Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-07-10-Speech-2-091"
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"en.20070710.7.2-091"2
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".
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Europe concerns itself too little with employment problems, and, when it does concern itself with them, it does so totally inadequately, as if employment were not at the heart of building democracy and of the European social model. Certainly, many of the reasons for the problems of Europe lie in this culpable and deliberate undervaluation. Within Europe, job insecurity is very widespread and is hindering social cohesion, constituting a real tragedy – in fact, the major social tragedy being experienced by whole generations of young people, as well as older workers who have been prematurely ejected from the labour market. All this has an effect on our cities, our families, and on all of us.
Combating job insecurity is vital when it comes to building a future and to providing certainty and hope. This is our main task. The Commission, instead of combating job insecurity, seems to be adopting it and almost using it to reduce individual and collective rights, to further reduce the role of the trade unions and to set against each other those who have rights – who are in fact becoming increasingly few – and those who do not, in the name of a so-called employment policy.
This is unacceptable. What needs to be said is that Europe considers employment to be the basis of true democracy and social cohesion and that Europe has its own concept of what constitutes normal work: stable employment, for an unlimited period, protected by contracts and by the role of the trade unions and with a requirement for equal conditions for standard and non-standard jobs, as part of employment equality. This idea of employment is a healthy idea, which benefits production as well, because it says that competition is not based on exploitation but on quality and innovation. Saving on employment costs and making workers compete against each other garners easy profits in the short term but does nothing to make the economy or society grow.
This is the social model that Europe should present to the world, and it should put itself forward as an example. The right to work is a fundamental element of democracy, because it demonstrates the rules for activity upon which society rests. Within these rights we should build a social unit of young and old, instead of placing them in a ridiculous opposition. The employment contract should contain these rules and rights, which cannot be delegated to others or replaced by external action, which would leave the employment contract at the mercy of the law of the jungle. This is why we are not convinced by the concept of flexicurity, of weak contracts replaced by welfare benefits: no, the benefits must be in the contract and they must act as safeguards for the worker, as a European citizen.
The text that has been submitted to Parliament is a compromise; it has ambiguous points, but important elements, too. Attacks on this employment, such as those contained in some of the amendments, would be negative and would lead us in a backwards direction. I say this in particular to my socialist comrades, especially with regard to those amendments that distort the nature of normal employment. We would consider the approval of these amendments to be a breach of the compromise agreed on in committee."@en1
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