Background to the project

Transcription

1 Supporting Anticipation of Change and Development of Skills Involving trade union representatives in information, consultation and participation procedures at the workplace Background to the project The European Union is attempting to move beyond the financial and economic crisis, in order to create the conditions for a more competitive economy with higher employment, and its Europe 2020 strategy aims to deliver economic growth that is: smart, through more effective investments in education, research and innovation; sustainable, thanks to a decisive move towards a low-carbon economy; and inclusive, with a strong emphasis on job creation and poverty reduction. Europe 2020 focuses on five goals in the areas of employment, innovation, education, poverty reduction and climate/energy, and the European Union has fixed a series of targets to attain these goals. The target for employment is, as follows: 75% of year-olds should be in employment by Some countries are well on the way to hitting these targets. By 2015 Germany and Latvia, for example, already had an employment rate of 78.0% and 72.5% respectively. Others however have a long way to go, and by 2015 Bulgaria, Italy, and Romania had rates of 67.1%, 60.5% and 66.0% respectively. 1 To attain these targets the European Union has set up seven Flagship Initiatives, one of which, An Agenda for New Skills and Jobs, highlights the need to equip people with the right skills for the jobs of today and tomorrow. 2 In an ensuing Communication Towards a job-rich recovery the European Commission has underlined the importance of the right skills - dynamic and inclusive labour markets, where people possess the right skills, are essential if the competitiveness of the European economy is to rise, rather than decline. It has also highlighted the need to for older workers to maintain their employability, which require comprehensive measures, such as, access to lifelong learning through career guidance and training. Developing lifelong learning is seen as a key to security in employment. Access to lifelong learning, within either employment or unemployment situations, is essential if employability is to be maintained. In this respect, the commitment of employers to training their workforce, particularly in the case of low-skilled and older workers, is essential. 3 In its 2016 Work Programme the European Commission included a New Skills Agenda for Europe. In an Information Note on the main elements of the Skills Agenda, presented to the December 2015 meeting of the Advisory Committee for Vocational Training, the European Commission underlined the need to address skills deficits among European adults Skills deficits amongst the European adult workforce particularly in relation to numeracy, literacy and digital skills are a source for concern because they translate into an insufficiently employable and adaptable workforce and represents a drag on productivity and growth prospects. The EU should fully exploit the potential of these 70 million low skilled adults. All COM/2010/0682 final 3 COM(2012) 173 final 1

2 Europeans with insufficient levels of basic skill should be entitles to engage in alternative learning pathways leading to upskilling and a recognised qualification. In response the Executive Committee of the European Trade Union Confederation adopted a position New Skills Agenda: improving training opportunities for workers in Europe which underlined the key role of trade unions as social partners The role of social partners and social dialogue at all levels of decision-making on qualifications and training schemes should be recognised and fostered by the EU institutions. At company level, workers representatives must be involved in the forward planning of both employment and skills, with the latter having to become a regular and shared feature of companies policies for anticipation of change. In general, training culture in companies should be established as skills development and training provision should be part of the whole company strategy. 4 If workers representatives at company level are to be involved in the forward planning of both employment and skills, with the latter having to become a regular and shared feature of companies policies for anticipation of change, they will need to make better use of existing information, consultation and participation procedures at the workplace. These information, consultation and participation procedures do not exist in a vacuum however; they exist to manage a variety of industrial relations issues, for example, according to the ETUC, forward planning of both employment and skills and companies policies for anticipation of change. The ETUC has already made a proposal for an initiative Integrated Projects of the European Social Dialogue (in conjunction with BusinessEurope, the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises UEAPME - and the European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Services CEEP), which include activities designed to identify existing models of organising, governing and financing training schemes, as well as to promote capacity building of social partners on continuing vocational education and training with a focus on fostering learning between countries with welldeveloped schemes and those where social partnership could be improved. Supporting Anticipation of Change and Development of Skills - Involving trade union representatives in information, consultation and participation procedures at the workplace is a bottom-up enterprise-based project which is designed to complement the European Social Partners initiative. Objectives of the project The overall objective of the project is to undertake a European trade union strategy to support trade union representatives so that they are prepared to make better use of information, consultation and participation procedures at the workplace in order to anticipate change and develop workers skills. The specific objectives of the project to: organise a campaign in 5 EU Member States to enable senior shop stewards and works councillors to use information, consultation and participation procedures at the 4 2

