Talks on part-timers in danger of collapse

Date: 06/02/1997

By Michael Mann

TALKS aimed at agreeing common EU rights for part-time workers are in danger of collapse.

The optimism generated by the successful negotiations on parental leave in 1995 has been replaced on this occasion by a sense of crisis. After three negotiating sessions, the two sides have not even been able to decide what they should be talking about.

So concerned is the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) that it has presented employers' federation UNICE with an ultimatum ahead of the next discussions on 24 February.

“By then the employers will have to give an answer to two questions, or our talks could be at a dead end. We have to decide what sort of work the talks should cover and they must understand that part-time workers need decent social protection,” said an ETUC official.

While the parental leave deal was so limited in scope that it had only minor consequences for employers, talks on part-time work were always going to be problematic.

Initially, the ETUC was looking for legislation to cover all forms of 'atypical' work, including seasonal labour, home-work and teleworking.

UNICE began from a totally different premise, insisting that European legislation was “not necessary”. It nevertheless agreed to negotiate on the issue in the hope of avoiding the imposition of legislation from above - as is likely to happen if the talks between the social partners end in failure.

The federation insists that if EU legislation is introduced, it should be limited to part-timers on permanent contracts.

But this has drawn an angry response from the ETUC. “UNICE's approach would only cover 20&percent; of all part-timers. Far from reducing the insecurity and discrimination suffered by this type of casual worker, this line of argument would actually increase both,” said a union official.

The unions point out that whereas part-time work was formerly thought of as a source of additional income, it is now the only way for a growing number of people to earn their living. They stress that basic minimum employment standards are particularly crucial if women - who make up 82&percent; of the part-time workforce - are to gain real equality in the workplace.

The unions also insist that atypical workers must receive benefits on at least a pro rata basis with their full-time counterparts. Otherwise, an increasing number of people will leave the job market with little security for the future.

However, employers are continuing to resist any moves which they feel might damage European firms' competitiveness.

The sensitivity of the talks has made both the ETUC and UNICE, as well as public sector employers' body CEEP, wary of revealing details of their discussions to date.

UNICE would say only that the talks were “close to a standstill”. An official stressed that UNICE had to stick to a “strict interpretation” of the negotiating mandate it had been given, despite attempts by the unions to enlarge the scope of the debate.

“We do not want the talks to break up, but we also do not want useless negotiations,” said an ETUC spokesman. He refused to be drawn over whether failure to resolve such basic differences would sound the death-knell for the negotiations, but admitted it would represent a “serious problem”.

Should the talks collapse, the Commission would have the option of coming forward with a legislative proposal, as happened when talks over worker consultation broke down in 1994.

This would have to win the support of a qualified majority of Union governments, excluding the UK, which would be exempt from any directive resulting from the process because of its opt-out from the Maastricht Treaty's Social Protocol.