From our Summer Days to a busy September | Editorial of SG Klaus Heeger

According to the report, the recent coup “represented a direct attack on democracy in Turkey”, but there has been a “serious backsliding in the past year in the area of freedom of expression”, with “selective and arbitrary application of the law.” Overall, the report notes, post-coup decrees issued by the Erdogan government “produce effects beyond the state of emergency” which “raises questions as to the proportionality of the measures taken.” Most importantly, the report finds that measures also affect key rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), in particular the right to a fair trial.

Klaus Heeger, CESI Secretary General expressed his deep worries about the current situation in Turkey: “CESI and its member organisations avow themselves to the principles of democracy and the rule of such laws designed to protect fundamental rights, especially those established by the European Convention on Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We are therefore strongly calling upon all relevant actors to do what is in their power to make sure that those persons who, as a consequence of the coup, may have been suspended, dismissed or even arrested, are unconditionally guaranteed the fundamental rights to a fair trial by independent and impartial tribunals and the presumption of ‘innocence until proven guilty’. Arbitrary persecutions and arrests remain incompatible with fundamental rights and the rule of law.”

The full Turkey Report can be accessed here.

Yes, the gap between the EU and the citizens must be closed to secure the future of the European project, but, let’s be honest, if the EU wants to provide solutions for the big issues, the renationalisation of policies cannot be the answer. The growing interconnections of national economic, financial, social and security policies require a strong signal towards greater integration within Europe and improved international cooperation.

Empowering the EU to “deliver results” in such areas as migration, security, defense, external relations and taxations require further shifts of national sovereignty in, admittedly, very sensitive areas.

As a trade unionist it is easy to say that solidarity is at the heart of the European social model, but this solidarity cannot only be invoked among workers and between workers and those excluded from the labour market – it must also be invoked between Member States in all kind of policy fields.

Yet as we know, we call for ‘more Europe’ when we think we can impose our way of thinking upon the continent. And we denounce this Europe as undemocratic and intrusive when someone else’s vision is to be imposed upon us.

What we have to learn again is to accept compromises – not only to see them as evils destined to undermine our democracies, but also as necessary steps when serving higher interests.

This higher interest is a more united European continent, a continent where the unconditional respect of democracy, the rule of law and the respect for fundamental rights and liberties are inalienable guiding principles.

After the US Presidential elections, it is fundamental that the EU stands for these values around the world more fiercely than ever before. That is, in the end, what will keep Europe strong.

Kirsten Lühmann, CESI´s FEMM Commission´s chairwoman (again) welcomed the EC initiative: “The European Commission is demonstrating great motivation concerning this issue and it can count on CESI’s unconditional support in its endeavours. However, let us also be honest, the current prognoses are clearly not encouraging. “

According to the latest Global Gender Gap Report 2016 of the world Economic Forum, the worldwide gender pay gap will not be closed for another 170 years, and the economic gender gap 2016 “has reverted back to where it stood in 2008, after a peak in 2013.”

Lühmann deeply deplores these findings: “The 2015 report had predicted 118 years for the worldwide gender gap to close, and now we are at 170 years! Even if economic slowdown has to be taken into account, it means that in too many countries homework has not been done.”

Referring to the to her mind most important conclusions of the Report, according to which the forecasts “reflect the current state of progress and serve as a call to action to policymakers and other stakeholders to accelerate gender equality “, Kirsten Lühmann highlighted everyone´s responsibility:

“CESI is such a stakeholder, and we reiterate our firm intention to make things change. We provide all our expertise relating to the modern working world for the EU equality strategy. As trade unions, we see cases of unequal treatment on a daily basis, so we know that problems are particularly serious for women in the professional world. “

Yet for CESI´s FEMM-Commission chairwoman one thing remains key for any real success: “If the main responsibility for home and child care remains on women, labour market equality will never work. There we need strong legislative incentives and obligations which may lead to a real change of paradigm in our heads.”

Kirsten Lühmann, CESI´s FEMM Commission´s chairwoman (again) welcomed the EC initiative: “The European Commission is demonstrating great motivation concerning this issue and it can count on CESI’s unconditional support in its endeavours. However, let us also be honest, the current prognoses are clearly not encouraging. “

According to the latest Global Gender Gap Report 2016 of the world Economic Forum, the worldwide gender pay gap will not be closed for another 170 years, and the economic gender gap 2016 “has reverted back to where it stood in 2008, after a peak in 2013.”

Lühmann deeply deplores these findings: “The 2015 report had predicted 118 years for the worldwide gender gap to close, and now we are at 170 years! Even if economic slowdown has to be taken into account, it means that in too many countries homework has not been done.”

Referring to the to her mind most important conclusions of the Report, according to which the forecasts “reflect the current state of progress and serve as a call to action to policymakers and other stakeholders to accelerate gender equality “, Kirsten Lühmann highlighted everyone´s responsibility:

“CESI is such a stakeholder, and we reiterate our firm intention to make things change. We provide all our expertise relating to the modern working world for the EU equality strategy. As trade unions, we see cases of unequal treatment on a daily basis, so we know that problems are particularly serious for women in the professional world. “

Yet for CESI´s FEMM-Commission chairwoman one thing remains key for any real success: “If the main responsibility for home and child care remains on women, labour market equality will never work. There we need strong legislative incentives and obligations which may lead to a real change of paradigm in our heads.”

Within the frame of this meeting and his speech at the Congress, Romain Wolff highlighted four points that represent, according to CESI, important barriers to a proper balance between work and family life: rigid working time, children’s care, family members’ care and an the difficult shift from full time to part-time work.

“While a general increased flexibility is welcomed and may be positively influenced by new technologies, this cannot happen at the expenses of the employees´ availability, working time and, last but not least, safety and health”, Romain Wolff underlined. “However, the most fundamental obstacle to be overcome is the one in our heads, telling us us that women should be the ones carrying most of the family and household loads. As long as we cannot achieve a shift of paradigm in this regard, the concepts of work-life balance and gender equality will remain empty slogans!”

In this context, CESI´s French members and colleagues from Alliance Police Nationale have met with the President of the French Republic Francois Hollande to further discuss urgent matters that complicate the work carried out around the clock by security officers.

“The exasperation is fully comprehensible, and CESI reiterates our support for amending and improving working conditions for the security forces. Our colleagues at Alliance Police Nationale have been battling the topic of legitimate defence and safe working conditions for French security officers for years and we not only support them at every step of the way but would like to see these issues being handled more seriously on the European level” Klaus Heeger said.

CESI encourages and supports the trade union movements, and reiterates that we need to protect the ones that are protecting us.

More than 130 participants came together in Madrid to discuss and recommend best practices for efficiently implementing and enforcing OSH policies and regulatory frameworks in the public sector, particularly highlighting the role of managers, trade unions and safety reps.

During the event it emerged that the public sector is very often the first sector to be hit by restructuring and that this usually means more work to be done by less personnel – while expectations addressed to the public sector and its workers are permanently increasing. This leads to problems related to health and safety at work, it was said.

Participants and speakers also underlined that new technologies lead to a “dematerialisation of the office life”, which translates into a change of working time patterns, work organisation and work rhythms. It was highlighted that these new working rhythms -but also the use of the new mobile work devices- can have a profound impact on health and safety.

Different high-level interventions noted the influence of work-life balance, work organisation and of course working conditions not only on the safety and health of workers but also on the productivity of the workforce. The costs of implementing efficient OSH policies within companies or administrations, which always lead to concrete economic and financial returns, need to be considered as investments, it was said. Participants also underscored the role of trade unions and social partners as constructive partners, not as obstacles, in the definition and implementation of OSH measures.

Many speakers underlined the further need to raise awareness about the importance of OSH policies, improve the exchange of best practices, expand and specify legislative frameworks and, most important of all, ensure their proper enforcement.

In his conclusions, Klaus Heeger, CESI Secretary General, highlighted the need for CESI and its member organisations to inform each other and work together hand in hand in order to make sure that the best OSH legislation, models and practices are adopted and applied throughout Europe.

The findings of the symposium, along with those of the first conference of the year, will be used to finalise a study on best practices in OSH in the public sector in Europe. The conference programme, speaker presentations and all further material related to the Madrid symposium and this year’s project of the Europe Academy will be published here.

Matthäus Fandrejewski’s intervention was a follow-up from the European Youth Event (EYE), which took place in May this year in Strasbourg, presenting ideas relating to the EU External Action in dealing with migratory flows.

According to Matthäus, there is an urgent need to better recognise and match skills of migrants with the needs on local labour markets in Europe. In particular, he said that following a screening with the help of a new CV-like database, migrants arriving in Europe should, where possible, be matched to Member States which are in need of special skills that they possess – of course, while taking their cultural backgrounds into consideration. Moreover, a harmonised international equivalence system and a more effective scheme for recognition of qualifications should be implemented in order to assess and make use of the professional competences of migrants that were educated and trained abroad. This would maximise chances for migrants to find employment, make a positive impact on the economy and domestic labour markets, and integrate into societies and local civil society structures.

Matching skills of migrants with needs on local labour markets

He said: “As a trade unionist I know how painstakingly difficult it is to find an opportunity on today’s labour market, even for national citizens. When it comes to migrants they face even bigger difficulties as they have to overcome language barriers and not knowing whether your skills are officially recognised will also lead to a lack of self-confidence. The proposal is to create a database where migrants can upload their CV in order to check if their skills match with the needs of the Member State they would like to emigrate to. Once a match has been found, the migrant can send their application to the Member State. Subsequently the Member State can then verify the application and information the migrant whether he/she stands a good chance to find employment according to their skills, qualifications and languages.”

Investments in public services needed

The implementation of his proposal, he said, would however require the political will of decision-makers to invest more in the necessary public services and administrations. A video recording of the debate that took place can be accessed through the European Parliament’s website. A statement by Matthäus is also available on the European Parliament’s Instagram page.

What is responsible: the discrete but decisive actions of the EU, or internal political pressure on the island itself? Whatever the reason, Prime Minister May has recently announced that Article 50 will be triggered at the end of March 2017 at the latest. The final, effective decision to do so can only be made by the Parliament in Westminster, however.

That is why it is still possible (though currently believed to be unlikely) that the British government may not be able to announce its intention of exiting the EU in accordance with Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, due to a majority vote in the British Parliament from MPs who never wanted the country to leave the EU, despite the British people’s vote in favour of Brexit. In addition, until then, developments in terms of its relations with the EU could lead to the new British government being unable to justify the country’s exit from the European Union. The EU would then find itself in an even more critical position than before the British referendum. Indeed, if the 27-member union does not want gamble away all its chances at a convincing new beginning with greater acceptance and support for European integration and put its own survival at risk, it will have to clearly define its relations and requirements for our British friends.

In order to prevent the failure of negotiations and under pressure from the British, the secession clause was integrated into the EU Basic Treaty or Reform Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU Treaty). The Treaty was thus signed on 13 December 2007 in Lisbon, the city after which the last and currently valid EU Treaty was named.

According to Article 50, an EU Member State “may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements”. To activate its withdrawal, the state “shall notify the European Council of its intention”. Once Article 50 has been triggered, the Member State and the Union must negotiate and conclude an agreement “setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal”. The treaties shall cease to apply to the state in question from the date of the entry into force of the withdrawal agreement. If a state which has withdrawn from the Union asks to rejoin again, its request shall be subject to Article 49 TFEU. Those are the legal requirements.

As can be noted, Article 50 does not exclude the scenario described above. It does not set forth whether or when the British government must make its decision to withdraw from the Union following the British people’s vote. Moreover, the 2-year deadline can be extended, thus requiring further interpretation. In other words, the entire EU could be taken hostage by such manoeuvring by the British government.

However, that cannot be the rationale underlying this somewhat half-baked provision. At the time of its conception, Article 50 was a new, psychological concession directed at the British who were fearful for their sovereignty. However, it was not designed to become a lever and licence for them to weaken or compromise Europe’s unification achievements by means of an unlimited period of limbo because the British government must follow through the politically binding albeit de jure not binding popular Brexit vote. This would lead to a lengthy period of uncertainty, finally ending in the conclusion that the negotiation of a withdrawal agreement is too complicated and tiresome to reach, and that it would not be worth the effort anymore due to the fact that the EU has become too weak and incapable of action.

(A new referendum could provide a solution to the de facto non-negotiable withdrawal agreement – and those responsible would be spared. But in that case, the citizens of all European member states would be dupe, and this would be difficult to justify. Once again, the burden of the blame would fall upon the EU in its usual scapegoat role – instead of it being viewed as a beacon of hope.)

In any case, until then, only a handful of large and influential Member States would be in charge of deciding in what direction the EU should head. Article 218 TFEU sets forth the process for the negotiation of a withdrawal agreement. Whether in or out, it would not be as decisive anymore (even in the event of the application of Article 218, Article 207 TFEU shall rule trade agreements, and they would all have to be renegotiated, demanding colossal and completely unproductive efforts). This betrayal of the fundamental values and basic ideas underlying the EU (such as democracy and the equal treatment of all EU members) represents a deathblow. It is also possible that Chancellor Angela Merkel (who means well) is also part of this serious problem because she does not want to offend our British friends.

