Measures to boost employmentMore and better jobs for young people!

Madrid ETUC Youth-conference

26-28 August 2010

Lisbon Strategy failed : welcome to EU 2020!Three targets concerning employment

• Raising the employment rate of the population aged 20-64 to 75%.

• Reducing the share of early school leavers to under 10% and making sure that at least 40% of youngsters have a degree or diploma.

• Reducing the number of Europeans living below the poverty line by 25%, lifting 20 million out of poverty from the current 80 million.

One guideline: flexicurity!

Flexicurity combines labour market flexibility in a

dynamic economy and well security for workers

Four policy components:

1) flexible and reliable contractual arrangements,

2) comprehensive lifelong learning strategies,

3) effective active labour market policies,

4) modern social security systems providing adequate

income support during transitions

Flagship initiative of EU 2020« Youth on the move »

• Promote the performance and attractiveness of Europe’s higher education

• Raise the share of the young adult population who hold a university degree

• Contribute to build a strong basis for modern lifelong learning systems

• Encourage the transnational mobility of young people for learning, employability, social and personal development

• Launching a “Youth employment framework”

EU-Strategy for Youth (2010-2018)European Pact for Youth

The Pact has three strands:• Employment and social integration;

• Education, training and mobility;

• Reconciling work and family life.

• Aim : improve education, training, mobility, employment and social inclusion of young people, whilst helping to achieve a work-life balance.

Framework Agreement on inclusive Labour Markets

• Fourth intersectoral autonomous agreement to be concluded by the EU-level cross-sector social partners, signed on 25th of march

Parties involved:• European Trade Union Confederation

• European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of

Enterprises of General Economic Interest • Business Europe

• European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Framework Agreement on inclusive Labour Markets

Aims

• Consider access, return, retention and development, with a view to achieving full integration of individuals in the labour market;

• Increase awareness, understanding and knowledge of employers, workers and their representatives of the benefits of inclusive labour markets;

• Provide workers, employers and their representatives with an ‘action-oriented’ framework to identify obstacles to inclusive labour markets and solutions to overcome them.

Framework Agreement on inclusive Labour Markets

Potential social partner actions

• Organising awareness-raising campaigns and action plans to improve the image of economic sectors

• Disseminating information about the availability of jobs and training schemes

• Cooperating with the third-sector• Cooperating with education and training systems• Promoting more and better apprenticeship and

traineeship contracts

Mini-hearing at the European Parliament, EMPL Committee, 17.03.2010

ETUC, BusinessEurope, Génération précairePromoting employment for young people!

• Promote access of young people to the labour market, enhance the status of apprenticeships and internships

• Rise employment rates!

• Engagement on quality jobs

• Make sure that education and employment situation are coherent

Three examples of measures taken by the national trade unions

• Promoting youth employment : in Belgium, the « Rosetta plan »

• Transforming short-term contracts in long-term ones :

in Italy, a « contrat social »

• Fighting precarity : in France, « contrats d’insertion dans la vie sociale »

Youth employment : a pressing challenge!

A regard of the national trade unions « youth sections » on the

youth employment situation

Situation of european young workers

• Average age to enter the labour market :18

• In which fields are young workers concentrated? services, wholetrade, construction

• Are unemployment rates of young workers concentrated in some particular fields?

yes: hotel business, construction

Situation of european young workers Wages

• It is not possible to speak about an average wage for european young workers : there are too big differences between the member States.

The lowest: Roumania and Bulgaria (200-300 Euros) The highest : Finland (2940 Euros)

• Do a minimum wage exist for young european workers?

No, but there are some exceptions : Malta : from 18, 152 Euros/ month Czech Republic : under 18, 80% of the minimum wage

Measures of public authorities to promote youth employment

• Do financial incentives exist to boost youth employment?

In six countries, NO: Cyprus, Spain, Estonia, Ireland, United Kingdom, Finland

Fiscal advantages for employers who take young people uppermost: Bulgaria, Greece, Italia, Lituania, Romania, Slovaquia and Sweden

Measures which concentrates on the worker: example of Belgium and the « Convention premier emploi »

Measures of public authorities to promote youth employment

• Can young people benefit from specific contracts?

Mostly, specific contracts concern young people who are in an apprenticeship : Austria, Spain, France, Hungaria, Switzerland

In France, « Soutien à l’Emploi des Jeunes en Entreprise »

Measures of public authorities to promote youth employment

• Do some financial incentives exist to promote lifelong learning?

No : Sweden, Romania, Greece, France, Spain and Bulgaria

Belgium : « chèques-formation », payed « education vacation »

Hungaria : subsidies to learn languages

Finland : possibility to complete education while getting unemployment benefit

United Hingdom : « Education Maintenance Allowance »

Measures of public authorities to promote youth employment

• Do some specific measures concern the worktime of young workers?

Mostly, this measures concerns young workers under 18.

Germany: Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz Austria: « Children and youth employment act » Switzerland: one more week holidays for the young

people under 20

Measures of social partners to promote youth employment

• Do some measures concern the access of young people

on the labour market?

Belgium: win-win plan

United Kingdom: « Future Job Funds »

Spain: adapting the wage on the education level

Measures of social partners to promote youth employment

• Do some specific measures concern the worktime of young workers?

Very Rarely

Sweden : collective agreement on the protection of young people under 18, especially in the hotel business

Switzerland: only for apprentices

Measures of social partners to promote youth employment

• Do some financial incentives exist to promote lifelong learning?

France : «Accord sur la formation professionnelle» (2009)

Italy : « Guidelines on training » (2010)

Ireland : « Ten-Years Framework Social Partnership Agreement » (2006-2015)

Slovaquia : « National concept for lifelong learning »

Thank you for your attention!