B4-0280, 0281, 0287, 0320 and 0324/94

Resolution on employment and social rights in the European Union

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers of 1989 and the relevant action programme,

-having regard to Article 2 of the EC Treaty which lays down the principles of 'a high level of employment and of social protection' in European legislation, and having regard to Articles 117 and 118a of that Treaty which provide for social protection harmonization while improvements are maintained,

-having regard to the protocol and the agreement on social policy annexed to the EC Treaty, for implementing the European Social Charter and promoting social dialogue,

-having regard to its numerous resolutions on social matters in which it specifies that these constitutional principles represent convergence upwards of all the systems of social security in the Member States, with a view to improving the living conditions of European citizens and workers and defending acquired social rights,

-whereas on numerous occasions judgments of the European Court of Justice, in particular those concerning social protection, have reaffirmed guardianship of all acquired rights and, more recently, the preservation of rights which are in the process of being acquired,

-whereas, finally, Council recommendation No 92/442/EEC of 27 July 1992 concerning the convergence of the policies and objectives of social protection explicitly and solemnly precludes any lowering of standards compared with the situation currently existing in each Member State and reasserts the need for guarantees to maintain and develop social protection in the internal market,

A.whereas workers' rights, whether they are the basic right to work, trade union rights or rights to a pension, are increasingly under threat in the European Union,

B.whereas the proliferation of decisions to restructure, relocate or close down multinational companies is not only causing a general reduction in employment but also creating a climate of increasing insecurity amongst workers and the population at large,

C.whereas many such decisions are taken by company managements in an uncoordinated manner, which is contrary to the very spirit of the social charter, the social protocol and Directive 94/45/EC of 22 September 1994 establishing European works councils,

D.expressing its particular concern at the closure of firms and job losses, for example at British Telecom PLC in the United Kingdom and S. A. Eurofonderie in Belgium, threats to trade union rights, for example at Caterpillar UK, and threats to pensions in Italy,

E.whereas the applicant countries have advanced social security systems which will contribute to the positive development of social policy in Europe,

1.Expresses its grave concern at the fact that the action proposed by the Italian Government for reducing the budget deficit includes a reduction in the level of social protection, in particular with regard to retirement pensions;

2.Deplores the fact that these reductions, which run counter to all the fundamental principles of Community law and policies, involve cutbacks in the acquired rights of workers and citizens;

3.Stresses that all the financial manoeuvring by the Italian Government in respect of social protection runs counter to the recommendation of 27 July 1992 referred to above;

4.Reaffirms once again the substance of its resolution of 3 May 1994 on the Green Paper entitled: "European Social Policy - Options for the Union", i.e:

-acquired social rights should be guaranteed and extended (paragraph 4),

-social protection remains one of the priorities of European social policy (paragraph 13),

-no modification of the system of financing social protection should lead to a reduction in the level of protection (paragraph 14);

5.Is concerned at the massive job losses within the telecommunications industry, such as in British Telecom PLC in the UK, where over 70 000 jobs have been lost since privatization, and by the recent threat of compulsory redundancies, with a further 30 000 jobs expected to be lost by 1997, in what is a leading company in a key industrial sector;

6.Is also concerned at the recent decision by S.A. Eurofonderie to shut down its foundry in Gembloux, which has meant redundancies for 255 workers without any prior consultation, and calls for the creation of a retraining fund;

7.Calls on the Commission to ensure that, before the Directive on European works councils is implemented, every effort should be made to enable and facilitate dialogue between the social partners in establishments of the same company situated in several Member States;

8.Notes the recent action by Caterpillar UK and Rearsby Automotive Ltd to derecognize trade unions without prior discussion; considers that in a time of recession when there are 18 million unemployed across Europe, trade union protection is of paramount importance to already insecure workers, and considers, therefore, that Caterpillar UK's and Rearsby Automotive's attempt to undermine workers' relations with their trade unions is unacceptable and contrary to Clause 2 of Article 2 of ILO Convention 98, to Article 2 of the ILO code for multinationals and to Clause 12 of the Social Charter as well as the European Parliament's resolution of 22 November 1989 on the Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights;

9.Calls on the Commission to produce a breakdown of the sites of relocations since 1 January 1993, both within and outside the Union, with an analysis of the causes and an assessment of the economic and social consequences for the regions concerned;

10.Expresses its full solidarity with workers threatened with redundancy;

11.Calls on industry to seek better ways of informing employees of plans for reorganization;

12.Reaffirms its belief that it is not the task of the Community to interfere in business decisions, provided such decisions do not violate national statutory provisions or EC legislation;

13.Calls once again on the Commission to submit proposals pursuant to the Social Charter on ways of providing better protection for trade union rights and acquired employees' rights;

14.Calls on employers and trade unions to enter into negotiations as soon as possible on setting up European works councils pursuant to the relevant Council Directive establishing a European works council;

15.Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that companies with a Community dimension do not take any decision with a significant impact on employment unless it is preceded by information and consultation of the workforce and backed up by a credible restructuring plan, in accordance with the spirit of Directive 94/45/EC;

16.Calls on the Commission to exclude from the enjoyment of any Community programmes (particularly those for R&D) companies which do not undertake to comply with the conditions set out in paragraph 14, including those with a head office in Great Britain;

17.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, and the parliaments of the Member States.