Whatever the case, the 27-member EU must interpret Article 50 TFEU in line with the European Union’s best interests. Indeed, it is a matter of survival. An exiting state cannot be responsible for determining the future development of European integration, in any form whatsoever.

The following clear guidelines for action for the 27-member EU should be applied immediately:

• The EU should be responsible for the interpretation of Article 50 TFEU and resolving the legal loopholes therein.
• In accordance with the options at hand, the EU should call upon the British government to issue its decision to withdraw from the EU as a result of the Brexit referendum, without any further hesitation and by the announced March deadline, notifying the EU of this fact as per Article 50 TFEU or announcing the final and binding decision of the British Parliament and British government not to withdraw from the Union by said deadline.
  In the latter case, the Brexit chapter would come to an end, without legal consequences, and the UK would remain in the EU as a full member. (However, in this case too, the concessions granted by the EU to Mr Cameron prior to the referendum to improve the chances of a “Remain” vote would not be viewed as a British acquis, despite the fact that no conditions were tied to them at the time.)
  The British government would then be in charge of explaining to British voters why it cannot or will not carry out the will of the majority. In that case, it is highly likely that new elections would have to take place in England because the government has repeatedly announced that it would implement the Brexit vote.
• If Britain does not formalise its intention to exit the EU by March 2017 or does not formally announce its wish to remain in the Union by that same date to the competent bodies of the EU, the latter will decide, acting by a qualified majority, that the withdrawal of Britain shall become effective in law with immediate effect on March 31 2017 as a result of the will of the majority of British voters. From that moment on, from the EU’s standpoint, Great Britain would become a third country which would not be party to a large number of the global agreements and treaties struck by the European Union, despite its own government’s lack of action.

The relations between the EU and England will be the object of a newly-negotiated treaty. If the UK formally notifies the EU of its withdrawal from the Union in accordance with Article 50 by 31 March 2017, a transition period of two years will be granted before the country’s exit from the Union is fully effective (this period may even be prolonged upon the EU’s unanimous decision). This will provide time to negotiate the future relations between Britain and the EU. The country’s exit from the Union, however, will take effect upon the termination of this transition period, whether the negotiations have been successful or not.

In my opinion, in line with the rationale of Article 50 TFEU and the above guidelines, British employees and civil servants working for EU institutions that are involved in paving the ground for political EU decisions or who can influence them should leave their posts immediately, be suspended or take early retirement. Commission President Juncker’s promise would have to be adapted accordingly.

Great Britain’s participation to covering these costs will have to be negotiated. This must definitely remain an obligation for the UK. The required removal should apply to Council members, MEPs and Commission members (the English Commissioner Lord Hill resigned from his position of his own volition following the Brexit vote, but he was substituted by Sir Julian King from the UK for the new Security Union portfolio), as well as to the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee. Their expert knowledge may be required in the country’s delegation, however.

A special case is that of the former Portuguese President of the Commission, Mr Barroso, who has recently accepted a top position at Goldman-Sachs: he is supposed to represent the interests of the City of London in the upcoming negotiations. In addition to other matters of concern, his in-depth insider knowledge, network and contacts to individuals involved in the negotiations raise concerns about a conflict of interest benefiting the UK and harming the EU.

Mr Cameron’s referendum aimed to momentarily serve the cohesion of his own party but, as the result of the vote has demonstrated, it has done a disservice to both his country and the EU. The implementation (which is in principle unnecessary) of the British exit will require a great deal of effort and energy. It will have to be planned so as to harm the European citizens as little as possible. Otherwise, the fall of Europe shall be a reality.

This raises new issues about the advantages and disadvantages of direct and representative democracy. We must now hope that those involved will be strengthened by this experience – which could have been spared both at the side of the British and the side of the remaining Member States. No one can say that it is the EU’s fault: the EU can only exist if all those who entered it continue to construct it and participate, as well as grant it the necessary competences for common action. There are sufficient crises as it is.

Further to CESI’s contribution to the first phase of the consultation, the main messages relate to:

• a strengthened protection of women in the context of maternity leave – which includes an extension of the period of dismissal protection, the prohibition of preparatory steps to dismissal and the right to written reasons in cases of dismissal not related to pregnancy;

• longer and more flexible parental leave schemes that encourage an equal sharing of the take up of leave times between men and women;

• the introduction of a new carers’ leave which is designed in a flexible way so that it can respond to rapidly emerging and unforeseen domestic care needs; and

• more flexible working arrangements, which are implemented to the benefit of both workers and employers.

CESI’s full consultation contribution can be accessed here. More information about the consultation is available on the website of the European Commission.

The Presidium adopted the agenda of the Congress, clarified voting rules and discussed draft motions to be tabled. The purpose of motions, to be adopted at the Congress, is to provide guidance for the work of the General Secretariat until the next Congress.

Three topical main motions were discussed:

• A first motion on ‘The future of Europe – Investing in people’ will lay out CESI’s position on the impacts of ongoing and increasing digitalisation on the different forms of employment and on the working conditions of employees. The motion will also outline CESI’s view on how to address possible negative consequences of digitalisation on the work of trade unions, trade union membership and collective bargaining;
• A second motion on ‘Public services: Delivering results’ will make a case for well-equipped and well-resourced public administrations as a tool to provide public services in sufficient quantity and quality. The motion will argue that this is vital in order to manage key societal challenges of the future such as achieving a higher degree of social justice and effective internal security; and
• A third motion on ‘Digitalisation: Finding the balance will set out CESI’s vision of how important European challenges can be addressed, in particular in the field of employment and social affairs. Aspects that the motion will follow-up on include minimum social standards, gender equality, minimum wages, education and training, health, and the integration of migrants and the less advantaged.

The Presidium also endorsed further draft motions on specific changes to the Constitution and the governance of CESI as well as sector-specific draft motions submitted by CESI’s Trade Councils and Commissions. According to CESI’s statutes, the Presidium can table own draft motions to the Congress directly. Draft motions of Trade Councils and Commissions must be approved by the Presidium.

The main messages will be submitted to the European Commission as part of CESI’s contribution to the open consultation ‘Towards a European Pillar of Social Rights’. The main message relate in particular to:

• gaps in fields in which the EU has legislative competences, which should be closed via binding standards based on the highest level of job quality and protection for workers and citizens;

• lacking implementation and full enforcement EU legislation and rules, which should be addressed more decisively than is currently the case;

• meaningful indicators and enforceable benchmarks which should be put in place to achieve social progress in areas in which the EU has no clear legislative competence;

• tools for more public social investments to finance the social provisions set out by the Pillar; and

• a truly inclusive approach to full social partner involvement in the implementation, enforcement and eventual review(s) of the Pillar.

The main messages on the forthcoming Pillar are the basis for a more detailed and elaborate consultation response that will be submitted to the European Commission later this year.

The full text of CESI’s main messages, as adopted by the Presidium, can be accessed here.

The President of EUROMIL, Emmanuel Jacob, introduced the topic by highlighting the changed nature of military missions. Recent terrorist attacks in different European countries have changed the security situation and demonstrated the blurring lines between internal and external security. More than ever before, events outside Europe are having an impact on national security of European states. Politicians in many European countries reacted quickly on the manifold challenges and deployed military personal inside the country to protect public spaces, buildings and offices, to support the police, etc …

The Secretary General of CESI, Klaus Heeger, pointed to the main questions these internal deployments of military personnel raise: Under which conditions is the deployment of military personnel inside the country legal? Which specific tasks may be performed by the military and which not? Is the military trained and equipped to perform police-like security tasks? If not, which additional training is necessary?

Colonel Erwin Hoogland from the Dutch Ministry of Defence explained the particular situation in the Netherlands, where the police can request support from the military, and the military itself has military police branch. He elaborated on the legal aspects of this construction and emphasized that soldiers are not allowed to perform police tasks such as arresting people, if not under the supervision of a police officer. Captain Lars Scraeyen from the Belgian Royal Higher Institute for Defence stated that the law in Belgium strictly separates two kinds of homeland operations the military can execute. On the one hand there are safety operations (mostly to react on unintentional catastrophes) and on the other hand there are security operations (to deal with intentional catastrophes). Police forces can ask for military support when they lack capabilities or manpower to respond to a certain situation. Just like in the Netherlands, military forces – if assisting police forces – are legally not entitled to perform law and order tasks. The final responsibility over their deployment lies with the Minister of Interior. Mr. Thomas Sohst from the German Armed Forces Association (DBwV) explained the important historical distinction between internal and external security (forces) in Germany. The new White Book on Defence presented in summer 2016 foresees however joint training of military and police, to enable both forces to effectively work together in emergency situations. Mr. Sohst warned against an overreaction of the security forces as this could just be the intention of terrorists. He therefore advocated for a calm and rational approach as well as a clear distinction between internal and external security (forces).

During the questions and answers session, a lot of interesting issues were raised:

Lessons learnt from history

Panellists agreed that lessons have been learnt from past challenges. However, they pointed out that this is a very national process as States only learn effectively from their own history: Lessons learnt in other countries cannot easily be copy-pasted since there will always be cultural, legal and political differences.

Importance of intelligence sharing

To enable close and effective cooperation between different security forces, intelligence sharing is a key factor. However, as information flows are becoming increasingly fast and more difficult to validate, priority setting becomes more important.

Effective communication

Governments need to communicate decisions in an effective and transparent manner. While it is always easy to step up the presence of security forces, population might consider a downsizing with critical eyes. Especially when emotions and personal threat assessments are involved, transparent communication of governmental decisions is essential.

Way ahead

Despite the national differences the participants described during the event, their “wish lists” for the future were considerably similar. They hope to see more cooperation between the different security forces: Joint training and education would enable the lower and middle ranks of the different forces to get to know the mind-set and special situation of the others. Security measures discussed in an interdepartmental dialogue and jointly decided upon at the top-level would enhance the effectiveness and acceptance of the measures taken.

In his closing remarks, Gerrit Schlomach, Parliamentary Assistant to MEP Michael Gahler, welcomed the common ground identified during the discussion. He raised the question whether there is a role for the European Union to play which would go beyond being a platform for exchange of best practices. In this context he pointed to the report on a “European Defence Union” currently under discussion in the European Parliament, where the social dimension of security should be highlighted as well.

According to Klaus Heeger, Mr Juncker rightfully points out that pooling defence capabilities in the form of a permanent structured cooperation is the way forward if the EU wants to stay visible internationally in the area of security and the fight against terrorism. Unfortunately, any concrete follow-up is missing in the Bratislava roadmap. Absent from the summit, the UK hastily declared it would veto the creation of EU military capabilities so long as it remained a member of the bloc. “This may be an affront towards other Member States, especially given their possibilities to proceed with a permanent structure cooperation in the ambit of defence, even when disapproved of by a Member State.”

In relation to the refugee crisis, the major topic – the integration of refugees – has remained unaddressed. “Regardless of the competences of the EU, not addressing the integration of migrants also means not properly addressing important aspects of solidarity, values and security. A smooth integration of over a million refugees is key for Europe, its Member States and their societies”, Mr. Heeger deplored.

Klaus Heeger welcomed Mr Juncker highlighting the free movement of workers as a common European value, just as the fight against discrimination and racism. “CESI agrees that it is vital to realise the principle of non-discrimination for all mobile and posted workers in order to create fair working conditions for all. However, this also includes a proper and swift implementation and enforcement of EU law and rules in employment and social affairs without exception and at all levels. Actions should not be limited to a revision of legislative rules such as the posting of workers directive. Trade unions should be better supported in their efforts to establish transnational legal counselling and assistance networks as well as transnational mutual assistance agreements for all posted and mobile workers”, Klaus Heeger demanded.

As to Europe’s fight against terrorism and radicalisation, CESI has repeatedly underlined that education should become a social integration channel and a value transmission tool, a vector for values such as civil rights, democracy, fundamental rights, tolerance and respect, with the aim of giving people in the process of becoming radicalised a solid feeling of identity that would enable them to rebuild themselves and give them stable reference points. According to Klaus Heeger, the EU should further encourage action in this regard.

Mr Juncker’s perhaps most interesting announcement was his intention to implement the Stability and Growth Pact ‘with common sense’. “Hopefully, this means that the European Commission will finally work towards greater budgetary flexibility for the Member States when it comes to urgently needed social investments”, Klaus Heeger stated. In the past, CESI has repeatedly criticised the current application of the Stability and Growth Pact and the tools of the European Semester which too often obstruct efforts by Member States to invest socially. “Together with other stakeholders, CESI wants to constructively relaunch the discussion on the possibility to encourage, not hinder, social investments in the frame of economic governance and fiscal surveillance. In this regard, Mr. Juncker’s statement does hopefully to point to the right direction”, Klaus Heeger concluded.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “Even if the two reports are not legally binding, the recommendations they set out represent an important step forward in the political discussions on decent and fair working conditions all, which must finally become a reality. The reports will add pressure on the European Commission to finally deliver the Social Triple-A in Europe that President Juncker announced a long time ago.”

Social dumping: Boost the capacity of labour inspectorates and respond to the challenges of digitalisation

The report on social dumping in the European Union highlights some of the current problematics experienced by domestic and posted workers when confronted with a race to the bottom in terms of worker rights and job quality. It calls on the Member States to step up staffing levels and resources for their labour control bodies in order to make sure that they are adequately equipped to enforce (European) legislation. It also underscores the need for the social dimension to be taken on board in the Digital Single Market Strategy.

