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Social Aspects

Work on the social dimension has progressed in three major areas:

• employment,
• terms of employment,
• working conditions.

Employment

Since the publication of the white paper on growth, competitiveness and employment, employment has been the chief motivation for action concerning the information society.

This is also the area where it has been most hotly disputed (telecommunications policy in particular).

In this context, the initial analyses produced by the Commission sought essentially to "justify" the job losses affecting certain sectors (especially the traditional telecoms operators losing their monopolies) in terms of the beneficial effects for employment as a whole expected from the spread of ICT.

In particular, this exercise led the Commission to show that the more rapid the spread of ICT (assisted by faster liberalization of telecoms infrastructures and services), the greater would be the number of jobs created or saved in fields of activity directly related to ICT (which had for a time attracted everyone's attention), but above all in the economy as a whole, thanks in particular to the productivity gains derived from these new technologies.

At the same time, the Commission has progressively developed another line of work seeking to identify the conditions through which to maximize the benefits of ICT for employment.

Terms of employment and working conditions

Three major questions concerning terms of employment and working conditions have emerged from the debate surrounding the social dimension: work" organization", the protection of teleworkers and of workers as a whole when it comes to processing social data, and electronic surveillance devices.

Work "organization"

Consideration of work "organization" includes aspects relating both to the quest for suitable means of increasing the impact of new technologies on productivity, to the management of changes in employment and work, and to the conditions for their social acceptance.

These deliberations were launched at a public debate organized on the basis of a Commission green paper entitled "

In essence, the Commission green paper develops the idea of a" new" organization of work breaking with the Taylorist model (hierarchical organization, high degree of specialization, simple and often repetitive tasks, etc. )linked with industrial mass production, in favor of innovative forms of organization and management responding to the economic changes that have marked the last 20 or 30 years (diversification of markets requiring adaptability, innovation and high quality in production, expansion of the tertiary sector, growing value of intangible investments - especially workforce skills - , dissemination of ICT, etc.).

The green paper sets the objective of seeking a balance between the interests of employers and workers ("flexibility" and "security"), with industrial relations based on co-operation and mutual trust ("partnership").

The document puts forward no concrete proposals, preferring to leave the various topics raised for consideration by the social partners and public authorities in order, in particular, to test the possibilities opened up by social dialogue.

In matters of more direct concern to ICT, the green paper stresses inparticular the inappropriate nature of conventional legal provisions in the light of changing concepts of the workplace (various forms of teleworking) and the enterprise (networking, contracting out, subcontracting, co-operatives).

It also raises the question as to the role of employees in decision-making, especially in decisions concerning new technologies and their organizational implications, and the negotiation of flexibility (re-organization and reduction of working time).

The green paper also asks the parties concerned to consider reforms to labor law, the tax system and social security which might stimulate innovative forms of work organization, their effects on employee health and safety, as well as the new balance that might be struck between legislation, collective bargaining and individual contracts.

The very principle of developing a partnership was given a very different reception by European trade union and employer organizations.

While the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) came out in favourof negotiating with employers, the latter - through the Union of Industrial and Employers 'Confederations of Europe (UNICE) - consider the internal management of the enterprise to be a matter for management alone.

They also point to the great diversity of enterprises, which would prevent the adoption of across-the-board solutions.

The crucial importance of organizational change has in the meantime been recognized by the extraordinary Council of Heads of State and Government held in Luxembourg in November 1997, which made this one of the main points of the first guidelines for employment drawn up in 1997 ("adaptability" pillar).

These invite the social partners to negotiate agreements for the updating of work organization, and ask the public authorities to consider the introduction of more adaptable employment contracts, providing adequate security and a better professional status for workers (compatible with the needs of enterprises).

With this in mind, following the public consultation the Commission formally invited the social partners to investigate the best ways of facilitating and completing the implementation of the guidelines, so as to draw up an outline plan of action in this field at the appropriate levels (European, national, sectoral, within the enterprise).

This could in particular relate to matters such as training, the relationship between work organization and working time, the development of new-style contractual relations and career paths, the development of an integrated approach for the introduction of ICT and organizational change, financial participation by employees or the promotion of equal opportunities between the sexes.

Teleworking

The main development in the field of teleworking is the adoption by the Commission of a recommendation calling on the non-signatory Member States (Germany and the United Kingdom) to ratify the International Labor Organisation (ILO) convention on home working. This convention relates to the improvement of terms of employment and working conditions with a view to ensuring as quickly as possible equality of treatment between persons working at home and those who go out to work.

The recommendation also provides that Member States must notify the Commission of measures taken under the ILO convention, so that the Commission can monitor the circumstances in each country.

The ILO convention does not cover all teleworkers, since they are not all home workers (mobile work, neighborhood telecentres, etc.). On the other hand, it does affect traditional home workers who do not use ICT.

The Commission has announced for 1999 the publication of a communication on the social aspects of teleworking. It has also on a number of occasions promised to consult with the European social partners on the appropriateness of EU action for the protection of teleworkers.

For its part, the European Trade Union Confederation has already asked the Commission to introduce a legislative framework for this purpose.

Protection of the rights and freedoms of employees

The Commission has announced the presentation of a communication analysing the situation concerning the protection of employees’ rights and freedoms, especially with regard to the processing of health data, the role of workforce representatives and the use of technical surveillance devices.