Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-11-06-Speech-4-005"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20031106.1.4-005"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Mr President, honourable Members, ladies and gentlemen, the ever-increasing speed at which technology advances and the increasing pressure of competition on global markets are compelling car manufacturers to adapt their production methods and also their business structures to changed conditions. It is important, in this context, that firms should learn how, at an early stage, to recognise what measures and investments are needed to secure the continuity of their economic activity, and to actually put that knowledge into practice. Restructuring, though, is often synonymous with job cuts, and frequently associated with dire consequences for the social fabric, especially in regions that have little or no potential for job creation. This is especially true of the motor vehicle industry, in which changes in production processes and the opening up of new markets have significant effects on employment.
The Commission is very well aware of how difficult this balance is and of how much citizens and workers need a minimum level of security in these difficult times. We are persuaded that dialogue at every level, founded on comprehensive and transparent information, is of the essence if they are to adapt successfully to change. The Commission has invariably acted in accordance with certain principles, which it has repeatedly emphasised. The first is that decisions on restructuring are and shall remain the prerogative and task of management. What this means is that enterprises, when planning courses of action with potentially significant social implications, are meant to actively seek out a solution that is as compatible as possible and does the least damage.
Secondly, when redundancies cannot be avoided, everything possible must be done to enhance the employability of those affected. This will require foresight, and these procedures must be prepared in good time and managed in an appropriate way.
Thirdly, if an employer neglects to fully and effectively inform and consult employee representatives in good time before publicly announcing such steps, then that can in no way be justified. Employee participation is, in every case, and especially when an enterprise is restructured, not merely a fundamental right, but also a necessary precondition if such measures are to be regarded as socially acceptable.
At European level, we have laid down minimum rules with which all Member States and all enterprises must comply in the event of large-scale job reductions or other measures potentially affecting workers. The directives on collective redundancies, the transfer of undertakings, and European Works Councils constitute our legal framework for protecting workers’ rights and for guaranteeing fair standards for information and consultation at national and supranational level.
Most recently, we have also enacted the Information and Consultation Directive. All these measures enable us to help Europe’s workers successfully rise to the challenges of change, by making it possible for their employability and adaptability to be developed at an early stage. The development of effective procedures for information and consultation will also be among the main elements needing to be discussed by the social partners in Europe when the Commission begins revision of the European Works Councils Directive. What is even more important is that the Commission very much hopes that Europe’s social partners will find a way to devise proven restructuring procedures throughout the EU, as they decided to do when they responded so positively in last year’s consultation on this issue. These tried and tested procedures will make for further advances in the information and consultation of workers, including, among other things, the anticipation of market trends or technological developments, as well as long-term investment in people and the encouragement of employability by the use of education and training, careers advice, alternatives to closure and redundancies, and, wherever this is possible, the redeployment within the enterprise of workers affected by restructuring measures. It is to be hoped that these procedures will help the Ford workers, too, to deal with their present difficulties. More knowledge about the future prospects of the motor vehicle industry ought to benefit all interested parties. The Commission is currently examining developments in this sector in order to identify the elements required for restructuring and the long-term competitiveness of industry in the EU. It is planning to make the results of its analysis available in about a year’s time.
It is the most recent restructuring operations that are our immediate concern today, and I need to make it clear to you right at the outset that I share your deep regret and grave concern at the potential social consequences, for the persons concerned, of the decisions to close down plant and cut back jobs. I hope that every effort will be made, by means of a dialogue between the parties concerned, to avoid, or at least to alleviate, them."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples