A3-0269/94

Resolution on the application of the Agreement on social policy

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the Protocol on social policy, and the Agreement between eleven Member States, annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

-having regard to the Commission Communication to the Council and to the European Parliament concerning the application of the Agreement on social policy (COM(93)0600),

-having regard to Petition No. 768/93 on the representativeness of unions,

-having regard to its resolution of 16 December 1993 on the Commission declaration on the outcome of the Social Affairs Council of 23 November 1993,

-having regard to its resolution of 24 February 1994 on the new social dimension of the Treaty on European Union,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Social Affairs, Employment and the Working Environment and the opinion of the Committee on Institutional Affairs (A3-0269/94),

A.whereas the European social dialogue and an enhanced role for the social partners constitute an essential condition for the achievement of the social dimension of the internal market in parallel to economic integration,

B.whereas it is in any event incumbent on the Community and the Member States to establish a foundation of minimum requirements in order to guarantee the fundamental rights of workers in the Community, and especially whereas collective bargaining pursuant to ILO Conventions 87 and 98 gives employees the right to negotiate all their terms and conditions of employment and their social security with employers,

C.whereas in the Member States there are legally binding rules of law on recognition of the social partners; stressing that owing to the multitude of procedures in the Member States, none of them can be adopted as a uniform model at European level,

D.whereas a coordinated wages policy in the Community supplements the social dialogue taking place in the Member States and requires that national and regional wages policy in the Member States be enhanced and revived; whereas, moreover, it is appropriate for this dialogue to be extended to small and medium-sized undertakings in those Member States where this is not yet the rule,

E.whereas the social dialogue is more essential than ever because existing social benefits are generally being called into question and social dumping practices are expanding considerably, which is encouraged by the fact that there is no Community basic policy guaranteeing social rights and whereas there is an urgent need to take steps to defend them,

F.whereas the principle of equal treatment and equal opportunity for men and women must be a precondition for any negotiations forming part of the social dialogue and whereas women are still sadly under-represented in the committees of union and employers' organizations,

G.whereas there is an urgent need to resist any attempt to rob the principle of subsidiarity of its real meaning and turn it into a weapon for crippling the Community's social policy,

H.whereas the social partners' extensive right to be consulted in the decision-making process provides the Community with an opportunity to shape the European welfare scene in a way which is close to current practice and the citizen,

I.whereas the Treaty provides that the development of small and medium-sized businesses should be promoted, account should be taken of their importance for job creation and of their special characteristics, social dialogue should be encouraged in such undertakings and it should be ensured that their interests and those of their workers are taken into account during the drafting and implementation of Community decisions in the social field,

J.whereas the many distinctive features of the civil services of the Member States must be included in the social dialogue, by both sides, employees and employers,

1.Calls for consultations, pursuant to Article 3 of the Agreement on social policy, to be held with organizations fulfilling the following criteria:

-they are organized at European level,

-they are composed of organizations which are themselves regarded as social partners in the individual Member States or which in the customary practice of the Member State concerned are included in consultations,

-they are, as far as possible, represented in all the Member States,

-they are composed of organizations representing employers or workers,

-they are composed of members who are entitled to be involved directly or through their members in collective bargaining at their respective levels,

-they have a mandate from their members to represent them in the context of the Community social dialogue and can demonstrate their representativeness;

these organizations may form part of the private or public sector and can have specialized in the specific problems of employers and workers in small and medium-sized undertakings or industries;

2.Notes with satisfaction that in Annex II of its Communication the Commission includes, alongside other employers' organizations, European organizations which exclusively represent small and medium-sized undertakings, especially as these SMUs have specific characteristics which can give rise to specific responses to general issues;

3.On this basis, notes the Commission's criteria for recognition in paragraph 24 of its Communication, but taking the view that the list proposed in Annex II is unbalanced, calls for it to be revised so as to permit better representation of all employees' and employers' organizations;

4.Points out the inconsistency that the Commission wishes to consult all the social partners admitted to the consultation procedure but will not promote dialogue between these organizations except for the ETUC and UNICE; calls therefore specifically for all organizations to establish liaison structures and for the Commission to support them;

5.Calls for the social partners which are to participate in the social dialogue under Article 4 of the Agreement to be those which fulfil the criteria laid down in Article 3 for participants in the dialogue and are represented in at least two-thirds of the Member States;

6.Calls for three six-week time-limits - first deadline: first consultation, second deadline: deadline for the Commission to draw up its proposal, third deadline: third consultation - to be laid down for the application of Article 3 of the Agreement when new Commission initiatives are involved. The Commission's six weeks will be deducted from those time-limits when proposals are blocked in the Council and are therefore familiar to the social partners;

7.Assumes that the Commission, to prevent the consultation period from being artificially prolonged, will extend the negotiating period of nine months only on an exceptional basis and after consulting the European Parliament;

8.Expects that, as soon as it proves impossible to reach agreement during the procedure, the Commission will examine the proposal and forward it to the Council and Parliament in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Treaty;

9.Expects the Commission, in accordance with the criteria laid down in this report, to submit a legislative proposal on the implementation of Articles 3 and 4 of the Agreement on social policy, establishing the legal and institutional framework for the decision-making process of the social partners at Community level; points out that there are no Community powers as regards right of association at national level; the 1996 intergovernmental conference will have to address the right of association at Community level;

10.Calls on the Commission to set up an information desk for non-representative European organizations;

11.Repeats the terms of its resolution of 24 February 1994 and calls on the Council and Commission to reach an interinstitutional agreement on the basis of the draft text annexed to this resolution;

12.Points out that the Council is required to approve agreements between management and labour without modification and that any modification will entail the opening of a normal legislative procedure; notes that any Council decision on agreements between management and labour requires the prior consultation of the European Parliament;

13.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Economic and Social Committee, employers' and employees' organizations at European and national level and the parliaments of the Member States.