Work-life balance: Create better conditions for especially for working parents and carers of family members

The report on creating labour market conditions favourable for work-life balance stresses the importance of an adequate reconciliation of the professional and private life in particular for working parents and carers of family members. It calls for family-friendly working environments, reconciliation plans, return-to-work programmes, communication channels between employees and employers, and incentives for businesses and self-employed workers to ensure that people are not economically penalised for having children and that legitimate career aspirations are not opposed to family plans.

CESI was actively involved in the discourse on the reports during the negotatiation and adoption phase. Klaus Heeger added: “Many of CESI’s priorities are reflected in the two reports. We welcome the two votes of the European Parliament and hope they will bring a real difference.”

With Mary Collins from the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) as an expert speaker, the FEMM Commission focused predominately on CESI’s priorities concerning EU work-life balance policies. As part of a second-phase social partner consultation, CESI is currently in the process of compiling a written statement about the European Commission’s roadmap ‘New start to address the challenges of work-life balance faced by working families‘, to be submitted before September 30.

FEMM Commission: Gender pensions gap, work-life balance policy priorities and cooperation with the EWL

The FEMM Commission also heard a presentation by Ms Collins about the EWL’s new campaign on equal pensions, entitled ‘Together we can make it happen, equal pension rights for women now!‘. It was decided to contribute to this campaign with awareness-raising activities.

Discussing CESI’s membership at the EWL, the FEMM Commission concluded that cooperation has been very successful but that there is scope for more project-oriented collaboration between the two organisations.

SOC Commission: Towards a successful Pillar of Social Rights and a balanced New Skills Agenda

The SOC Commission concentrated its debates on main messages to be submitted to the European Commission in relation to a public consultation on a new European Pillar of Social Rights, proposed by the European Commission in March this year. Maria Luisa Llano Cardenal from the European Commission (DG EMPL) presented the latest developments and state of play of the consultation. Gilberto Pelosi from the Social Platform, the largest European-level umbrella organisation for social NGOs, presented the work his organisation has been doing in relation to the Pillar. Mr Pelosi and SOC Commission members agreed that any forthcoming Pillar can only bring real positive social outcomes for workers and citizens if it includes an effective implementation and enforcement mechanism in the Member States.

Michael Horgan, also from the European Commission (DG EMPL), was then invited for a presentation on the New Skills Agenda, an initiative published by the European Commission in June 2016. The SOC Commission members highlighted that the European Commission’s take on skills measures must not be overly utilitarian and based on economic necessities: Encouraging more civic education is just as important as adapting the teaching of skills to the needs of labour markets, SOC Commission members noted.

This was the last meeting of the FEMM/SOC Commissions before CESI’s Congress in December this year, after which both Commissions need to be formally reinstated by a newly elected Presidium.

Statement as PDF

Europe is at a crossroads, and the future of European cooperation and the benefits it brings are at stake. This is about the future of our society and how we want to be viewed by the wider world. The future of our planet and the kind of Europe our children will grow up in. The current crisis highlights the urgent need to reflect on fundamental questions: how do we ensure that the European project reclaims its promise of peace, democracy and solidarity? How can Europe work for its people?

Too many people across Europe are dissatisfied and disillusioned with the European Union and feel remote from its institutions and policies. But there are groups of committed politicians, trade unions, community groups and non-governmental organisations across Europe who are ready to take action and work for a renewed Europe. Together, we can shape a Europe that is inclusive, open, just, sustainable, and that works for people of all ages, social backgrounds and nations.

Where do we go from here to build the Europe we want and need?

Reject populist solutions

This crisis in confidence comes as people struggle with decreasing living standards, declining buying power and the rise of precarious work, hardship created by austerity policies, anxiety over movements of people to our shores, and the impacts of climate change and environmental destruction. As people search for answers, euroscepticism and nationalism, intolerance and misinformation are winning out over cooperation, humanity and solidarity with one other. We must all – leaders, media and individuals – actively and at every opportunity speak out and act against division, marginalisation of different groups in society and those that play on fears for their own political ends.

Tackle challenges together

Many of the challenges facing Europe – such as inequalities, climate change, natural resource depletion, and a global economy that benefits the few and not the many – are better tackled together than by countries individually.

The European Union, which embodies international cooperation and collaboration, needs to be leading in ensuring sustainable and inclusive development, advancing human rights, and allowing for dignified movements of people, where refugees are welcome and all people feel safe.

Fight for a sustainable, social Europe for people and for our planet

There needs to be a decisive and transformational change in political will, direction and policy. Such a vision is provided in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in which people, social justice, environmental and health protection, democracy and transparency take centre stage. Guided by this agenda, EU economic policies need to go hand in hand with strong social and environmental policies. The EU single market and international policies must promote enforceable rules to protect workers, consumers, all citizens – men and women, young and old – and the planet. EU policies must support democracy, dialogue and more equality within and beyond the EU. We need a Europe that aims at improving the living standards of everyone.

Work for better Europe, not less Europe

The current tendency to weaken EU institutions and to strip away protections for people and planet in the name of ‘deregulation’ is not the answer. Current economic policies of reducing deficits and boosting ‘competitiveness’ have promoted too narrow an interpretation of growth , and corporate profits have failed to make it into workers’ wages or trickle down to improve people’s lives.

It is these policies, not ‘too much Europe’, that have alienated people, leaving them feeling disempowered and left behind. We now need new, progressive European initiatives to deliver tangible benefits for people and to win back their confidence and trust. A ‘better Europe’ is where joint European action creates tangible benefits for people and planet. This includes a new focus on equality and inclusion, a relaunch of the European social model to provide decent work, quality jobs and better living conditions, strong environmental protection, meaningful action on climate change, and an EU-wide effort to welcome and integrate migrants.

Listen and engage

EU leaders, prime ministers, presidents, chancellors and parliamentarians must listen and engage actively with citizens of all ages and social backgrounds to understand and respond better to people’s concerns and propose a new, positive vision of Europe. Everyone, perhaps most importantly the young, needs to be more actively involved in decisions that have an impact on our future. Together, we can take the decisions and actions on the issues that matter.

Make the case for Europe

We need a genuine, democratic and inclusive dialogue on the future of Europe, and on how the EU can deliver tangible benefits for Europeans. We stand ready to play an active role in this dialogue, and to work even harder in making the case for the benefits that working together have brought to European citizens, and the values for which this Union stands.

This common statement was drafted on the initiative of WWF, CONCORD, ETUC and European Youth Forum, and supported by the following 177 signatories:

• European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI)
• ACT Alliance EU
• ACT Grupa
• ActionAid International
• Active Retirement Ireland
• ADG
• AEPADO – European Association for the Defense of Human Rights
• Africa e Mediterraneo
• AGE Platform Europe
• Alaturi de Voi Romania Foundation
• Albanian Society for All Ages (ASAG)
• All Ears TM
• ANME – Association for Natural Medicine in Europe
• arbeit plus – Social Integration Enterprises Austria
• Artenave Atelier – Associação de Solidariedade
• Asociación Nacional Presencia Gitana
• ASPUR
• ATDAL Over40
• Ateliere Fara Frontiere
• Atelierul de panza SRL
• Ateljee vzw
• Baby Milk Action/IBFAN UK
• BAGSO
• BirdLife Europe
• BirdLife Finland
• BirdLife The Netherlands
• BirdWatch Ireland
• BLOOM ASSOCIATION
• Bulgarian Red Cross
• CARE International
• CEIPES Belgium
• Centar za životnu sredinu/FoE Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Center for Equality Advancement
• Centre for Peace Studies, Zagreb
• CHEN, patient fertiltiy association, Israel
• Civil Society Europe
• Climate Action Network Europe
• COFACE Families Europe
• CONCORD
• Conference of Religious of Ireland and Irish Missionary Union
• Conseil de la Jeunesse
• Consorzio di cooperative sociali EVT
• Consorzio Sociale Abele Lavoro
• Coordination SUD
• CRIES
• Cultúr Migrants Centre
• Culture Action Europe
• Czech Society for Ornithology
• De Omslag
• Don Bosco International
• Don Bosco Youth Network West Africa
• Dynamo International – Réseau International des Travailleurs sociaux de rue
• EASPD
• EcoPolítica
• EFFAT
• ENAR – European Network Against Racism
• ENEA apa
• ENNA – European Network of National Civil Society Associations
• ENSIE – European Network of Social Integration Enterprises
• ERGO Network
• Estonian Green Movement
• Estonian Human Rights Centre
• Eurocadres – Council of European Professional and Manageral Staff
• Eurochild
• Eurodiaconia
• EuroHealthNet
• European Anti Poverty Network (EAPN)
• European Central Council of Homeopaths
• European Citizen Action Service (ECAS)
• European Disability Forum
• European Environmental Bureau
• European Federation of Building and Woodworkers
• European Federation of Public Service Unions
• European Humanist Federation
• European Institute Foundation
• European Institute of Women’s Health
• European Medical Students’ Association
• European Movement International
• European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP)
• European Parents’ Association
• European Public Health Alliance
• European Race and Imagery Foundation (ERIF)
• European Trade Union Confederation
• European Transport Safety Council
• European Transport Workers’ Federation
• European Volunteer Centre (CEV)
• European Women’s Lobby
• European Youth Forum
• FAEDEI – Federación de Asociaciones Empresariales de Empresas de Inserción
• Fair Trade Advocacy Office
• FATEC (Federació d’Associacions de Gent Gran de Catalunya)
• FEANTSA
• Federació d’Organitzacions Catalanes de Gent Gran, Dones i Família – FOCAGG
• Fédération des entreprises d’insertion
• Fédération Européenne des Femmes Actives en Famille
• FEMS – European Federation Salaried Doctors
• Filipino Women’s Council
• FONSS – Federatia Organizatiilor Neguvernamentale pentru Servicii Sociale din Romania
• France Nature Environnement
• Friends of the Earth Cyprus
• Friends of the Earth Europe
• Friends of the Earth Finland – Maan ystävät ry
• Fundació Trinijove
• Fundación Jóvenes y Desarrollo
• Generation 2.0 Rights, Equality & Diversity
• Generation Earth
• Greenpeace
• HEAL – Health and Environment Alliance
• Hellenic Ornithological Society
• Housing Europe
• IBFAN Africa
• IBFAN Europe
• IBFAN LATIN AMÉRICA AND CARIBBEAN
• ICSW – International Council on Social Welfare
• IFSW-Europe – International Federation of Social Workers Europe
• IGLYO
• ILGA-Europe – European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex AssociationInitiative for Development and Cooperation
• Inter Environnement Wallonie
• International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN)
• International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC)
• International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA)
• International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network
• International Union of Tenants (IUT)
• JURATRI
• KISA – Action for Equality, Support, Anti-Racism
• Latvian Ornithological Society
• Liga para a Protecção da Natureza
• Light for the World International
• Lipu BirdLife Italy
• Mayo Intercultural Action
• Mental Health Europe
• Migrant Tales
• Misiones Salesianas
• NABU – Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (German partner of Birdlife International)
• National Youth Council of Ireland
• natur&emwelt
• Naturefriends International
• Natuurpunt
• Network of European LGBTIQ* Families Associations (NELFA)
• Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities
• Old’up
• OVN -NL
• Oxfam International
• PICUM – Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants
• Plan International
• Polish Society for the Protection of Birds
• QED Foundation
• RESIT – Rede de Empresas Sociais de Inserção pelo Trabalho
• Roma Community Centre Vilnius
• Slovenian Coalition for Public Health, Environment and Tobacco Control
• Social Firms England
• Social Platform
• SOF – BirdLife Sverige
• SOLIDAR
• SOS Children’s Villages International
• SOS/BirdLife Slovakia
• Sport Against Racism Ireland
• SST vzw
• Stichting Laka
• Tallinn Children’s Hospital Foundation
• The Club of Rome EU-Chapter
• The European Federation of Older Persons – EURAG
• The Integraiton and Support Unit
• The Oslo Times
• The Salvation Army EU Affairs Office
• Transport & Environment
• türkiye emekliler derneği
• UNI Europa
• volare a s.stefano
• Volonteurope
• WERVEL – Working Group for a Fair and Responsible Agriculture
• World Vision
• WWF
• YES Forum
• Youth for Human Rights Denmark
• Združenie Slatinka

Grant Agreement N° VS/2015/0350

“Well-being and occupational safety & health (OSH) in central government administrations: tackling psychosocial risks at work.”

Tender Specifications for video on well-being and occupation safety & health in central government administration : tackling psychosocial risks at work

Date of publication on CESI website: 01/07/2016

Deadline for submission: 30/09/2016

To be sent to: [email protected]

TENDER SPECIFICATION

Background

Central government administration employees and management are faced with a certain number of new challenges linked to psychosocial risks that have a direct impact on the well-being at work. Restructuring, the use of new technologies, the evolution of the workforce profile in central administrations and the growing exposure to violence from public service users represent new challenges in terms of psychosocial risks and can lead to serious illness such as burnout. Preventive risk assessment procedures and efficient chain of responsibility are therefore more than ever essential to improve well-being at work and help employees facing mental health problems.

