22ND REPORT: MODERNISING EUROPEAN LABOUR
LAW: HAS THE UK ANYTHING TO GAIN?
Letter from Margot Wallström Vice-President
of the European Commission to the Chairman
Thank you for your opinion on the Green Paper
Modernising Labour law to meet the challenges of the 21st century,
dated 27 June 2007.
In line with the Commission's decision to encourage
national parliament to react to its proposals to improve the process
of policy formulation, we welcome this opportunity to respond
to your comments. I enclose the Commission's response. I hope
you will find these a valuable contribution to your own deliberations.
I look forward to developing our policy dialogue
further in the future.
26 September 2007
COMMISSION RESPONSE
The Green Paper Modernising labour law to
meet the challenges of the 21st century was adopted by the
European Commission on 22 November 2006. A public consultation
was conducted over the four month period ending 31 March 2007
on how labour law can be updated to meet the key challenge of
greater adaptability of both workers and enterprises. This objective
is in line with the calls by the European Council for action in
response to the challenges stemming from the combined impact of
globalisation and of the ageing of Europeans.
The Commission welcomes the report of the European
Union Committee of the House of Lords as a contribution to a continuing
debate at both national and EU levels on the issues raised in
the Green Paper.
The European Union Committee of the House of
Lords conducted an inquiry among a wide range of experts and representative
organisations on the issues raised in the Commission's Green Paper
from the perspective of their impact upon the UK labour market.
It concluded that most of the issues raised in the Green Paper
were adequately addressed within UK labour law where the UK labour
market is relatively lightly regulated in comparison with some
other EU Member States. It came to the conclusion that problems
of social disadvantage and structural unemployment, where these
exist in the UK, would be better addressed by measures aimed at
tackling poor skills and social inequality and by enforcing existing
labour law where this is being flouted rather than by changing
labour law. The Committee also considered a number of specific
issues relating to the UK labour market, including evidence of
exploitation of vulnerable groups, especially migrant workers
in the UK. It concluded that such abuses should be tackled where
they occur and that vulnerable and migrant workers should be provided
with information about their entitlements. Accordingly the Committee
recommended that efforts at EU level to affect the broad frameworks
of labour law within Member States should be planned to promote
the sharing of experience and good practice, rather than to introduce
new legislation.
The Commission welcomes that Committee's view
that the Green Paper provides valuable insights into the role
of labour law in promoting labour market flexibility and in enhancing
the genuine employment security that comes from helping people
to cope with structural change. In this regard, the House of Lords
Committee commends the European Commission for starting, in the
Green Paper and elsewhere, an important policy debate on how labour
market flexibility and employment security might be combined and
reinforced to the benefit of both employers and workers and in
furtherance of the common good.
The Commission has noted the report and evidence
of the House of Lords Committee and will take the report into
account in the context of the preparation of a follow-up Communication
which will address the main policy issues and options identified
in all of the responses received. This work will complement the
broader range of initiatives on the topic of flexicurity that
the Commission is developing in close cooperation with the Member
States.
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