ineffectiveness of gender equality plans in companies across Europe. Both topics will be further examined at the next meeting, which will take place on March 7 2019.

Picture: CESI’s SOC and FEMM Commissions in session © CESI 2018

Delivering a ‘Europe which protects’ should mean not only reinforced security and defence, which Juncker stressed repeatedly, but also explicitly refer to social security standards and core labour rights for all. Indeed, little was said about further plans to develop a social dimension in the EU. At least Juncker committed to fair(er) taxation and hence a move towards more equal societies, defending a legislative proposal against some skeptical Member State governments “to make internet giants pay taxes where they create their profits.” Fighting tax evasion and social dumping have been for long on CESI’s agenda.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “With the next European elections coming up in 2019, next year will be a decisive one for Europe. The driving forces of the Union need to stick together, protect Europe’s legacy of liberal democracy and personal rights and freedoms and highlight the added values that the EU can be for citizens.

Key areas where Europe can deliver tangible results for citizens are in the fields of labour rights, access to social protection and fair corporate and finance taxation.” According to the Secretary General, Europe can only be called ‘social’ when workers’ rights are respected, employment is stable, secure and predictable for all, and excessive inequalities and poverty are kept at bay.

Commission President Juncker also highlighted the intention of the European Commission to stop clock-changing. Klaus Heeger welcomed this move, yet highlighted: “As always, the devil will lie in the details. Since it could be up to the member states to decide whether they would like to stick either to summer or to winter time, many discussions at EU and national levels are still to come. It is also questionable if this initiative should deserve such big attention. Stopping clock-changing is something which many citizens seem to agree with; however Europe clearly faces many other, bigger and more urgent challenges than this.”

President Juncker’s full speech and supporting documents and proposals of the European Commission were published here.

Picture: European Commission President Juncker addresses the European Parliament © European Union, 2018

What is working time? The interpretation of the European Court of Justice
The impacts of the Matzak judgment on ‘home based on-call time’ on employment and working conditions

Wednesday, September 26, 2018 – 12.30 to 14.30
Light lunch 12h30-13h00
CESI premises, Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée 1-5, 1040 Bruxelles

Register for the event here.

In February this year, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered a significant verdict in favour of a Belgian volunteer firefighter for his home-based on-call time. Indeed, in its ruling, the Court stated that “stand-by time which a worker spends at home with the duty to respond to calls from his employer within 8 minutes, very significantly restricting the opportunities for other activities, must be regarded as ‘working time’”.
This case may have fundamental impacts on services which strongly depend on “on-call” and “stand-by” duties, in particular in the areas of health, civil protection and law enforcement.
What are the concrete impacts on working time, remuneration and organisation of these services? Is this judgment helpful or detrimental to these sectors? What are the current challenges in terms of sustainability and organisation of these services?
The panel will allow assessments and exchanges of views among experts, lawyers, politicians and trade unionists.

Opening, 13.00
Mr Romain Wolff, President of CESI

Discussion with the participation of
Maître Pierre Joassart, Deckers&Joassart, lawyer of Mr Matzak
Alain Laratta, Vice-President of Avenir Secours, Lieutenant-Colonel of French Firefighters
NN, representative of local and regional administrations (tbc)
Andrea Grgic, European Commission

Moderator
Pierre Baussand, Director of the Brussels Liaison Office, Eurofound

Conclusions
Klaus Heeger, Secretary General of CESI

Call for selection of an external expert (researcher) – deadline 14 September 2018

The applications have to be sent by express courier, putting on the envelope “Call for selection of an external expert (researcher) for the project on Improving work-life balance: opportunities and risks coming from digitalization” at:
Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri
Dipartimento della Funzione Pubblica
Ufficio Relazioni Sindacali
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II n.116
00186 Roma – Italy

Research on Improving work-life balance: opportunities and risks coming from digitalization.

Terms and conditions
In order to ensure a large visibility to these terms and conditions, the Dipartimento Funzione Pubblica (DFP) will publish them on its web site. DFP will keep these terms and conditions on line for 45 days.

1. Background
The research is part of a work-life balance and digitalization project selected by the European Commission under budget line 04.03.01.08, and introduced by the Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri – Dipartimento della Funzione Pubblica (PCM-DFP) – EUPAE Italy, in cooperation with the Trade Union side coordinating entity EPSU, on behalf of the European Social Dialogue Committee in Central Government Administrations – SDC CGA.
The project aims at identifying opportunities/challenges/risks and find innovative solutions for work-life balance stemming from digitalization.

2. Purpose of the Contract
The main aim of this contract is to provide social partners with two products as follows:

First, a European comparative study (Field Study) based on good or interesting policies, practices, national regulations, EU provisions including Commission’s latest proposal to reconcile work and private life, across a sample member states relating to work-life balance and digitalization in central government administrations, looking at issues such as flexitime, reduced working hours, part-time, distance working, forms of leave etc., with particular reference to gender equality.

Second, user friendly Policy Guidelines with DOs and DON’Ts based on the study and inputs from the members of the SDC CGA.
The research will examine the national legal framework on work-life balance and digitalization with a special attention to the evaluation of existing rules and the role of social dialogue.

The researcher can also consider relevant good or interesting practices, policies and experiences developed outside the European Union.

In addition the researcher will contribute to the preparation of the content of the first Focus Group planned in 2018 in Spain, the second Focus Group planned in 2019 in France, and of the final project Conference planned in 2019 in Italy.

The target audience/readership of the study will primarily be the members of the SDC CGA.
The Policy Guidelines will be addressed to managers, employees, and trade union lay members.
The research will be the basis for the development of the serious game: a tool for the follow up and dissemination of project results.

For the full details

Application form

Resolutions were adopted on both topics and are available in the resources section.

In its resolution on the implementation of the new EU Regulation on cross-border parcel delivery services, the members of the Trade Council criticise in particular excessive emphases on parcel delivery costs reductions and the absence of any socio-political aspects in the new Regulation. “More competition in the sector worsens existing social problems. Cross-border parcel delivery services are not improved just by lower prices, but rather by an adequate quality of the service”, the resolution argues. In this context, the resolution calls on Member States to make use of flexibility clauses under the new Regulation to include additional reporting obligations by service providers that can effectively indicate and lead to tackle socially adverse conditions for workers in parcel delivery providers.

The resolution on worker-friendly demographic change in telecoms and postal service providers argues in particular against age-related dismissals for workers beyond the age of 50 and in favour of adequate pensions in the sector that can prevent old-age poverty and in favour of additional measures for health and safety at work so that workers can actually work healthily until they reach the statutory pension age.

The Trade Council meeting was also an opportunity for discussions about the situation in the different Member States with regards to employment challenges arising from privatisations, increasing parcel delivery market powers of companies like Amazon and the continuing decline in postal mail. The topic of social and employment impacts of digitalisation was also at the centre of the debate, based on a keynote address by Wilhelm Gloss of the Austrian FCG trade union.

The next meeting of the Trade Council will take place on December 7 in Brussels.

Picture: CESI’s Trade Council ‘Post & Telecoms’ © CESI 2018