Has labour law rethink thrown out security?
After consulting all sides on labour law reform (see issue 37), and amid much talk of preserving the ‘European Social Model’ the European Commission has produced a communication on ‘flexicurity’ which has not pleased unions and some groups in the European Parliament. We examine their criticisms and ways to improve the proposal. BEING CONSULTED DOES NOT ALWAYS mean you have the final say. This might be self-evident to experienced negotiators, particularly in trade unions, but its truth was underlined again when the European Commission published its conclusions on ‘flexicurity’. After a Green Paper on labour law reform emphasised this approach based on protecting workers rather than jobs and using life-long learning and enhanced social security to encourage mobility, unions and other interested parties contributed their views. They argued for a balance ‘between the needs of adaptable enterprises /workplaces and a long-term objective of human, social and sustainable development’ with the
