ETUC demands stronger labour law to respond to 21st century challenges
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has strongly criticised the European Commission’s flawed analysis of problems on Europeans labour markets, which blames ‘traditional labour law protection’ for standing in the way of employment opportunities. Instead of weakening protection of regular jobs, as suggested by the Commission, the ETUC says the protection of precarious workers should be enhanced.
In its response to the Commission’s Green Paper on ’Modernising labour law to meet the challenges of the 21st century’, the ETUC welcomed the recognition that urgent action needs to be taken to increase protection of the most vulnerable groups of workers in the EU.
But in the view of the ETUC, a number of developments are challenging labour law in the 21st century. In many Member States, the most vulnerable workers, such as women, young workers and migrants, are increasingly subject to conditions of permanent precarity. Even so-called ‘standard’ workers have not escaped the increasing pressure of globalisation. Workers in regular employment relations are faced with more insecurity as a result of restructuring and redundancies. Collective agreements are under pressure, and increasing cross-border mobility of workers, enterprises and services in an enlarging European Union challenges the capacity of national social and industrial relations systems to safeguard proper living and working conditions for all workers on their territory.
The ETUC believes that these challenges show the need for urgent action to strengthen labour law and collective bargaining at national and EU level, to cope with the modern world of work. Although the EU has limited competence in the area of labour law and social security, it can and must act to ensure fair and just working conditions and the respect for fundamental rights, in the context of a level playing field and fair competition.
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