Purpose of the Contract

The main aim of this contract is to provide project partners with a video illustrating the final outcomes of the project: a background study on psychosocial risk in central government administrations and a step-by-step guide providing common guidelines for risk assessment processes and for improving the deployment of the chain of responsibility. The video, in the form of a cartoon, should be a pedagogical tool to explain how to implement the recommendations (common risk assessment procedure and efficient chain of responsibility) when being confronted with psychosocial risk at work.

Tasks to be performed by the Contractor

The contractor will be expected to produce a 4-6 minutes video, in the form of an animation/cartoon. The main purpose of the video is to illustrate the guide drafted by the selected expert and in cooperation with the project steering committee. The video should be a pedagogical (guide user instructions), dynamic, creative and attractive tool. The video producer selected should create an original visual identity with adequate atmosphere, music and voices. The video should be addressed to employers line/middle managers and a broad range of national settings.

The video will be played on computers, mobile phones and tablets, and thus compatible with both technologies HTML5 and Flash.

The script of the video will be drafted in English in close cooperation with the project researcher and project steering committee, allowing for subtitles in 7 languages on a separate budget line (French, German, Spanish, Italian, Czech, Lithuanian and Greek).

Timetable

Duration of the project: November 2015 to May 2017 (18 Months) consisting of 5 stages.

The production of the video will kick in at the fourth stage of the project from October 2016 to February 2017.

REASONS FOR CONTRACTING OUT IMPLEMENTATION WORK:

None of the project partners has the in-house capacity and skills to produce a video in the form of an animation/cartoon. The project partners want to come up with a pedagogical tool addressed to managers and employees on the ground. Producing such a video requires special skills especially in terms of graphic design, visual identity creation and video production that the project partners don’t have at their disposal.

The project partners, in collaboration with the expert, will prepare the script of the video but an external expertise in terms of graphic design and video production is needed to ensure a quality final outcome.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:

Expertise required

The video producer will be expected to demonstrate that he has:

Knowledge of video production (with special skills in animation and cartoons)
Knowledge of graphic design, visual identity creation and subtitles insertion
Experience of producing video with specific requirements and script in English
Experience of working with strict deadline and multiple project partners

Selection criteria

The researcher(s) will be selected on the basis of the clear evidence they provide of how they meet the 4 criteria listed under expertise required (above).

Award criteria

The contract will be awarded to the tenderer whose offer represents the best value for money, taking into account the 4 selection criteria. It should be noted that the contract will not be awarded to a tenderer who receives less than 70% on the Award Criteria.

Content of the bids

The tenderer will ensure that their bid clearly identifies how they meet the selection criteria, ideally by indicating their knowledge and expertise under each of the relevant headings. It would also be useful to see examples of previous work that demonstrates their ability to produce this kind of outcomes/videos.

Presentation of the bids

The deadline for bids is 1 September 2016.

Fees

The fee is €13.000 incl. VAT (excluding travel and accommodation expenses that are covered by another project budget line)

Applications should be sent to Nadja Salson, [email protected]

CESI and EUROMIL

hereby invite you to the next

CESI@noon event

‘The use of military forces for internal security’

Tuesday 27 September 2016 – 1.00-3.00pm
Cocktail lunch at 12.30pm

CESI (European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions), Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée 1-5, 1040 Brussels (Metro Schuman)

The event will take place in English / Register for the event here

***

With growing instability and armed conflicts at its doors, the EU is facing increasing numbers of terrorist attacks and elevated security threats. It has now reached a stage where the line between what is “internal” and “external” security is blurred.

In order to prevent and face further attacks, military forces are increasingly deployed inside the borders of some European countries. While this seems like a reassuring short-term solution, it raises many legal and political questions: Under which conditions is the deployment of military personnel inside the country legal? Which specific tasks may or may not be performed by the military? Is the military trained and equipped to perform police-like security tasks? Which additional training is necessary?

These and many more are the questions to be debated with the participants. The speakers will tackle these issues from a legal, political and a military personnel’s perspective.

Welcome:

Klaus Heeger, Secretary General of CESI
Emmanuel Jacob, President of EUROMIL

Discussion with the participation of:

Colonel Erwin Hoogland, Dutch Ministry of Defence
Captain Lars Scraeyen, Belgian Royal Higher Institute for Defence
Thomas Sohst, German Armed Forces Association

Moderation:

Klaus Heeger, Secretary General of CESI

Conclusions:

Michael Gahler, Member of the European Parliament

The Alliance, established in July 2013, gathers more than 150 stakeholders from 31 countries in the area of apprenticeships. The overarching objective is to engage in networking, cooperation and sharing of good practices in relation to quality apprenticeships.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “Some Member States already have long-standing and successful apprenticeship systems based on quality learning outcomes and good working conditions. As a European trade union confederation, we consider it a natural task to establish cooperation and interaction between the European Alliance for Apprenticeships and our national member organisations active in this field, so that best practices may be shared.”

As a trade union confederation representing the interests of more than 5 million public sector workers, including from national trade unions in the education sector, CESI has been actively following the work of the Alliance since its inception. CESI will, as an official partner of the Alliance, focus its work in particular on events and meetings on the promotion of the reputation of apprenticeship schemes, also in public administrations, and the commitment of teachers in this field.

More information about CESI’s involvement in the Alliance can be accessed through CESI’s pledge as published on the European Commission’s EAfA website.

Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, declared: “Member States cannot give tax benefits to selected companies – this is illegal under EU state aid rules. The Commission’s investigation concluded that Ireland granted illegal tax benefits to Apple, which enabled it to pay substantially less tax than other businesses over many years. In fact, this selective treatment allowed Apple to pay an effective corporate tax rate of 1 per cent on its European profits in 2003 down to 0.005 per cent in 2014.”

Indeed, according to the findings of an in-depth state aid investigation launched in June 2014, the tax rulings in question enabled Apple to avoid taxation on almost all the profits made in the entire EU Single Market by recording all sales in Ireland rather than in the countries where the products were sold.

The Apple case in Ireland, just like Starbucks in the Netherlands and Fiat in Luxembourg previously, is just another example of how harmful tax competition between EU Member States can be. Several hundred billion euros are lost annually by governments in Europe due to tax avoidance – even though many of them are struggling to finance basic public services and are in fact in dire need of taxes.

As CESI has repeatedly stated in the past, much still remains to be done to effectively fight harmful tax practices at the EU and international level and to restore trust in tax systems, namely:

• ensuring more transparency on tax rulings and public country-by-country reporting;
• creating sanctions for corporate tax dodging – So far, caught multinationals only pay what is due, so a deterrent effect is lacking; and
• adopting a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) which, by removing current mismatches between national systems, offers a holistic solution to the current problems with corporate tax avoidance in the EU.

International Youth Day was initially announced on December 17 1999 through a UN General Assembly resolution that went ahead endorsing the recommendations made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth declaring August 12 as the day to celebrate youth across the globe. With a different theme each year, the 2016 Day focuses on the leading role of young people in ensuring poverty eradication and achieving sustainable development through sustainable consumption and production.

CESI affirms the need to work towards poverty eradication and ensuring that the youth can access education, training as well as employment. Young people are more likely to be forced into precarious employment, more than often jumping from one temporary contract to another and are experiencing a staggeringly high unemployment rate. As a comparison, the general unemployment rate within the 28 member states stands at 8,6% according to Eurostat figures, but the figure for young people dating from 2016 is 19,6%. This is unacceptable as the next generation should be the back bone of our societies.

As a trade union confederation, CESI reiterates its role as a social partner to encourage positive developments and calls for further investments into public services especially for the young.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “Public services provide for the necessary conditions for growth, employment and investment – for the population at large, but especially for our struggling youth. Over the last years, austerity and privatisation measures have proven harmful for social cohesion in Europe. However, despite the financial crisis that has gripped Europe leading to an even bigger need for more resources, public services have, during the last years, met with significant budget and personnel cuts and trends towards low pay and poor working conditions.”

CESI is of the opinion that the participation of trade unions in setting into motion European employment policies is crucial to ensure an effective implementation of such measures at the national level. This is especially important with regards to the Youth Guarantee where the implementation needs to be further enhanced and developed throughout Europe. Supporting a sustainable and inclusive recovery together with the implementation of an investment plan for jobs is a necessary pre-condition for improving the situation of young people in the labour markets.

Despite all the prophecies of doom, the European unification process is a truly marvellous feast that was born only thanks to the political will “from above”.

However, at the very latest since the Maastricht Treaty (which paved the way for the Euro), there have been some negative developments, which have gained prominence since the beginning of the financial and debt crises, and they have yet to be overcome. People’s passion for Europe has practically transformed into the opposite feeling. The recent Brexit decision could represent a new turning point. It is pointless to enumerate the errors made until present and analyse them individually. However, we cannot turn the clocks back or return to a point in the past before any of this occurred, to a “status quo ante”. Although the last words about the UK’s exit from the EU have not yet been pronounced, one must look ahead more than ever before. To do so, however, the remaining 27 Member States must agree on a clear common goal and share a joint position.

Learning without looking back in anger

The fact that the UK belongs to Europe was actually always a certain fact. The adhesion of the UK to the European Communities over forty years ago under a sheen of believing that one could participate in this union without restraint and even design it in cooperation with others in a constructive fashion soon proved to be the object of a yet unheard-of sabotage manoeuvre that has always deeply affected the integration process and the original Community and the later European Union. Why? In those days already, political decision-makers and their successors on the British Isles had already clearly made their minds up to stall all steps towards a political union in Europe. Ms Thatcher’s independent “I want my money back” has left a deep scar.

Unfortunately, many countries followed suit – including Germany, sadly – and were able to hide behind such positions. Bragging about European successes, “selling” them on one’s national territory as the achievements of the country’s leaders while blaming anything less attractive concerning common compromises on “Brussels” and Europe, and consequently on the European unification process; and speaking about EU workers in a negative light, denigrating them – these practices have damaged the reputation and image of Europe in our countries over the years. For a hopeful future for European integration, such attitudes must stop once and for all, both on the side of leaders and the media that support them, and a constructive, democratic position must be taken in order to begin walking a better, common path. This is a duty, not an unattainable objective.

For the future of Europe, more truthfulness is definitely required. The truths mentioned above about our recent common history must therefore be addressed “sine ira et studio”, and without bitterness or blame – because everyone is partly responsible.

It must be clear, however, that whoever commits to a now inevitable second attempt to achieve a new, precisely defined common goal cannot simply back out alone once it has been agreed upon. Dishonesty about Europe and broken promises must stop.

New challenges as a binding force

The new global challenges (climate change, debt crises, refugees, etc.) were identified a long time ago. They cannot be dealt with by Member States on their own, only if they act together.

Any other way would not have much impact. In this way, the effectiveness and commitment of our many invoked common values in Europe (as in “advanced” Western industrialised nations) have wasted away and diminished. We have indeed neglected to take care of those values and keep them alive (such as “democracy” and “human rights”, “reliability of administrative actions for the good of the people” and “social justice”). This is why we must resurrect our support of these values and try to experience them in an exemplary manner against a backdrop of truthfulness, if they are still to be binding in Europe and in every Member State. This is the case for the leading classes, who should lead by example, as well as all European citizens in the Member States.

When the European Communities were founded in the 1950s, the memory of the destruction caused by wars between nations in Europe influenced not only the unification concept of the founding fathers, but also other cross-border, integration-promoting forces, such as the convinced European Federalists, whose binding force between nation and language is often denied and underestimated from today’s viewpoint. The Member States’ agreed respect and rejection of all imperialistic expansion was already path-breaking and exemplary. We Europeans can still be proud of those actions to this day. Even other large regions of the world could benefit from them.

However, this does not change anything to the fact that a consensual identification of the common interests of the EU Member States has yet to be achieved. The large eastward enlargement of the EU following the fall of the Berlin Wall was simply too sudden and it happened too fast. In addition, it was not fully in compliance with the original concept drawn up by the six-member Community. This led to excessive expectations from the newly acceding countries… which were eventually dashed. Many of those countries did not immediately want to give up their newly-recovered freedom for the benefit of the European Union after the collapse of the Soviet Union either, in whatever form and whatever the advantages gained in return, although many of the Central and Eastern European countries aspired to belonging to the Union.

This fact must be taken into account too in a second attempt to strengthen the European construct.

Creation of a core Europe with political clout and capable of action at the centre of a larger European Union now counting 27 Member States

A conceivable, feasible way to strengthen and expand what has already been achieved could be the definition of a solution agreed upon by the Member States to abandon the idea of a blanket pace for the continuation of the EU as it now stands and the establishment of a concept for a strong core Europe that could act as an important player with equal rights on the global stage and convincingly reflect European values and its way of life, thus achieving an adequate, responsible potential for power and acknowledgement. The strength to take this step could also arise from the fact that this core Europe may already be proven to be real and embedded in today’s actual European Union, but it may have to be moderately reshaped (which could also be helpful when designing future relations with the British).

This so-called core Europe could be formed by the original six founding countries (France, Germany, Italy and the three Benelux states, i.e. Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg), as well as the two states in the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) and Austria. So it could initially be composed of nine Member States, as long as the populations of the said countries agree with the concept and are willing to go along with it. If countries such as Austria and the Netherlands are not prepared to do so, the core would be smaller.

