Workers' group - Social Challenges

Stronger EU action is needed

• Stronger EU action is needed in employment and social policies to ensure a fundamental internal social, economic, and territorial cohesion in the overall process of the twin ecological and digital transitions. Economic progress will not be sustainable without social progress. Sustainable productivity and competitiveness are key elements of a positive synthesis. The principles of a minimum wage, minimum income, access to lifelong learning, the eradication of child and youth poverty, access to care services to enable gender equality and the general connection between all kinds of jobs and social protection in terms of benefits and contributions have become critical elements of a sustainable European social and economic model. 
• Although the European model is an example for much of the world, there are still too many people suffering hardship or excluded from society because of poverty, discrimination, lack of education, or other disadvantages. The Workers’ Group will continue to push for a fairer future for Europe. Among many things, this includes, social dialogue, collective bargaining, protecting the rule of law and fundamental rights such as the right to organise and strike, and preventing union busting. 

European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) and European Semester

• A clear and effective implementation of the EPSR through a strong Action Plan, making the economic governance fully social and sustainable. There is a need to reduce inequalities and close the widening gap in wage incomes and gender gap, as well as for clear rules for a level playing field to avoid social dumping. 
• The European Pillar of Social Rights to continue guiding the next European Commission. We will fight for the full implementation of all 20 principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights and its inclusion in the EU institutional framework. 
• The EPSR implementation of the action plan initiatives at national level should be linked to the European Semester. The European Semester must include new indicators in the social scoreboard with concrete objectives implementing EPSR items. These items should be followed up and progress measured through the Action Plan at national level.
• The Semester should be the tool to measure the indicator on collective agreement coverage and on workers’ participation (in companies’ decisional bodies a percentage of workers’ representatives should be encouraged). On EU social dialogue, an indicator could be the numbers of autonomous agreements negotiated.
• Economic Governance through the Semester should have as goal reducing inequality with upward wage convergence in Europe. 

Workers’ Voices should be included at all levels

• There is a need for “Democratizing Work” - the participation of workers is essential for the success of green and digital transitions. In times of accelerated change due to powerful drivers such as digitalisation and automation, and the climate change challenge, structural weaknesses and deficiencies of the EU Acquis on information, consultation and participation of workers have become more visible. 
• There is a need for a stronger and a more ambitious framework that involves more than just a “New Start of Social Dialogue”. That is why we advocate for a stronger legal framework of information, consultation and participation of workers. Such a stronger European framework would require the following in particular: 
• A “mainstreaming of workers’ participation” as a cross-cutting structural element in all European legislation and initiatives that have an impact on working and living conditions.
• A regulatory framework that guarantees early information and consultation of workers in cross-border restructuring and prevents fraudulent and/or practices to circumvent legal requirements. 
• A European Works Council (EWC) Directive that better matches realities and needs of transnational restructuring and reflects the need to equip EWCs with necessary resources and competences to engage in transnational information and consultation at eye level. 
• A level playing field of workers’ board level participation and an approach that actively develops and promotes a mandatory minimum floor of participation rights and dynamic European minimum standards of representation rather than engaging in strategies to avoid such rights. 
• Adopting an ambitious and binding Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and Forced Labour Regulation to make European companies accountable for the social, human rights and environmental conditions throughout their value chains. 
• Strengthening collective bargaining at all levels, including extending its coverage and restoring collective bargaining systems in particular in the countries that were forced to decentralise collective bargaining to have access to financial assistance and economic adjustment programmes. Increasing collective bargaining coverage to at least 80%, in line with the Adequate Minimum Wages Directive and incentivising collective bargaining by allowing trade unions in well-functioning national self-regulatory systems room to negotiate collective agreements. Trade unions’ role in the management of the just transition must also be reinforced by strengthening democracy at work both at the national and European level. 
• Preventing union busting through the protection of social partners’ rights, including (personal and digital) union access to workplaces, the right to organise, the right to bargain collectively and the right to strike. Negative impact and misuse by employers or yellow trade unions must be prevented. 
• Expanding the scope of collective bargaining to include provisions for green clauses and ensuring that it is a fundamental part of any energy and digital transitions- related measures. 

Better jobs and working conditions

• Quality jobs must be as socially sustainable as they are environmentally sustainable, with decent working conditions, fair wages, equal pay for equal work at the same place and work of equal value, and a fair labour mobility. 
• The digital transition and the emergence of telework as a central mode of production provide opportunities for work-life balance, but also many challenges regarding the right to disconnect and gender equality, among others. 
• Artificial intelligence and Generative AI systems are going to produce big changes in the world of work and in labour markets. Big opportunities and big challenges concern new jobs and jobs that may be displaced. Women jobs are twice more concerned than male ones by a risk of destruction. This may create greater inequalities, leaving behind millions of workers. A stronger workers’ counterpower at all levels able to anticipate, negotiate and challenge the use and the choice of technologies is a necessary tool to mitigate and avoid the negative effects on workers. 
• There is an urgent need for active labour market policies, particularly upskilling / reskilling of workers and life-long learning during paid working time. 
• There is a need for a European Directive for a Just Transition, emphasising anticipation and management of change, with social dialogue and collective bargaining as guiding principles regulating new jobs resulting from the digital and green transition, including taking care of young workers in increasingly precarious situations. 
• To fight all types of precarious work. Platform workers and new forms of work in particular need an updated framework to cover them, which calls for the adoption of an ambitious Platform Work Directive by the end of this legislative mandate. Defend workers’ right to disconnect and push forward a reduction of working time keeping the same salary level and adjusting staff numbers via collective bargaining or legislation. 
• Gender gaps are persistent or even growing in different areas including in family life and working life. Recovery efforts that invest in the female workforce tailored to each individual’s needs are necessary. Gender is a cross-cutting issue that should be continuously implemented throughout all policy-making processes. 
• As part of the EU Gender Equality Strategy, we ask for a gender oriented vision and push for the eradication of gender-based violence for all ages - including violence at the workplace - through tools like the EU Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence - including rape - and by adding gender-based violence to the list of EU crimes. 
• Fight unfair competition and social dumping to enable fair labour mobility. Support the increase of resources and reach of labour inspections, including strengthening the mandate of the European Labour Authority with the capacity to act with initiative and investigative and sanctioning powers to combat social dumping and labour exploitation effectively. 
• Build on the success of SURE to make it a permanent instrument to be prepared for future crises. 

