News
BackThis week, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) presented their jointly prepared Benchmarking Working Europe Report 2011. The Benchmarking Report is published on an annual basis as a contribution to the Spring Summit of the European Union. This year, the new Europe 2020 Strategy is carefully examined and the question is explored whether the promises of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth are not just empty words. Based on the report, ETUI and ETUC try to make a contribution to the practical implementation of a social benchmarking process.
Should budget consolidation be given priority over economic growth and qualitative jobs?
The Benchmarking Report is divided into eight chapters. Macroeconomic and labour market developments, income and imbalances, social security systems and social dialogue are among the topics, which are carefully analysed. Right from the beginning, the authors of the report argue that unfortunately not the right conclusions were drawn from the crisis of the past years and that therefore the Europe 2020 Strategy does not provide the right instructions for action. In particular the stubborn holding on to the much hailed necessity of budget consolidation is increasingly gaining in support, although it has not been proven to this day that the lack of budget discipline displayed by individual Member States had led to the crisis. That a too strict budget consolidation can seriously hamper the much needed recovery is also not sufficiently considered. Too little attention is given to the already occurred real wage losses and the problems associated with this. Too much focus is placed on the pure creation of jobs. The fact that the quality of work and the income it generates play an important role to get people out of the poverty trap is thereby forgotten.
Social dialogue not given enough room in the Europe 2020 Strategy
The Benchmarking Working Europe 2011 Report comes to the conclusion that the Europe 2020 Strategy pays too little attention in particular to the important social dialogue between employers and workers. In particular the European and the national social partners are able to make a substantial input to the desired success of the Strategy. Over the past years they have time and again proven their ability to make a contribution. One might have expected, as it had also been the case in respect of the Lisbon Strategy, that there would be at least some consideration given to what the social dialogue should look like in the next ten years - however, these considerations are completely lacking. It is therefore also the responsibility of the Benchmarking Report to provide an annual critical assessment of the developments and possible progress of the Europe 2020 Strategy and to point out that success is only achieved if a number of players work towards it and that this fact should not be forgotten.
Further information:
Benchmarking Working Europe Report 2011
The Benchmarking Report is divided into eight chapters. Macroeconomic and labour market developments, income and imbalances, social security systems and social dialogue are among the topics, which are carefully analysed. Right from the beginning, the authors of the report argue that unfortunately not the right conclusions were drawn from the crisis of the past years and that therefore the Europe 2020 Strategy does not provide the right instructions for action. In particular the stubborn holding on to the much hailed necessity of budget consolidation is increasingly gaining in support, although it has not been proven to this day that the lack of budget discipline displayed by individual Member States had led to the crisis. That a too strict budget consolidation can seriously hamper the much needed recovery is also not sufficiently considered. Too little attention is given to the already occurred real wage losses and the problems associated with this. Too much focus is placed on the pure creation of jobs. The fact that the quality of work and the income it generates play an important role to get people out of the poverty trap is thereby forgotten.
Social dialogue not given enough room in the Europe 2020 Strategy
The Benchmarking Working Europe 2011 Report comes to the conclusion that the Europe 2020 Strategy pays too little attention in particular to the important social dialogue between employers and workers. In particular the European and the national social partners are able to make a substantial input to the desired success of the Strategy. Over the past years they have time and again proven their ability to make a contribution. One might have expected, as it had also been the case in respect of the Lisbon Strategy, that there would be at least some consideration given to what the social dialogue should look like in the next ten years - however, these considerations are completely lacking. It is therefore also the responsibility of the Benchmarking Report to provide an annual critical assessment of the developments and possible progress of the Europe 2020 Strategy and to point out that success is only achieved if a number of players work towards it and that this fact should not be forgotten.
Further information:
Benchmarking Working Europe Report 2011