The remaining 18 countries of the EU (or more) would form a larger union in conjunction with the other core nine (or fewer), in which this stronger and more integrated future core Europe would be integrated. The potential 18 countries mentioned above that would lie outside the core Europe but that would still remain within a larger union (including countries such as Greece, Poland, Hungary or, if applicable, the UK) could adapt the European achievements to their more or less Eurosceptic desires (for instance in the sense of an initial restriction in terms of integration to free trade for these 18 countries) and achieve greater consolidation. This would not prevent a later accession to the core.

In this manner, the achievements of Europe (e.g. the Eurozone, Schengen and the remainder of the Western European Union, WEU) would be secured along concentric lines and ellipses. They could be adapted and may even be easier to manage.

On the other hand, the core Europe would have true common economic, foreign and defence policies, recognised common institutions, thus being a “political union”. Of course, the populations of the affected core countries would have to be asked about this concept and agree to it. On the other hand, in such a core Europe the subsidiarity principle and the expansion of the many value-building individual characteristics of the core countries and regions could be specified and further developed, in order to act as an example for “unity in diversity” – which should still be an aim.

In such a framework, a European identity could finally be forged in a gradual manner. It would emerge from greater identification with the larger European region in a multipolar world, which is where we are heading anyway. Everyone could find their place in that diversity, even in our national and cultural identities, without having to mortgage imaginable developments for the future. Today, no one can reliably say where the final borders of Europe in the east and south will be.

Basically, it is necessary to develop a concept for Europe by means of a realistic, sensible combination of “downsizing” and a greater “step forward” that does not exclude common perspectives, and in which unconditional Europeans, federalists and sovereigntists as well as eurosceptics can all find their place, and which can be supported by all affected population groups.

In this sense, the population totalling 500 million people (but which only represents 7 % of the global population!) could heartily say “Our future lies in Europe!” (where else?) with full heart and conviction once more. As to friends from the UK, the EU will be able to console itself on the basis of the fact that all countries from which the British ever withdrew developed successfully thereafter.

Grant Agreement N° VS/2015/0350

“Well-being and occupational safety & health (OSH) in central government administrations: tackling psychosocial risks at work.”

Tender Specifications for video on well-being and occupation safety & health in central government administration : tackling psychosocial risks at work

Date of publication on CESI website: 01/07/2016

Deadline for submission: 01/09/2016

To be sent to: [email protected]

TENDER SPECIFICATION

Background

Central government administration employees and management are faced with a certain number of new challenges linked to psychosocial risks that have a direct impact on the well-being at work. Restructuring, the use of new technologies, the evolution of the workforce profile in central administrations and the growing exposure to violence from public service users represent new challenges in terms of psychosocial risks and can lead to serious illness such as burnout. Preventive risk assessment procedures and efficient chain of responsibility are therefore more than ever essential to improve well-being at work and help employees facing mental health problems.

Purpose of the Contract

The main aim of this contract is to provide project partners with a video illustrating the final outcomes of the project: a background study on psychosocial risk in central government administrations and a step-by-step guide providing common guidelines for risk assessment processes and for improving the deployment of the chain of responsibility. The video, in the form of a cartoon, should be a pedagogical tool to explain how to implement the recommendations (common risk assessment procedure and efficient chain of responsibility) when being confronted with psychosocial risk at work.

Tasks to be performed by the Contractor

The contractor will be expected to produce a 4-6 minutes video, in the form of an animation/cartoon. The main purpose of the video is to illustrate the guide drafted by the selected expert and in cooperation with the project steering committee. The video should be a pedagogical (guide user instructions), dynamic, creative and attractive tool. The video producer selected should create an original visual identity with adequate atmosphere, music and voices. The video should be addressed to employers line/middle managers and a broad range of national settings.

The video will be played on computers, mobile phones and tablets, and thus compatible with both technologies HTML5 and Flash.

The script of the video will be drafted in English in close cooperation with the project researcher and project steering committee, allowing for subtitles in 7 languages on a separate budget line (French, German, Spanish, Italian, Czech, Lithuanian and Greek).

Timetable

Duration of the project: November 2015 to May 2017 (18 Months) consisting of 5 stages.

The production of the video will kick in at the fourth stage of the project from October 2016 to February 2017.

REASONS FOR CONTRACTING OUT IMPLEMENTATION WORK:

None of the project partners has the in-house capacity and skills to produce a video in the form of an animation/cartoon. The project partners want to come up with a pedagogical tool addressed to managers and employees on the ground. Producing such a video requires special skills especially in terms of graphic design, visual identity creation and video production that the project partners don’t have at their disposal.

The project partners, in collaboration with the expert, will prepare the script of the video but an external expertise in terms of graphic design and video production is needed to ensure a quality final outcome.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:

Expertise required

The video producer will be expected to demonstrate that he has:

Knowledge of video production (with special skills in animation and cartoons)
Knowledge of graphic design, visual identity creation and subtitles insertion
Experience of producing video with specific requirements and script in English
Experience of working with strict deadline and multiple project partners

Selection criteria

The researcher(s) will be selected on the basis of the clear evidence they provide of how they meet the 4 criteria listed under expertise required (above).

Award criteria

The contract will be awarded to the tenderer whose offer represents the best value for money, taking into account the 4 selection criteria. It should be noted that the contract will not be awarded to a tenderer who receives less than 70% on the Award Criteria.

Content of the bids

The tenderer will ensure that their bid clearly identifies how they meet the selection criteria, ideally by indicating their knowledge and expertise under each of the relevant headings. It would also be useful to see examples of previous work that demonstrates their ability to produce this kind of outcomes/videos.

Presentation of the bids

The deadline for bids is 1 September 2016.

Fees

The fee is €13.000 incl. VAT (excluding travel and accommodation expenses that are covered by another project budget line)

Applications should be sent to Nadja Salson, [email protected]

Troubled times ahead for the UK

Especially the UK will likely face troubled times: In British politics, the party landscape will change, with UKIP basically having lost its raison d’être (the departure from the EU) and Prime Minister Cameron having announced his resignation. Plus, in order to stay a member of the EU, pro-EU Scotland may strive anew for independence. Northern Ireland may join these efforts. As regards the economy, the future is just as unclear. The UK will have to negotiate new trade agreements with third countries. However, as a small entity (compared to the EU), the UK will have difficulties to strike favourable deals. And what will be the future economic relationship with the EU, which currently receives almost half of all British export goods and services? EU leaders have so far made clear that a new accession to the EU in the foreseeable future is not an option, and that negotiating cherry-picking such as a British access to the EU’s Single Market with exemptions where its suits the UK best is not acceptable. The EU will likely be tough on the UK. Great Britain could become Little England.

No panic in the EU

For the EU, the Brexit is certainly unfortunate. Especially in its foreign and security policy, the EU will lose weight. However, negotiations on challenges like migration management will remain difficult – with or without the UK. These were neither caused by the British nor will they be solved by the Brexit. What is true, however, is that the EU may struggle to carry on on these subjects for some time, given that Brexit negotations will absorb a lot of resources of the EU during the next years. At the same time, though, in fields in which UK governments have been difficult partners, such as in employment and social affairs, prospects for progress on files and initiatives like the labour mobility package or the Pillar of social rights may even increase.

The EU can also pre-empt a domino effect of exits by other Member States if it makes sure in the exit negotiations that ‘out’ really means ‘out’ and that no benefits can be expected from leaving the EU. In the future, citizens in other Member States may think twice before voting ‘Leave’ in theoretical future referenda.

The International Public Service Day is held under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) every year on June 23. On the occasion of this year’s edition, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: “All countries and all people need a public service that is competent, equipped and well-resourced. Public service needs to be diverse and ethical. It needs to be dedicated to effectively serving people and improving the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable.”

CESI, too, wishes to recall and emphasise the paramount importance of accessible, affordable and qualitative public services to fulfill and respect human rights.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “Public services provide for the necessary conditions for growth, employment and investment and thereby guarantee inclusive, sustainable and democratic societies. But for efficient administrations, sufficient qualified and motivated staff is essential! However, despite the current crises actually requiring even more resources, public services have, during the last years, continued to suffer from significant budget and personnel cuts and trends towards low pay and poor working conditions. This makes their mission to provide effective services of general interest for the citizens difficult.”

He added: “Over the last years austerity and privatisation measures have proven harmful for social cohesion and social justice. Moreover, tax evasion and tax fraud have deprived governments from tremendous but essential resources. It is more than ever urgent to ensure that firms pay their fair share of tax and that states start investing in publicly owned public services again.”

One June 23, CESI’s Presidium adopted an appeal to the EU institutions on the functioning of public administrations in Europe. This appeal calls

• to consider safeguarding the proper functioning of public administrations as a priority objective, not subordinate to any other principle;
• to be clear that in public balances there must not be spending cuts which may put at risk the performance of public administrations;
• to encourage Member States more systematically to ensure adequate wages for public sector workers.

The full appeal can be accessed here (in English language). For other language versions, please see the policy positions section of CESI’s website.

The basic positioning paper, which is an update to a predecessor version of 2013, is structured in four parts.

The first part outlines the role of CESI as a European level trade union confederation in Brussels. It stresses that an increasing number of decisions and laws are struck and adopted on an EU level with concrete impacts on workers, and that this necessitates a European level representation of workers.

The second part sets out fundamental principles of CESI’s trade union activities. The section names non-partisanship, trade union pluralism, freedom and democracy as core principles that guide CESI’s work.

A third section lays out CESI’s particular strength in the representation of public sector workers. It calls for well-resourced public administrations as a guarantee for the citizens’ right to good administration.

Finally, a fourth section introduces CESI’s fundamental action strategies. In doing so, it defines the basic principles of interaction between the CESI General Secretariat and its member organisations and affiliates.

The entire positioning paper can be accessed here (in English language). It is also available in the policy positions section of CESI’s webpage in all five working languages of CESI (EN, DE, FR, ES, IT).

Themed ‘Which indicators for a better integration of the social investment concept and a move towards upwards social convergence’, this CESI-EPC workshop followed earlier editions on ‘Measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of social investment policies and designing the right policy mix’ on October 9 2015 and ‘How to integrate the concept of social investment in the macro-economic and fiscal governance instruments of the EU?’ on February 23 2016.

Chaired by Lieve Fransen, EPC external expert on social policies and former Director for social policies and Europe 2020 at the European Commission, the workshop featured interventions by Diego Collado from the Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy and Anton Hemerijck from the Free University of Amsterdam.

Reflections were presented by Claire Dhéret from the EPC and Frank Vandenbroucke from the University of Amsterdam. Further input was provided Klaus Heeger, CESI Secretary General, Fabian Zuleeg, Chief Executive and Chief Economist of the EPC, Christian Bodewig, Programme Lead for EU Member States at the World Bank, as well as by representatives from the Brussels-based organised civil society, among them the Social Platform, Eurodiaconia, Caritas and Solidar.

During the debate, a discussion ensued in particular about a possible measurement of specific impacts of specific social investments on individuals over time – After all, established indicators on, for example, poverty so far fail to shed light on which social policies impact on them to which degree and at which speed. The ability to measure impacts of social investments in more detail would make it easier for policy makers to design the right social investment measures, it was argued.

It emerged that such precise measurements are, however, conditioned by the ability of social scientists and social economists to deliver research results as exact as in “chemistry laboratories”. It was argued that in areas such as education and training, “proves stronger than plausibility” can be established, even if “delivering chemistry” is (still) difficult in other areas. In any case, several participants said, even plausibility should make a strong case in favour of social investments.

Based on the input of the three CESI-EPC seminars on social investments, the EPC will during the next months work on a publication on how to foster social investments in Europe.

The Union of Montenegrin Physicians was founded in 2013 and is a vocational trade union representing the interests of doctors of medicine. The UMP works towards the improvement of the socio-economic position of Montenegrin doctors as well as for the improvement of working conditions and the protection of the labour rights of its members.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “I am very glad the UMP chose CESI to represent its interests in the EU arena. CESI already brings together a number of trade unions in this area. The accession of the UMP further strengthens our voice as a trade union confederation representing workers from the public health sector towards the European institutions.”

In the position, which was endorsed earlier this year by CESI’s Trade council ‘Central Administration and Finances’, CESI and UFE, the Union of Finance Personnel in Europe, welcome the fact that the new European Commission has placed the fight against tax avoidance and tax fraud practised by businesses on the top of its political agenda but argue that despite some progress, several demands of trade unions in the area of tax transparency and tax justice have not yet been met.

In particular, CESI and UFE:

• welcome the European Commission’s recent proposal on increased transparency requirements for corporate taxation but regret that it only applies to multinationals that operate in the European Union, thus excluding foreign tax havens and pushing businesses to relocate;

• call for a Tax Identification Number (NIF) covering all 28 EU Member States as a tool for public administrators to facilitate the exchange of tax-related information between countries;

• encourage the Commission to pursue an ambitious agenda in terms of a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) in the EU;

• welcome the European Commission’s legislative initiative aiming to introduce six legally binding measures to fight aggressive tax planning applied by corporation but question whether these measures are sufficient to abolish tax loopholes in general and resolve the problem of unjustified transfer pricing, patent boxes, notional interests, hybrid products acting as a base for double non-taxation; and

• encourage the Commission to work towards a harmonisation of procedures as regards the denunciation of tax swindling – noting that the Member States with the lowest fines and least constraints benefit from a competitive advantage and are responsible for a certain amount of distortion of competition, thus promoting tax fraud.

