Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-04-20-Speech-2-352"
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"en.20040420.17.2-352"2
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".
First of all I should like to say that the Commission wishes to express its deepest concern about the consequences which the factory closures announced by Bombardier will have on job losses. I must tell you that the vice-president of the company sent me a letter informing the Commission of its restructuring plans. In the reply which I sent a short while ago, I express our acute concern and repeat the basic principles which we consider are of fundamental importance in managing restructuring. Restructuring can have serious repercussions on the social fabric of any region, especially in those regions in which there is already little potential for job creation.
The Commission can assure the honourable Member that it is using all its powers in this sector. These powers are, first, the legislative measures which exist. We have various directives which seek to guarantee that the workers are fully involved in the decision-making procedure in the event of restructuring. The directive on collective redundancies, the directive on European works councils and the more recent directive on informing and consulting workers constitute the legal framework for protecting workers' rights and safeguarding equivalent conditions. Secondly, there are the Structural Funds, which provide important economic support for economic and social change in areas with structural difficulties. They support the adaptation and modernisation of education, training and employment policies and systems, mainly with the objective of increasing the adaptability and employability of workers.
Furthermore, in 2002, the Commission requested the opinion of the social partners on a text entitled ‘Anticipating and managing change – a dynamic approach to the social aspects of corporate restructuring’. The document in question advocated an approach to corporate restructuring which balanced the interests of businesses facing changes with the interests of workers in danger of losing their jobs. The Commission accepted with satisfaction the joint text submitted to it by the social partners in October 2003. Restructuring is also included as a key topic in the joint programme of work approved by the social partners in November 2002. The social partners' text is based on experience gleaned from certain case studies on modern restructuring conditions relating to issues of vial importance to successful change management. We need to make use of these guidelines in order to respond better to the challenges which we face in this particular sector.
They include: the need for changes to be explained and for the reasons for them to be stated, the importance of maintaining and developing workers' skills, the importance of complementarity and cooperation between the various factors when restructuring affects an entire region, the particular situation of small- and medium-sized enterprises and the practical aspects of managing restructuring, which include the importance of investigating all possible alternative solutions in order to avoid redundancies.
I should like at this point to inform you that the Commission started consultations with the social partners today on how the European works councils established by Community directive about ten years ago can respond more effectively to the challenges of a changing economic and social environment.
Finally, we must not forget our important work on corporate social responsibility and the European Observatory for Industrial Change. I honestly hope that, in the case of the restructuring which concerns us today, every effort has been made to restrict the social repercussions in the area."@en1
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