ETUC welcomes the fact that employment is on the agenda of the Tripartite Social Summit. Nevertheless, the European trade union cautioned strongly against the solutions that European leaders have proposed up to now. More specifically, their response to the employment and growth crisis still consists of recommendations for structural reforms of the labour market characterised by wage moderation and a deregulation of job security, combined with the liberalisation of the single market. Combined with sustained austerity, this approach in no way contributes to- solving the urgent challenge of stimulating the economy to secure sustainable growth and create quality jobs.

Bernadette Ségol, ETUC General Secretary stated: “Deregulation and flexibilisation are often advertised as the royal roads to job creation. These solutions on the contrary risk undermining job security, worsening working conditions and weakening the economy. When it comes to youth employment, recycling existing funds and spreading them thinly will not suffice. Youth employment is an absolute priority and must be part of a broader employment strategy in general. Emphasis must focus on developing new sectors based on a European industrial strategy, on instruments such as a tax on financial transactions and on Eurobonds, as well as on a fairer tax system. The European trade union calls on a real commitment to active labour market policies that must be geared to quality jobs and social justice. This is what the trade unions demanded forcefully yesterday throughout Europe.”

The social partners must be involved in all decisions concerning the labour market. So the attack on the independence of the social partners in a certain number of countries is a source of major concern for the ETUC. It is no less than a direct attack on democracy.

 Fact sheet on the tripartite social summit: http://www.etuc.org/a/36