The full joint position can be accessed here (in English language). For other language versions, please see the policy positions section of CESI’s website.

“Once again, we face the growing threat of terrorism and radicalised elements within our own borders. Our European police forces and firefighters are in charge of protecting our security and safeguarding us from dangers. Every single day, they form our first line of defence against terrorism and other security threats. It’s about time we protect them too!”

The UEFA European Championship raises particular challenges, in which all forces of society are urged to ‛protect those who protect’ much more proactively. “At times like these, we need to remember that our societies are based on values of freedom, democracy, respect and tolerance. The current challenges faced when attempting to ensure that these principles are respected are tremendous – yet security forces and law enforcement bodies lack the necessary support.”

CESI’s new position paper on the important role of public sector workers in the fight against radicalisation and terrorism was submitted to the Dutch EU Presidency at a meeting with the Minister of Security and Justice, Ard van der Steur, on May 31. This paper highlights the need for a holistic approach to fight radicalisation on numerous fronts – as well as the urgent need to guarantee increased assistance and support to public sector workers in the fields of law enforcement, civil protection, education, culture and, last but not least, sports.

A humane reception of refugees is a topic that preoccupies many Member States but there are a multitude of integration-related issues that only begin once a person has been granted international protection, entering employment being one of them. At Tuesday’s CESI@noon event, CESI set out to discuss labour market integration from the entrepreneurial and trade unionist side.

Moderated by the Secretary General of the European Movement International, Petros Fassoulas, the event hosted key actors and experts within the field: Brando Benifei, Italian S&D MEP and currently rapporteur for a parliamentary report on social inclusion and labour market integration of refugees; Marie Boscher, legal migration and integration expert in the European Commission’s DG HOME; Elif Alduman, President of the humanitarian and development organisation KYM International; Wolfgang Müller, Managing director at the German Federal Employment Agency; and Robert Anderson, Head of Eurofound’s Living Conditions and Quality of Life research programme.

Brando Benifei: Key to achieve labour market integration without disadvantaging other groups

Mr Benifei firmly stated his belief in things being done at the local level wherever possible, and encouraging what is important for civil society and trade unions. He reported that in his report he put a focus on direct financial support to social partners working on the ground. Mr Benifei also insisted on the fact that integration must not be done at the expense of other vulnerable groups. This can be materialised by working against social dumping and not decreasing national minimum wages or preventing that resources are being channelled from other needs, he said.

Marie Boscher: Failing to invest in integration today will bring enormous costs in the future

Mrs Boscher guided the participants through an overview of recent actions launched by the European Commission in the field of migration management, including the publication of an action plan on integration and a proposal on a revision of the EU’s Blue Card Directive to attract highly skilled third country nationals on June 7. She highlighted that according the Commission, a revised Blue Card Directive would also apply to beneficiaries of international protection and permit them to carry out entrepreneurial activity alongside traditional employment. Ms Boscher was very clear that failing to invest in labour market integration today would bring disproportional costs in the future. She also reported that the Commission will pursue a pilot programme during this summer which aims to find and present best practices for migrant entrepreneurship, and explaining how and why they are so successful.

Elif Alduman, Wolfgang Müller: Labour market integration experiences in Germany and out on the field

Drawing from experiences on the ground, Elif Alduman and Wolfgang Müller spoke of their experiences in Germany and out on the field. Ms Alduman brought forward examples of refugees who had successfully invested and opened up their own businesses and recalled that the former Apple CEO Steve Jobs was the son of Syrian refugees.

Wolfgang Müller presented the German national public employment service, which is the biggest of its kind in Europe. He reported that the service makes an effort to already intervene when refugees first arrive in Germany and the decision of granting asylum is still pending. He underlined the service’s philosophy to initiate the integration process as soon as possible and even before asylum has been granted – albeit only when there is a certain likelihood that the decision will be a positive one. Mr Müller made clear that the service’s intervention policy is based on the likelihood of a positive outcome of an asylum procedure and that it is irrelevant how easy it will be to integrate a person into the labour market.

Robert Anderson: An important role for mentoring schemes by trade unions and entrepreneurs

Robert Anderson presented the work done by Eurofound on refugee integration into labour markets and the possible contributions of social partners in this context. He stressed the importance of sharing best and creative practices as concerns specific aspects related to the integration of refugees into the labour market, such as skills assessments and the recognition of qualifications. Targeted subsidies to employers for job placements may be helpful but involving workers in quality mentoring could also be an effective route, he remarked. He also said that there is an important role to be played especially by trade unions in raising awareness and giving advice to refugees with regards to accessing employment.

The Secretary General Klaus Heeger also concluded that labour market integration of refugees can also be beneficial for trade unions (see also https://euobserver.com/opinion/134381)

CESI’s work on this topic will continue as more refugees are arriving in Europe and it is increasingly important to initiate integration as soon and as all-inclusively as possible.

While allowing for certain flexibility to react to relevant issues that may arise unexpectedly, the work programme foresees the following activities during the next two years:

1. The Committee will closely cooperate with the European Commission throughout the transposition process of
its Agreement on Information and consultation rights of workers and their representatives adopted on 21 December 2015 into a directive and its adoption in the Council and Parliament.
The Committee will also monitor national developments on information and consultation rights, especially regarding restructuring with short updates of key developments at the Committee’s meetings in light of the content of the Agreement.

2. By the end of 2016, the Committee will produce a monitoring report of its Framework Agreement for a quality service in central administrations for a quality service in central administrations.

3. In view of the ongoing European Commission consultation of social partners on its roadmap ‘New start to address the challenges of work-life balance faced by working families’, the Committee will prepare a common position on this particularly important topic. As part of annual reviews, the Committee will follow up on its policy recommendations towards equal pay between women and men adopted in 2014 with a view to improving access of women to decision-making positions and tackling women’s overrepresentation in low pay positions.

4. The Committee will focus on psycho-social health risks at work. To this effect, an 18-month project funded by the European Commission will look at emerging psycho-social problems, new technologies and practical use of health risk assessments. The project will consist of a mapping review of existing literature on psychosocial risks, three regional seminars (Madrid, Vilnius and Berlin) and the designing of a user friendly common health risk assessment tool in the form of a guide and a short video.

5. The Committee will work on a modernisation of administrations in the context of the European Semester and the recent economic crisis in Europe. To this effect, a Draft statement/policy recommendations on the European Semester will be produced.

The full work programme can be accessed here. Further information about the EU’s social dialogue committee ‘Central government administrations’ and CESI’s involvement in it can be accessed here.

Carmen Jaffke from the Luxembourgish CGFP will be a full member in the Board of Administration, Kirsten Lühmann from the German dbb will serve as alternate. The mandates expire in 2018 when renewed elections will take place.

CESI has been a member of the EWL since 2006. Both Carmen Jaffke and Kirsten Lühmann have been a member and alternate in the EWL Board of Administration in the past and have both an extensive track record as trade unionists and supporters of gender equality and women’s rights.

Carmen Jaffke is President of the Equality Law Commission of the CGFP as well as Vice-President of CESI’s Commission on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality. She has held both posts since 2007.

Kirsten Lühmann, a Bundestag MP for the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) since 2009, is a former Equal Opportunity Commissioner of German Police Trade Union (DPolG, a member of the dbb) as well as a former member of the Executive Board and now Honorary member of the General assembly of the dbb’s Federal Women’s Council.

She is also a member of the International Association of Women Police (IAWP) and the European Network of Policewomen (ENP). Within CESI, she currently serves as President of the Commission on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality.

The names of all other elected EWL Board of Administration members will soon be made available on the website of the EWL. Edith Schratzberger Vecsei from the Medical Women’s International Association was elected to succeed Viviane Teitelbaum as President of the EWL. For further information about the EWL, visit http://www.womenlobby.org/.

The recommendations are an outcome of an internal seminar for young CESI affiliates which took place in Brussels on March 3-4 and was co-funded by the European Commission’s Erasmus+ programme. The ‘Recommendations for a boosted participation of young people in civic processes, with a special focus on trade union work’ relate to topics such as:

• establishing more and deeper links between youth work organisations/civil society organisations and young people in order to stimulate their involvement in voluntary work;
• reforming education systems with a view to teaching more civic education;
• having public authorities more visibly award voluntary civic engagement of young people, for instance through certificates and awards;
• putting in place measures that will allow young people to better reconcile job duties and voluntary civic engagements;
• taking measures to reach out more to refugees and migrants for voluntary civic activities; and
• ensuring better framework conditions for youth organisations to pursue youth inclusion activities.

They also specifically focus on ways to engage young people more in trade unionism. They suggest, for instance:

• a better coordination of awareness raising campaigns by trade unions in schools, universities and job-seeker forums;
• a further empowerment young people in internal decision-making processes in trade unions; and
• a more effective legal employment protection for young people engaging in trade union work, especially those in precarious work relationships.

The recommendations can be accessed online through the policy positions section of CESI’s website. They are also discussed in CESI’s internal organs and sent as recommendations for action to all member organisations and affiliates as well as to officials, politicians and decision-makers working on youth policies in the EU institutions.

Klaus Heeger said: “Attracting young affiliates is a challenge that many trade unions face. I am confident that the recommendations worked out by our young members will help us, the trade unionists, be forward-looking organisations with a strong base of young members. I hope that through parliamentarians like Ms Vana, the recommendations will also be considered in future reports of the European Parliament and the Commission and serve as guiding principles for action by politicians and policy makers.”

“It is important to continue helping public administrations in the set-up of awareness-raising and psychosocial risk prevention systems that form part of an overall policy to manage occupational risks and which is integrated into the social dialogue.” This was the message conveyed by the President of the Europe Academy, Emilio Fatovic, in his opening address of the symposium.

Europe Academy President Fatovic: Collective management of psychosocial risks at work vital

Fatovic, an affiliate of CESI’s Italian member organisation Confsal and also a long-standing representative in the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), made very clear that it is the task of trade unions and trade union confederations like CESI to collect more evidence about positive and negative consequences of new work rhythms and to lead a discourse on concrete demands and measures. “It is more than ever important that employees are involved in the management of psychosocial risks at work”, Fatovic concluded.

Keynote address by Danish MP Bent Bøgsted

In his keynote address, Bent Bøgsted, Chairman of the Employment Committee of the Danish Parliament, agreed with this notion, stressing that, when properly managed, new work rhythms can bring benefits and win-win situations to both employers and employees. He cited well-regulated telework as a possible field of application.

A welcome speech was also given by Jørgen Jørgensen, Director of CESI’s Danish member organisation FF (Frie Funktionærer), which co-hosted the Europe Academy symposium together with Krifa (Kristelig Fagbevægelse), a Danish affiliate of CESI’s member Eurofedop.

Work-related sick leave still “unacceptably high”

In a presentation on the EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2014-2020, Zinta Podniece from the European Commission’s DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion noted that according to the Commission, work-related sick leave, work-related diseases and accidents are still “unacceptably high” and put a “heavy burden” on competitiveness and public social security budgets. “Investment in occupational safety and health contributes to the well-being of workers and is cost-effective. According to recent estimates, investments in this area can produce high ratios of return”, she explained. She added that the EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2014-2020 and EU funds play a key role in the Commission’s strategy to encourage EU Member States and employers to improve the implementation record of applicable occupational safety and health (OSH) measures. Innovative ICT products and services, provided for through digitalisation, can also help them adapt workplaces and work organisation – including working time, workplace accessibility and workplace interventions targeted at older workers – to the needs of employees, Ms Podniece concluded.

Public sector workers prone to work rhythms that often lead to stress and absenteeism

Referring to preliminary results of Eurofound’s 6th European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), Mathijn Wilkens from Eurofound explained how working time preferences are often not easily adjustable especially in public administrations, how health sector workers are particularly affected by atypical working hours and how many employees in the education sector have to work frequently during their free time. Stress and absenteeism can be a direct outcome of this.

Ongoing research on new working time models and solutions

Two speakers from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) spoke on working hours, health, well-being and participation in working life and on working hours in knowledgede-intenstive work. Mikko Härmä presented a FIOH project on the creation of new working time models (‘WOW-project’), which aims at the development of guidance to trade unions to improve health, well-being and participation in working lives. Annina Ropponen highlighted that modern forms work organisation developed by the project might, for instance, help employees reduce their work-related smartphone use outside regular work hours.

Two case studies on wellbeing and OSH management in the public sector were presented by Barbara de Clippel from the Belgian Federal Public Service Social Security (FPS Social Security) and Mikkel Hundborg from Krifa. While Ms de Clippel outlined the human resources and OSH-strategy of FPS Social Security (‘Attract-Retain-Motivate-Engage’) – which includes a successful emphasis on employee-friendly digital telework – Ms Hundborg explained just how important functioning work-life balance instruments (such as well-regulated telework) are to keep employees motivated.

