Version FR

CEEP wants the “mission for flexicurity” to have all chances to succeed

After the announcement of the setting up of a “mission for flexicurity” by Vladimir Spidla, Commissioner of DG Employment and Social Affairs during the Informal EPSCO Council in Brdo last Friday, CEEP spoke on behalf of public employers and expressed its willingness to give the mission all chances to succeed.

Rainer Plassmann, Secretary General of CEEP highlighted that the success of the mission, which has as a prime objective to facilitate ownership of the flexicurity principles at national level, is closely linked to the participation of the three European cross-sectoral social partners.

He declared: “The currents plans of the Commission, of the Slovenian and the French Presidencies do not foresee this possibility as CEEP is “not included” in the transversal team composing the mission. The absence of public employers would in fact, not only undermine the effectiveness of the exercise, it would also make it difficult to reach at least a quarter of the “targeted” public at national level. Public employers do indeed employ approximately 25% of the European workforce. We therefore call on them to change their mind before initiatives becomes operational”.

CEEP negotiated, in partnership with its employers’ colleagues in BusinessEurope and their counterpart ETUC, on the joint analysis of the labour market challenges that is widely recognised to have given their contribution to the adoption by the Council of the common principles on flexicurity last December.

Public employers are ready to take this commitment further through the participation in the mission. In particular, they would have played an essential “bridging role” in this context. Flexicurity policies are in fact the combination of four main principles that can only succeed if different actors work together.

In fact, high quality public services are essential for this interaction to succeed as stated in the joint labour market analysis “Cost-effective social protection systems; efficient public employment services, the quality of education in publicly-funded schools and universities; the availability of affordable and quality care services; and the effectiveness of public networks are all examples of how public services can underpin the competitiveness of the economy and help increase employment rates”.

CEEP members are at the same time providers of employment in these services. Therefore they are in the best position to reach this “target” at national level.

For more information on the mission for flexicurity visit: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/emplweb/news/index_en.cfm.

For further information, contact: Emmanuelle Hardy, Communications Officer
+32-2-229 21 54
emmanuelle.hardy@ceep.eu