Creating Social Europe XVI The European creation of a single labour market.

Creating Social Europe XVI

The European creation of a single labour market

Introduction: first of three lectures on EU

ECSC becomes EEC: Treaty of Rome 1957– Creation of single market (no trade barriers)– Economic expansion will fund welfare– Member states responsible for social policy

Except:• Equal pay and paid holiday rights (gender)• European Social Fund • CAP • Migrant labour: benefit rights• Health & safety at work

.

EEC Institutions & Powers

• Issue of sovereignty paramount– European Commission (EC) formulates

proposals– Council of Ministers ratifies (on basis of

unanimity)– European Parliament discusses, offers

amendments (‘democratic deficit’)

• Regulations set minimal standards

Labour market regulation: competing traditions

• Romano-German tradition (dominant)– Citizens’ rights embedded in constitutional law– Employment rights legally ratified

• Voluntarist labour relations– Collective agreements retain voluntary status

• UK / Eire & Denmark in latter group• Means that ‘deregulation’ (1980s)

effectively translates into re-regulation for most states

UK application to EEC

Gender Equality: main objective of 1970s

• Equal pay principle extended beyond work in same establishment. Directives:– 1975: equal pay for work of equal value– 1979: extended to statutory schemes of social

security– 1986: extended to occupational welfare

• 1972 Paris: Internal Market Programme– 1974: early worker consultation on dismissals– 1975: mergers & bankruptcy - workers’ rights ratified

• Harmony of working conditions prevents distortion of competition

The role of the ‘social partners’

• Pre-1985: limited advisory role for joint consultative bodies (ETUC founded 1973)

• Post-1985: Delors and Social Dialogue

• 1986 Single European Act – 1987 birth EU– Social dialogue to impose joint min. standards– Social Charter of workers’ rights (Maastricht)– UNICE (EU employers organisation) formed

Towards Maastricht

• 1989: Strasbourg endorses Social Chapter– ‘democracy and individual right: free collective

bargaining: market economy: equal opportunity: social welfare and solidarity’

– 1989-90 Inter-state conference on EMU• 1990-91: Maastricht Treaty negotiated

– Delors passes social action programme to social partners

– Qualified majority voting introduced– EC to consult social partners on social policy issues– Social partners can initiate agreement as basis for EU

law

Extension of EU welfare competences

• Dual agreement the preferred route to new welfare initiatives– Equation of working conditions / health and

safety for a-typical workers (1997 & 1991)– Protection of pregnant workers (1991)– Creation of European Works Councils (1994)– Working time directive (1993)– Parental leave directive (1997)– Part-time work directive (1997)

Problems

• Slow progress: unemployment rising in 1990s and employers reluctant to sign

• UK opt-out of Social Chapter (Maastricht)– Weaker economies do not want expensive

reforms: UK cheap for inward investment– [1997 Blair adopts social chapter]

• 1996-7 Scandal in EC weakens its powers to innovate policy

From Rules to Rights

• Human rights agendas adopted by EU

• ‘democratic acquis’: anti-xenophobia– 2000: Race Discrimination Directive– Equal Treatment in Employment Directive

• ECJ: encouragement to interpret equality as elimination of disadvantage

• 2007 European Fundamental Rights Agency

Conclusions: a federal Europe?

• Tension between– Social partners as initiators of social policy– State sovereignty over welfare provision

• 1999 (Lisbon) and 2000 (Nice)– EU restructured as federation of member

states (not potential super-state)– This strengthened by enlargement

Conclusions: problems of efficiency

• Enforcement of directives left to national collective bargaining (or fighting case law via ECJ)

• Member-states can be fined for failing to implement directives

• Result: implementation notoriously variable (Italy as e.g. of neo-voluntarism)

• Open question whether EU should promote social policy reform.

• Post-2000: change of tack towards labour market activation as focus for EU policy

Conclusions: new common issues

• Global warming

• Global financial crises (recent bank crash)

• Tension: c.f. recent debate on constitution– more power to the centre (old EEC countries) – liberalisation (newer member states) and

reinforcement of national autonomy.

What future for a European Social Model?