CESI Secretary General Heeger: Simply ignoring changes is not an option for trade unions

The symposium was wrapped up by a panel consisting of CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger and representatives from member organisations and affiliates: José Fernández Vidal from the Spanish CSI-F, José Razafindranaly from the French FGAF and Rolf Weber from Krifa/Eurofedop. It was commonly agreed that new working rhythms, caused not least by ongoing digitalisation processes, is an evolving reality which trade unions have to engage in if they want them to happen in their favour. “Ignoring digitalisation and the changes it brings in terms of new working rhythms will mean that things will happen without us”, said Mr Heeger, adding that “trade unions must play a central and active role in practically assisting employers and authorities in the setting up of employee-friendly work environments that respond to new working rhythms.”

Further work by CESI on occupational health and safety

A Europe Academy conference in Madrid on October 14 will follow-up on the symposium in Copenhagen, then themed ‘Responsible players in the implementation of the OSH policy in the public sector in Europe: managers, trade unions, safety reps’. Thereafter, a CESI-commissioned study will be published on good practices in health and safety management in the public sector. The findings of the symposiums and the study will be disseminated via the ‘Healthy workplaces campaign‘ of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), where CESI is a partner.

Further information about this year’s Europe Academy project – including presentations and conference material – can be accessed in the Europe Academy section of CESI’s website.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The project was split in two interlinked seminars taking place in the course of 2016, in Copenhagen and in Madrid, and was synthesised into a study.  

• Copenhagen seminar: 3 June 2016
• Madrid seminar: 14 October 2016
• Brochure Copenhagen seminar: EN/DE/FR
• Brochure Madrid seminar: EN/DE/FR
• Study: EN/DE/FR/ES/IT

The theme of the Europe Academy’s 2016 project was ‘Health and Safety at Work in the Public Sector in Europe: New Challenges’. During a first seminar in Copenhagen, expert speakers from trade unions, politics, think tanks and European institutions discussed on general new challenges for health and safety at work in the public sector in Europe. A second seminar in Madrid addressed the role of managers, trade unions and safety reps as responsible players in the implementation of the occupational safety and health policies in the public sector in Europe. More information about the Copenhagen seminar is available here. A brief report about the Madrid seminar can be accessed here.

Towards the end of the year, was published on best practices in occupational safety and health management in the public sector in Europe. Results were disseminated within the CESI network as well as among European and national level institutions and policy makers and via CESI’s partnership in the ‘Health workplaces campaign’ of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, EU-OSHA.

PRESENTATIONS/SPEECHES :

Copenhagen Seminar, 3 June 2016

• FATOVIC Emilio, 3.6.: FR/IT
• JØRGENSEN Jørgen, 3.6.: EN
• PODNIECE Zinta, 3.6.: EN
• WILKENS Mathijn, 3.6.: EN
• HÄRMÄ Mikko, 3.6.: EN
• ROPPONEN Annina, 3.6.: EN
• DE CLIPPEL Barbara, 3.6.: EN
• HUNDBORG Mikkel, 3.6.: EN
• RAZAFINDRANALY José, 3.6.: EN (Annex) / FR (Annex)

Madrid Seminar, 14 October 2016

• FATOVIC Emilio, 14.10: FR/IT
• FLOCKEN Susan, 14.10: EN
• IRASTORZA Xabier, EU-OSHA, 14.10: ES
• SANCTORUM Brenda, 14.10: EN

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The paper, fully titled ‘Fighting radicalisation: Supporting public sector workers’, is the result of CESI’s long-standing work on how the public sector and its employees can be better equipped and enabled to face rising radicalisation and surging terrorist threats in Europe more effectively. Throughout the last year, CESI held several conferences and meetings on this topic.

Klaus Heeger said: “In the light of recurring terrorist attacks within and outside Europe, the question of how to best fight and prevent terrorism is of crucial importance. It is clear that the public sector and its employees must be at the centre of the debate. As a trade union confederation, CESI represents many public sector employees that get in touch on a daily basis with persons at a potential risk of radicalisation: Teachers in schools, security forces in prisons, police forces in their local communities. They have stressed understaffing and shortcomings with regards to equipment and training for a long time. Our position paper tries to bring this issue to the political agenda.”

CESI’s position paper stresses in particular that:
• the legal protection of security agents must be further improved;
• more training on anti-terrorism is needed for soldiers since they are being increasingly deployed in the fight against terrorism despite this initially not being part of their mission;
• further support and training on the detection of radicalisation is urgently required for the various public sector workers that are in direct contact with individuals at risk of radicalisation – such as teachers or prison guards;
• education should become a social integration channel and a vector for values such as civil rights, democracy, fundamental rights, tolerance and respect. This means that teachers must receive more support from schools – and that schools must receive more support from the state in order to better guide students when shaping ideas and their identity.

The position paper will be made available in the policy positions section of CESI’s website soon.

Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “Accessible high quality public services for all play a key role for inclusive societies and social cohesion and justice. It is especially the less advantaged people that need them because they cannot afford private services. Even senior staff of the IMF – in past often a keen supporter of cuts in public budgets – recently concluded that severe cuts in public services bring about prominent costs in terms of increased social and economic inequalities – and that this hurts the level and sustainability of economic growth at large. It is high time that authorities and governments across Europe – including in Belgium – rethink their restrictions on their investments in public services.”

He added: “Cuts in public services in Belgium have been accompanied by cuts in public sector staff, wage freezes and restructuring processes. Employment conditions have in this process deteriorated both financially and in terms of work intensity. This affects all sectors – from transport to healthcare, education and administrations. If public services are to deliver, its employees must be enabled to do quality work. The Belgian, Flemish and Walloon governments and authorities must return to revamped financial resources, higher staff levels and better working conditions in the public sector. CESI fully supports the action taken today by Belgian public sector workers.”

For the reference to the IMF source, follow this link.

The European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI) and the New European Business Confederation (UNITEE) in collaboration with the European Movement International and KYM International invite you to the next CESI@noon event on

‘Labour market integration of refugees – the role of entrepreneurs and trade unions’

Tuesday 14 June 2016 – 1.00-3.00pm – Cocktail lunch from 12pm

CESI (European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions), Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée 1-5, 1040 Brussels (Metro Schuman)

The event will take place in English

Register for the event here

With a total of 1.3 million asylum applications made in Europe in 2015, the question of how to integrate refugees into the labour market is the challenge for many member states. At the next CESI@noon event, we will be looking at the possible additional ways in which trade unions and entrepreneurs can support and assist refugees.

In the interests of both the refugees and the societies which welcome them, fast labour market integration is key. However, according to recent studies, innovative integration support measures are still lacking – and insufficiently funded. Also, from a trade union perspective, the massive influx of a young labour force may exercise pressure on social and labour protection standards, with the result that the matter of how to best integrate refugees into the labour market is only reluctantly addressed.

Over the course of the event, CESI and UNITEE wish to highlight the potential benefits of various labour market integration measures for refugees, such as mentoring programmes, which may be developed by entrepreneurs and trade unions. Enhancing their role and responsibility may also allow them fully to tap into the potential of refugees as future entrepreneurs, employers, employees and trade union members – not least in order to adapt to future challenges. Possible success stories shall be identified and ultimately explored.

Welcome:

Klaus Heeger, Secretary General of CESI

Discussion with the participation of:

Robert Anderson, Head of Unit, Eurofound
Brando Benifei, Member of the European Parliament
Marie Boscher, Policy Officer, European Commission
Savas Metin, Secretary-General, KYM International
Wolfgang Müller, Managing Director, German Federal Employment Agency
Romain Wolff, Secretary-General, CGFP Luxemburg

Moderation:

Petros Fassoulas, Secretary-General of the European Movement International

Conclusions:

Adem Kumcu, President of UNITEE

As done previously, CESI and UFE, which together represent several hundred thousand employees in tax and customs administrations, met to discuss the recent initiatives of the Commission within this field to set out comprehensive recommendations.

While the organisations welcome President Juncker’s initiative making this fight a priority of the actual European Commission, and presenting over the last year several legislative proposals which are going in the good direction, these only meet half way the expectations and long-standing demands of the trade unions.

For instance, on transparency, which is a key element, the latest proposal on public country-by-country reporting is a good step forward, however the limited scope to corporate within the EU and with an annual revenue above 750 million euros (i.e. only 10% of the multinationals) is considered too restricted to have a real impact. Moreover, in order to facilitate this exchange of information, thus the work of tax professionals, CESI and UFE are of course in favour of the creation of Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN) which have been proposed by the Commission three years ago but are not yet established in the direct taxation area.

On the Anti-Tax Avoidance Plan, while some proposals, such as the introduction of general anti-abuse rules in double taxation treaties (DTC) and a new common list of tax havens outside the EU are positive, others, such as the interest limitation and controlled foreign company rules (CFC) are weaker than those of the OECD and seem insufficient to eliminate rulings, patent boxes, hybrid mismatches, etc.

On this occasion, CESI and UFE wish to reiterate the importance and urgency to relaunch the CCCTB allowing fair taxation and competition at the EU level. While the organisations understand the political difficulties to reach an agreement and the envisaged progressive approach of the Commission (CCTB), the consolidation part remains crucial.

The trade unions also stress the fact that the fight against tax fraud and tax evasion cannot be effective without real administrative penalties, enquiries and the protection of whistle-blowers who have proven their efficiency in revealing tax scandals.

Finally, and most importantly, the trade unions highlight once again the urgent need to invest in tax and customs administrations which, with the necessary means and staffs, can contribute to increase the revenue in the member states by reducing tax fraud and tax evasion. Investments in tax collecting rather than budget cuts are needed now more than ever.

CESI and UFE believe that with a corresponding political determination the EU can actually decrease tax fraud and tax evasion. Both organisations therefore hope that these proposals are just the beginning of fair taxation and that future measures will pick up from there and be more ambitious.

The full position will be made available in the policy positions section of CESI’s website once the position has been adopted by CESI’s Presidium. For more information please contact Agathe Smyth, Policy adviser, [email protected].

Klára Fóti from Eurofound, delivered a presentation on consequences of intra-EU mobility on social security systems and public services. She noted in particular that unmet needs of mobile EU citizens in their host countries are mainly found in areas like language services and information on rights. More training for staff in service providers on the rules and regulations applicable to EU mobile citizens would have a significant positive impact on labour market and social integration as well as on destitution, she stressed.

The Trade Council members also held a debate on the impacts of digitalisation on employment relationships and trade unionism in public administrations. There was a general agreement that digitalisation should not be considered a threat per se but that, if properly shaped and regulated, digitalisation can lead to win-win situations for both employees and employers. It was highlighted that financial savings, achieved by productivity gains through digitalisation, should be shared with employees in one way or the other. It was also suggested that the concept of working time should be revisited if workers achieve productivity gains in the context of digitisation processes.

A discussion ensued about the influences of continued cuts in public budgets on the functioning of and work in public administrations. An appeal was adopted which calls on the EU institutions to remind the EU Member States that public administrations need to have the necessary means and resources to deliver appropriate services to citizens and businesses and that they cannot function properly if their employees continue to be subject to wage freezes and increased work intensities. The appeal still needs to be adopted by the CESI Presidium. Following its adoption the appeal will be published in the policy positions section of CESI’s website.

At the end of the meeting, a joint position by CESI and the Union of Finance Personnel in Europe (UFE) on the European Commission’s fight against tax fraud and tax avoidance and the role of tax administrators therein was adopted. The position still needs to be confirmed by the CESI Presidium in June (see separate press release).

The European Youth Event, which takes place every two years, was hosted by the European Parliament and was attended by 7,000 young people aged 16 to 30. Under the theme “Together we can make a change” the EYE saw debates and workshops with Members of the European Parliament and other political decision-makers and opinion-builders.

CESI Youth booth on benefits of trade unions for young people

The CESI Youth ran a booth where EYE participants could share their ideas on how trade unions can be most useful for young people. EYE participants could leave their thoughts on posters, and it appeared that young people put their hopes in trade unions especially when it comes to ensuring decent wages for everyone, advancing on equal pay for equal work, and eliminating social dumping. It became evident that young people also expect trade unions to be active in terms of engagement for civic participation and pluralist democracy beyond Europe’s borders.

CESI Youth-hosted workshop on youth migration

The delegation of the CESI Youth also organised a workshop entitled ‘Are refugees welcome?’ together with the Deutscher Bundesjugendring, where two refugees, Jihad Suliman and Sarah Mardini, reported about their way from Syria to Germany and their new life in Europe. Their stories were exemplary in highlighting problems and challenges that Europe (still) faces when it comes to legal entry possibilities for refugees, the processing of asylum procedures and the recognition of professional qualifications and study diplomas. The event also featured the participation of MEP Julie Ward (S&D, UK), who reported about her activities in favour of a positive reception of refugees in Europe. The workshop attracted more than 200 participants, entirely filling a committee room in the European Parliamentand making the event a great success.

CESI Youth Representative Matthäus Fandrejewski speaks in the hemicycle on labour market integration of young migrants

CESI Youth Representative Matthäus Fandrejewski later spoke as a panelist at a debate on the social and labour market integration of migrants and refugees in the hemicycle of the European Parliament in front of 800 young EYE participants. As a trade union representative, Matthäus’s statements in favour of a facilitated recognition of qualifications for migrants were welcome by the audience with applause.

