8-10 July Social Affairs, Labour & Women’s Ministers Informal Council

Date: 16/07/1998

GENDER equality was the main subject discussed during the two-day meeting held in Vienna, at which the importance of 'mainstreaming' gender equality into all areas of EU policy-making was stressed.

ON THE first day, ministers met representatives of the EU's social partners: the private sector employers' federation UNICE, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the CEEP, which represents public sector employers. The talks centred on ways in which all sides could ensure equality for men and women in the workplace.

MINISTERS also held talks with representatives from the European Parliament. Discussions with members of the institution's women's rights committee centred on women's efforts to achieve equal recognition in the labour market and to ensure that men and women received the same pay for doing the same job. Ministers noted that this was not always the case at present.

SOCIAL Affairs Commissioner Pádraig Flynn berated ministers for failing to pay enough attention to equal opportunities in their recently drafted national action plans for employment. The plans were submitted to the European Commission in April and were supposed to address four key issues: improving employability; encouraging entrepreneurship; creating a well-trained and adaptable workforce; and promoting equal opportunities. They form part of the EU employment strategy agreed at the special jobs summit in Luxembourg last November.

THERE was widespread agreement that men did not make adequate use of their right to take parental leave to look after young children. In a wide-ranging debate on the role of men in the gender equality debate, delegates argued that, in many member states, fathers did not take parental leave for fear of damaging their future job prospects. Ministers agreed that more work was needed to try to bring about a change in attitudes.

DIFFERENCES of opinion emerged over encouraging people to take up part-time work. German State Secretary for Social Affairs Horst Günther said he was in favour of part-time working and that it should be encouraged. The Netherlands' delegation agreed, insisting that part-time working allowed people to strike a better balance between their professional and family lives. However, other ministers warned that if women in particular were encouraged only to take up part-time jobs, they might find it harder to enter the full-time jobs market later on.