Improve EU-level social dialogue

• Develop capacity-building mechanisms for social dialogue and worker participation, and support worker involvement.
• To include a network of coordinators in all directorates in the European Commission to promote social dialogue. 
• Integrate the industrial relations and social partner involvement system in the European Industrial Strategy in an inclusive and cooperative way, promoting the European strategic autonomy and a global competitive system based on the European Social Model. 
• Support the inclusion of a Social Progress Protocol in the EU Treaties to guarantee that workers, trade union and social rights take precedence over economic freedoms in the event of conflict. 

End poverty and social exclusion

• In many countries, new groups are entering into poverty. An integrated anti- poverty plan is necessary, including: 
• Protecting the most vulnerable, developing a strategy against energy poverty, ensuring social and territorial cohesion, and considering energy a social service of general interest. 
• Strengthening national social protection systems and protecting the unemployed from poverty and other risks.
• Fight inequalities through quality public services and investment strategies.
• Access to adequate social security benefits for all workers, including self-employed and clarity of rules on applicable legislation as well as cross-border enforcement. 
• Minimum income is often the last social safety net. National minimum income schemes must be strengthened across the EU in order to improve the lives of citizens throughout the continent. 
• Ensuring adaptation of minimum wages and minimum income to inflation to fight poverty among the working poor. 
• Implementation of the Child Guarantee
• Combatting homelessness to remain a social policy priority for the EU in the run-up to the European elections and beyond. What is needed is a strategic shift in focus from managing homelessness to actually ending it. We call for the development of an EU homelessness strategy in which the EU Platform for Combatting Homelessness is fully embedded, making it possible to include national policies to combat homelessness in the European Semester exercise. This strategy should be underpinned by a Council Recommendation on homelessness. 

Quality Health Services

• We demand to make health a priority.
• Access to quality healthcare, prevention and early detection of diseases is a fundamental part of our model of society. To that end it must be ensured that Member States invest adequately in public health and social care.
• Covid-19 drew attention to the fragmentation of the EU’s health architecture. A genuine, inclusive European Health Union must go beyond pure crisis management and ultimately aim for a Europe where everyone enjoys the highest achievable health standard with equal access to high quality treatment. It should initiate systemic change to be better prepared not only for the next pandemic but also for other cross-border health challenges such as antimicrobial resistance, and the obesity and non-communicable disease epidemics affecting all European countries. It should also adopt the "one health" approach, working on the link between human, animal and environmental wellbeing to preserve our health.
• Appropriate measures should be taken to improve the working conditions and health and safety of health workers.

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Tackling mental health

• Implement an EU Mental Health Strategy by promoting a preventive approach and early detection and screening and provision of a person-centred approach in the community.
• Reduce precarious work, performance and work pressure and the prevalence of the associated mental health problems, to make sure that the European and national legislation establishing quality, healthy working and employment conditions is fully implemented and enforced.
• Step up measures to monitor and audit compliance with this legislation, subject to adequate resources being allocated to the competent public authority and to ensure appropriate financial sanctions for non-compliance. 
• Claiming and promoting an EU legal framework (directive) to eradicate and prevent psycho-social risks at the workplace. 
• Introduce debarment from public procurement tenders and public aid for businesses and organisations that do not guarantee compliance with this legislation, in line with the current public procurement Directives. 

Intergenerational solidarity

• The next Commission Work Programme should give a high priority to topics related to the young, the elderly, and active ageing.
• Importance of involving the youth not only in the labour market, but in society and in the policy making process.
• Ensure the implementation of the Youth Guarantee in all EU Member States.
• An intergenerational approach is needed to ensure quality traineeships and provide resources for active ageing.
• All internships, traineeships and apprenticeships must be paid.
• Implement the Council Recommendation on the revision of the Barcelona targets on early childhood education and care.
• Importance of tackling the demographic change, including the living conditions of pensioners and promoting strong pension standards, allowing for decent life in old age across the EU.

Additional demands of European workers

• Adopt a Sustainable Development and Social Progress Pact: Our fight for quality jobs also means ensuring that everyone has the possibility to work with decent working conditions. We will continue to combat unemployment and will not leave the long-term unemployed behind when there is so much useful social and environmental work to be done. We will continue to put workers’ welfare and social justice at the centre of our activities and policy actions.

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