Finally a deal! This was the bottom line expressed by EU leaders on the agreement found at the EU-Turkey summit with the Turkish delegation headed by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.

A deal …

It was decided, most notably, that:
• all new irregular migrants crossing from Turkey to the Greek islands as of 20 March 2016 will be returned to Turkey and that for every Syrian being returned to Turkey from the Greek islands, another Syrian will be resettled to the EU;
• Turkey will take any necessary measures to prevent new sea or land routes for irregular migration opening from Turkey to the EU;
• the fulfilment of the Turkish visa liberalisation roadmap will be accelerated with a view to lifting the visa requirements for Turkish citizens at the latest by the end of June 2016; and that
• the Turkish EU accession process will be re-energised.

… But many questions arise

As a first reaction, CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger stated that “The EU-Turkey migration deal may be the best outcome of the negotiations, but whether it will bring the refugee smuggler’s business to an end and provide clear rules for legal entry into the EU remains very unclear. Many questions also remain with regard to the notion of safe third country, the ability to implement this agreement and the ambiguity that surrounds the resettlement procedure and burden sharing.”

“If Turkey is declared a safe third country and migrants are brought back to the country, Turkey must identify fully with the Geneva Convention. Moreover, the EU must ensure that Turkey honours core human rights and that migrants in the country will be effectively protected in accordance with international asylum standards.”

He concluded: “Another point to bring into the equation when safeguarding human rights is that the EU is in fact not as weak as it often believes it is. Recently, Turkey has become increasingly unpopular with Russia and more and more isolated in the Middle East region both politically and economically. The EU needs Turkey just as much as Turkey needs the EU. The EU should be aware of this when trying to push the Turkish government to respect core human rights and protect refugees adequately.”

The CESI Youth decided to propose Sophie Hellmayr from CESI’s Austrian member organisation GÖD to head the CESI Youth as Vice Youth Representative together with CESI Youth Representative Matthäus Fandrejewski from CESI’s German affiliate dbb. So far, the CESI Youth has not had a Vice Youth Representative and has been run, with support from the CESI General Secretariat, by Matthäus alone. The nomination of Sophie Hellmayr still has to be approved of by the competent CESI organs.

The CESI Youth also discussed on draft statutes. Founded in 2013 with a mandate from the CESI leadership, the CESI Youth still has to be given its own statutes. They are planned to be adopted by the CESI Youth and CESI’s decision-making organs in late 2016 or 2017.

In terms of policies, the CESI Youth discussed and adopted a draft position paper entitled ‘For the successful reception and integration of young migrants’, which puts a focus the role of the public sector and its employees in the effective management of youth migration. Core propositions and demands brought forward in the paper include following:

• Integration in the education systems is fundamental to acquire the capacities to integrate into the labour market. The possibility of accessing training in the migrants’ host countries therefore plays a decisive role in this context, especially for young migrants.
• The delicate situation during the transition to adulthood when turning 18 and, therefore, losing special support entitled to minors, has to be well planned for young refugees in order to avoid disorientation and a complete loss of autonomy.
• Formal education should be a space where social ideas and values are taught, and where young people first receive a solid human rights education. This would foster a positive image of cultural diversity.
• Allocating special support to the search of family members of unaccompanied minor and young migrants is vital to safeguard minors and their fundamental rights.

The paper, which is a CESI Youth position and does not necessarily reflect the position of CESI, will be made available in the policy positions section of CESI’s website.

The hearing was convened at the initiative of the Committee of the Regions’ Secretariat and Yoomi Renström, Swedish member of the Committee of the Regions in the PES group and rapporteur for an opinion on the recent proposal by the European Commission on a targeted revision of the EU’s posting of workers directive.

The hearing was attended by representatives from social partners concerned with posting of workers. The objective was to assess to what extent the European Commission’s proposal is useful to advance occupational non-discrimination between posted and ‘native’ workers.

Commission proposal can lead to some upward social convergence

During his intervention, Mr Heeger welcomed in particular that the Commission’s proposal foresees a time limit set to the maximum duration of posting, even if the suggestion to set the time limit to 2 years is too long. The currently applicable directive does not include specifications in this regard, which opens the door to abusive unlimited posting of workers by employers.

In principle, Mr Heeger also welcomed efforts by the Commission to make posting rules binding for temporary agency workers and to take remuneration as a benchmark to achieve equal pay for equal work for posted workers. The current directive refers merely to ‘minimum rates of pay’ which are applicable to posted workers. This is not as encompassing as referring to remuneration, which includes further worker benefits depending on applicable collective agreements – and which is therefore a more effective concept to achieve true equal pay for equal work. However, Mr Heeger also stressed that practical questions remain. The Commission suggests to only take universally applicable collective agreements into consideration when determining remuneration components and levels. This is problematic given that these do not exist in all Member States and that sectoral agreements are sometimes more relevant than certain universally applicable ones.

Representatives from the employers were mostly against the Commission’s proposal, saying that existing rules should be properly enforced before revising them.

Expressing his confidence that the Commission’s proposal can lead to some upward social convergence in the EU, Mr Heeger said that the Commission should not give in to calls by a number of Member States and corporate lobby groups to withdraw the proposal.

During its meeting, the Trade Council adopted resolutions on topics including ‘Impacts of digitalisation on working conditions and employment’ and ‘Increasing flexibilisation of working time’.

Flexibilisation of working time not at the expense of worse work-life balance

The resolution on flexibilisation of working time welcomes increased flexibilisation in principle but requests that this must not happen to the disadvantage of workers. To this end, it advocates a better involvement of employees in the drawing up of duty rosters. Otherwise, it states, flexibilistation of working time cannot be reconciled with objectives to achieve a better work-life balance for employees.

Equip workers to face digitalisation

The position on impacts of digitalisation on working conditions and employment notes in particular that:
• new forms of employment that have risen due to digitalisation (such as telework or crowdsourcing) must be regulated so that they will not lead to precarious employment relationships;
• further frameworks must be established to provide for an adequate training of workers in digital forms of work;
• gains through digitalisation in terms of profits should not come to the exclusive benefit of the employer but should be shared with the workforce; and that
• time savings by employees due to digitalisation should lead to traditional models of working time being re-considered.

Social dialogue and trade unionism in Albania: Prospects and challenges

The Trade Council meeting took place in the framework of a conference on the functioning of social dialogue and trade unionism in Albania, moderated by Ylli Ballta, Head of the Albanian post trade union FSPT (a member of CESI’s member organisation Eurofedop). Together with the General Director of the Albanian Post Mailind Lazimi, representatives of the Albanian ministers for innovation, social welfare and economic development, and further professionals and experts in industrial relations in Albania, the Trade Council members exchanged about challenges that trade unionists in the country face in making their voice heard through social dialogue.

Keynote debates circled around the following topics:
• The deployment of armed forces to solve the refugee crisis and to fight terrorism;
• Labour rights, gender equality and rights of association in the armed forces; and
• European Defence – quo vadis: Sovereignty, cooperation or integration?

A major challenge: Army personnel performing atypical tasks in migration management and anti-terrorism

The deliberation on ‘Deployment of armed forces to solve the refugee crisis and to fight terrorism’ was informed by Thomas Sohst, President of the Trade council and affiliate of CESI’s member organisation ‘Deutscher Bundeswehrverband’ (DBwV; the German armed forces association). The deployment of armed forces to manage migration flows at the EU’s external borders and to help the police fight terrorist threats internally has been a topic of growing concern for the Trade council. Army personnel often feel ill-placed and ill-equipped to perform atypical tasks like these.

For better working conditions: A right to association for army personnel in all EU Member States

Johan Vermeire, the Permanent representative to the Council of Europe of CESI’s member organisation Eurofedop, spoke on recent developments in ‘Labour rights, gender equality and rights of association in the armed forces’. The improvement of the working and living conditions as well as of fundamental (social) rights of the personnel in the armed forces in Europe is one of the central aims of CESI’s Trade council ‘Defence’. The Trade council considers that achieving a proper right to association and to form trade unions in the defence sector is an important objective to be realised to this end. Currently, not all Member States grant this right.

Security for Europe through a Defence Strategy that takes into account the needs of army personnel

Gerrit Schlomach, Political advisor to the MEP and defence policy expert Michael Gahler (EPP, DE), intervened on the topic ‘European Defence – quo vadis: Sovereignty, cooperation or integration?’ During the discussion that followed, it emerged that an encompassing European Defence Strategy is sorely needed to ensure the EU’s security. It was stressed that in order to be successful, such a strategy must be flanked by well-equipped armed forces in terms of manpower and resources.

The objective of the Commission is to “facilitate the provision of services across borders within a climate of fair competition and respect for the rights of posted workers, who are employed in one Member State and sent to work temporarily in another by their employer.”

Proposed changes in remuneration, rules for temporary work and long-term posting

According to the Commission:
• Posted workers should be subject to equal pay and working conditions as local workers. All rules on remuneration applied generally to local workers should also have to be granted to posted workers;
• National rules on temporary agency work should apply when agencies established abroad post workers; and
• If the duration of posting exceeds 24 months, the labour law conditions of the host Member States should have to be applied, where this is favourable to the posted worker.

Posted workers not to be at par with ‘domestic’ workers

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “We have waited a long time for this proposal but have been partially disappointed. It is a right decision to suggest that national rules on temporary agency work should apply when agencies established abroad post workers. However, all labour law conditions of host Member States shall only apply to posted workers after 2 years. The length of this threshold is not acceptable especially since very few workers are posted for such long times. Not many workers would feel any improvements. There is also no real suggestion on how to avoid letter-box companies and systematic exchanges of posted workers by their employers to circumvent thresholds.”

May 9 1950 marks the day of Robert Schuman’s historic declaration where he set out his ideas for a new form of political cooperation in Europe. What thereafter became the European Union has advanced much since then and can today celebrate peace and relative liberty, stability and prosperity. However, things are far from perfect and the protection of European citizens, workers and institutions is a continuous task which has become more acute during recent years.

Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “Peace in Europe since World War Two is an enormous achievement and the EU has played an important role in this. However, liberal democracy has recently been put at risk especially in several Eastern European Member States. Moreover, Europe has not yet recovered from the recent crisis and social divergences have been increasing sharply for several years. And decent working conditions and equitable labour rights are no reality for many European citizens. As the world is moving towards more globalised and digitilised forms of work, the employment landscape changes. EU and national-level regulations and laws are lagging behind as workers are being dealt with in arbitrary manners and are forced to engage in precarious work relationships in the absence of robust legal and social protection.”

Mr Heeger added: “Solidarity, the EU’s bedrock of success, is at risk on multiple levels. There is a real possibility that the majority of British citizens will in June say ‘We are better off without the EU’. True financial solidarity for Greece and its citizens has not come a long way since the crisis started. Plus, the current refugee crisis is creating a rift between Member States. Today it is more significant than ever to remember that in times of hardship Member States are stronger united. Border checks are being erected between nations that once pledged solidarity to each other. The raise of radical elements and terrorist threats in society is another major threat to the stability of Europe. However we can still learn from Robert Schuman’s words: ‘World peace cannot be safeguarded without the making of creative efforts proportionate to the dangers which threaten it.’”

“2016 must be a better year for gender equality in Europe than 2015. 2015 was, in fact, a year of stagnation – at best! The year started off with the withdrawal by the European Commission of its proposal for a revised EU maternity directive. After national ministers in the Council had continued to simply block negotiations with the EU’s second co-legislator, the European Parliament, the European Commission saw no reason to uphold its proposal.

National ministers in the Council also acted infamously with regards to a second landmark file, the Women-on-boards directive proposal by the European Commission, which looks at ways to achieve a more balanced representation of men and women among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges. Even though the proposal dates back to as long ago as 2012, and even though the European Parliament already adopted its position in 2013 and was ready to engage in negotiations, ministers in the Council failed in December 2015 – again – to agree on a common internal position. The file is pending to the day.

Not only the Council disappointed me in 2015 – also the European Commission failed to identify with strong pro-gender equality politics. The EU Gender Equality Strategy 2010-2015, which laid out action priorities to achieve gender equality in pay, decision-making and other aspects across Europe, ran out on December 31. However, despite engaged and widespread support by the European Parliament, organised civil society groups and trade unions – including CESI – and even by the governments of most EU Member States, the Commission did not propose a successor strategy. What has been left to work with as of 2016 is a low-level ‘Commission staff working document on a Strategic engagement for gender equality 2016-2019’ – a document with a political weight nowhere near a Strategy.

Especially in light of recent set-backs, it is vital to continue pushing for better gender equality policies and politics in Europe. The Commission recently issued a roadmap on an overarching initiative on work-life balance which looks at how working families and carers can be better supported in their efforts to combine work and domestic responsibilities. Of course, this initiative is of interest especially for women. After all, it has been mostly women that raise children and care for older family members – often at the expense of their careers and salary and pension levels. While consultations with the organised civil society and social partners are still ongoing, we therefore need to make sure that this initiative will yield hard legislative proposals by the Commission that grant adequate parental and carer’s leave rights especially for women.

In this context I join the UN in calling on the EU institutions and the governments of the EU Member States to live up to the UN’s theme of the 2016 International Women’s Day: “Step it up for gender equality!”

Press release as pdf