Unions slam ‘weak’ jobs clause

Date: 08/05/1997

By Simon Coss

EUROPEAN trade unions have issued a stark warning that without significant changes, the proposed 'employment chapter' of the revised Maastricht Treaty will be strong on rhetoric but weak on content.

Emilio Gabaglio, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), welcomes the fact that the new treaty will formally include references to employment policy.

But he is worried that the current draft of the chapter, drawn up last year by the Irish EU presidency, does not allow for any real Union-level action in the employment field.

“The present text of the Irish presidency falls short of our expectations and demands. There is no point in stating objectives without giving the EU the tools to put them into practice,” he insists.

If the current text is adopted, the updated treaty will create a new 'employment committee' made up of experts from national administrations and the European Commission.

It will also encourage incentives to stimulate transnational cooperation on job creation and provide for an annual assessment of the consistency and effectiveness of national measures.

Supporters say this will go a long way towards redressing the balance between economic and monetary union and a 'social Europe' which, they claim, was weighted in favour of the single currency project in the Maastricht Treaty.

But Gabaglio says significant changes must be made to the current text before it will be acceptable to the ETUC. He argues that the new employment committee must have the same influence as the powerful monetary committee, which plays a major part in preparing agendas for EU finance ministers' meetings.

He also says that employment issues should be taken into account when governments are planning macroeconomic policy, adding: “Employment is an integral part of broader economic considerations.”

Gabaglio argues that the proposed treaty provisions on the assessment of national employment initiatives must be backed up by the possibility of action.

He says EU social affairs ministers should be able to make non-binding recommendations to colleagues considered to be slacking in their commitment to national employment schemes.

Despite the wave of protests linked to government drives to meet the EMU convergence criteria, however, Gabaglio remains a staunch supporter of the euro and insists the timetable should be adhered to.

“The problem with EMU is not the date, it is the interpretation of the convergence criteria,” he said. “The criteria should be seen as trends, not fixed targets to be achieved on a specific day.”