Managers’ Trends Report #1 - September 2017 Managers’ Trends Report Labour markets, employment, business & social dialogue #1 - September 2017 second version every 6 weeks for CEC members only 1 Managers’ Trends Report #1 - September 2017 Content News CEC event reports ...3 Policy and legal ...4 Politics ...4 Industry ...6 Recent publications ...7 Focus Labour market reforms in France ...8 Young adult mobility in Europe ...11 Glossary Legend CEPS: Centre for Economic Policy Studies (think tank) Source reference links are CESI: European Confederation of Independent Trade underlined in black Unions Further information links are EU-OSHA: European Agency for Safety and Health underlined in orange at Work EC: European Commission ECB: European Central Bank ECHR: European Court of Human Rights EESC: European Economic and Social Committee ETUC: European Trade Union Confederation EURES: European Job Mobility Portal FECCIA: European Federation of Managers in the CEC European Managers Chemical Industry September 2017 GDP: Gross Domestic Product [email protected] selective French higher education Rue de la Loi 81a, 1040 Brussels Grandes écoles: Published: 27.09.2017 insitutions outside the university system ILO: International Labour Organisation OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Disclaimer: CEC European Managers Development cannot guarantee for the accuracy of OHS: Occupational Health and Safety the information provided. 2 Managers’ Trends Report #1 - September 2017 ■ > Against that background, employers, CEC event reports public services, social partners and others will be able to propose digital internships within the digital opportunity framework. ■ The Future of Work - Making it E-asy The framework includes recruitment Conference, Tallinn, 13-14.09 procedures (in liaison with universities) and an Estonian Presidency “erasmusintern” candidate platform. > Read The event was one of the several conferences more organised by the Estonian Presidency of the ■ Bruegel Annual Meeting European Union to debate about issues of Conference, Brussels, 7-8.09 relevance for the EU policy-making agenda. Bruegel (think tank) The high-level conference, attended by The annual high-level conference, organised around 300 participants, mainly government by the economic think tank Bruegel, offered and business representatives, comprised debates about key issues in European and discussions about employment trends, the global economics. During the “future of prevalence of new forms of employment industry” session, Lowri Ewans, Director over “traditional” ones, the modernisaton of General of DG GROWTH, called for a “real” the welfare state and skills. The meeting, also single market for services and a European attended by BusinessEurope, ETUC and CESI procurement market; said that the EU’s representatives, was a good opportunity to main competitors are from unregulated increase CEC’s visibility towards stakeholders markets; that data protection was an export with little knowledge about the European of jobs and that a horizontal approach social dialogue. At the two-day conference, is needed for industry innovation (e.g. knowledge clouds). During the session on some national best practices in an effort “structural determinants of inequalities”, to become “E-champions” were presented Commissioner Thyssen (Employment and (Finland and Estonia in particular). The Social Affairs) called for better labour majority of speakers shared the idea that market coordination and cohesion policies European social systems need to cover in Europe; said that the European Pillar everyone, irrespective of the job. Iarla Flynn, of Social Rights was of guidance for all Head of Public Policy and Government Affairs member states and that workers may of Google Australia underlined managers’ acquire social rights through social partner pivotal role in making things change and agreements, member state legislation and preparing for the future, as “they represent benchmarks; that Member States should the single most important driver for the envolve social partners more before making wellbeing and professional satisfaction within labour market reforms; called for increasing a team.” capacity building for social partners; for > Read more granting them more impact in the European semester and for or a European budget for ■ Digital opportunity initiative workshop, the social dimension aiming at harmonising European Commission, 22.09 and reducing inequalities. However, social Digital opportunity schemes will be dialogue traditions, such as co-determination, introduced in the framework of the Erasmus+ should not be imposed on countries. Reiner programme. The schemes, based on the Hoffmann, President of the German DGB pilot project with the same name, will provide trade union, criticised the “explosion of students of all disciplines grants for digital the low-wage sector due to deregulation” cross-border traineeships as of January 2018. in Germany, European downward tax 37% of the EU labour force does not have competition, as well as EU company law threatening workers rights. any basic digital skills. 3 Managers’ Trends Report #1 - September 2017 ■ Companies including Google, Facebook Policy and Legal and Twitter could face European Union laws forcing them to be more proactive in removing illegal online content if they do ■ Posted workers: Announed in its political not do more to police what is available on guidelines and confirmed in its 2016 work the Internet. However, the liability exemption programme (COM(2015) 610 final), the would not be affected, the European European Commission proposed a revision Commission said. > Read more of the rules on posting of workers. Rules for stricter regulations under the slogan of “same pay for same work” have been prominently supported by France. The new French president Macron has been seeking Politics support and dialogue with sending countries in Eastern Europe. However, countries like ■ Juncker’s state of the union speech Poland remain particularly opposed to such on 13.09: the European Commission president called, among others, for: changes, fearing decreasing freedom to A European Social Standards Union, a propose services in the single market. European Labour Authority, a Member ■ Working time precisions: The UK States agreement on the European Pillar Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled of Social Rights, no Eurozone chamber of that, under the EU Working Time Directive, budget, fairer trade agreements, a new industrial strategy, a defense union, unifying voluntary overtime pay, out of hours standby Commission and Council presidency, payments and call-out payments should be transnational European Parliament lists, included in the calculation of the 4 weeks Romania and Bulgaria “immediately” joining statutory holiday pay, provided they are Schengen and other Member States joining sufficiently regular or recurring. > Read more the EU. Positions: ETUC said it was “too light” ■ ECB monetary policy will remain loose, especially regarding the reference to social maintaining the historic low of interest rates, rights and regretted that the European while leaving the timing and scope of the semester would not become an economic bond-buying programme phase-out open. and social semester. BusinessEurope > Read more published its own scenario, warning that the social dimension should not be extended ■ The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) further. > Read more has ruled that employers will now need to inform workers before they monitor their ■ Ireland and its tax regime: following communications at work. The decision Comission President Juncker’s proposal overrules a previous judgement which on introducing majority vote on EU tax had effectively given employers the right legislation (especially applying to digital to privately monitor the activities of their companies - Ireland had not asked Apple employees on company messaging systems. to pay back taxes of 13bn Euros as claimed > Read more by the European Commission) to counter downward tax competition, Ireland refused ■ A financial scheme of 120 million Euros for to change voting rights on corporation tax. in the EU, local wireless access points The island state could lose up to €4 billion free of charge and without discriminatory worth of corporation tax if EU-wide tax conditions, has been approved by the rules for multinationals were set. European Parliament. 4 Managers’ Trends Report #1 - September 2017 ■ > Here are the main political parties’ Politics positions (and their election results) on the EU and foreign policy: CDU/CSU (conservatives, 33%): stabilise ■ > The current corporation tax is 12.5% for EU; no common debts; for strong economic trading income and 25% for non-trading ties with UK; new trade agreements income - lower than in other EU Member SPD (social democrats, 20,5%): calls for States. > Read more more European cohesion and solidarity; European constitution; increase power of ■ Brexit European Parliament; reduction of European Employment: 1,2 million UK citizens live Member States’ debt; a European economic in other EU Member States, whereas 3,16 government; avoid arms race million EU citizens live in the UK. 88% of the Die Linke (left, 9,2%): fight EU isolation and EU residents would not be able to qualify for arms race; calls for EU constitution; more VISA in case of a hard Brexit. The financial solidarity; disintegration of EU capital markets; sector may lose up to 100.000 jobs to Greek debt relief financial hubs like Paris, Dublin or Frankfurt. B’90/Die Grünen