3 workplace to engage in dialogue with employers to anticipate change and develop workers skills organise 5 study visits for senior shop stewards and works councillors (3 from Member States with limited experience of workplace dialogue - Bulgaria, Latvia and Romania - to Member States with a significant tradition of workplace dialogue - Germany, Italy); and 2 from Member States with significant experience of workplace dialogue Germany, Italy - to visit each other). These study visits will provide an opportunity to exchange information and experience about ways in which trade union representatives may use information, consultation and participation procedures to anticipate change and develop workers skills, with a specific emphasis on the following: o planning continuing vocational education and training in cooperation with employers o implementing continuing vocational education and training with employers o providing support for workers to develop their skills o reinforcing overall dialogue with employers on continuing vocational education and training through collective agreements take existing and develop new information and training materials, translating them where necessary, and adapt them to the needs of senior shop stewards and works councillors so that they are able to use information, consultation and participation procedures at the workplace to engage in dialogue with employers to anticipate change and develop workers skills organise 11 information and training seminars (3 in Germany and Italy; 2 in Bulgaria and Romania; and 1 in Latvia) for 220 senior shop stewards and works councillors (60 in Germany and Italy; 40 in Bulgaria and Romania; and 20 in Latvia) so that they can better use information, consultation and participation procedures at the workplace to engage in dialogue with employers to anticipate change and develop workers skills (in Member States with a significant number of European Works Councils, Germany for example, anticipating change and developing workers skills would be an important theme; in Member States with joint inter-professional training funds comanaged by social partners, Italy for example, managing these funds to anticipate change and develop workers skills would also be an important theme) develop and disseminate Recommendations for a European trade union strategy for make better use of information, consultation and participation procedures at the workplace in order to anticipate change and develop workers skills hold a Final Conference, under the auspices of the European Trade Union Confederation, for all its affiliated organisations, with the aim of transferring the experience and expertise from the five countries participating in the project to other trade union organisations throughout Europe. Target Group for the Project In the first instance at the European level, the target group for this project will consist of 60 senior shop stewards, works councillors and trade union officers who are directly or indirectly involved in information, consultation and participation procedures at the workplace level and who can act as multipliers for anticipating change and developing workers skills. In the second instance at the national level, it will be possible to take the experiences gained 3

4 by these multipliers to reach a further 220 senior shop stewards, works councillors and trade union officers who are directly involved in information, consultation and participation procedures at the workplace, so that they are in a better position to anticipate change and develop workers skills. In the third instance, with the support of the European Trade Union Confederation, it will be possible to reach senior shop stewards, works councillors and trade union officers in other sectors in all EU Member States and Candidate Countries. In the first instance, the emphasis will be on senior shop stewards, works councillors and trade union officers coming from the manufacturing sector, and primarily the metalworking and chemical sectors, but as the project progresses, there will be a commitment to enlarging the target group to senior shop stewards, works councillors and trade union officers coming from all sectors. Partnership for the project Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB) and the Berufsfortbildungswerk (bfw) - Germany Given the importance of this area of work for the anticipation of change and the future development of workers skills, the largest national confederation affiliated to the European Trade Union Confederation, the Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB) has agreed to play a leading role in the design and implementation of the project. It has approximately 6 million members and, along with its affiliated organisations, has a direct and practical responsibility for the anticipation of change and the development of workers skills. German trade unions do this primarily via their role on the Board of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung BIBB), Competent Bodies (Zuständige Stellen) and at the workplace level in information, consultation and participation bodies, notably Works Councils (Betriebsräte). The DGB has been in discussions with its two biggest affiliated organisations in the metalworking and chemical industries, IG Metall and IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie (IG BCE), and they have agreed to contribute actively to the successful implementation of the project. This will enable the project to obtain direct access to information, consultation and participation bodies in enterprises. It is expected that the study visits to Germany will take pace in Nordrhein-Westfalen. The Berufsfortbildungswerk (bfw), which was founded by the Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, is a training institution which specialises in continuing vocational education and training. Through innovative approaches in education and employment projects, the BFW contributes to the maintenance and expansion of individuals skills. On that basis the bfw will be the Coordinator and contribute expertise about skills development to the project, and the DGB will act as a Co-applicant; IG Metall and IG BCE will act as Affiliated Organisations. The bfw and the DGB will be members of the project Steering Committee Confederazione Italiana Sindicati Lavoratori (CISL) Italy 4

5 The CISL has also agreed to play a leading role in the design and implementation of the project. It has approximately 2,340,000 members and along with its affiliated organisations has a direct and practical responsibility for the anticipation of change and the development of workers skills. Italian trade unions do this primarily by promoting company-level training plans (in single or groups of companies) to be financed by the regions or by the 18 joint interprofessional funds (Fondi Interprofessionali). The CISL has been in discussions with its two biggest affiliated organisations in the metalworking and chemical industries, Federazione Italiana Metalmeccanici (FIM) and Federazione Energia ModaChimica e Affini (FEMCA) and they have agreed to contribute actively to the successful implementation of the project. This will enable the project to obtain direct access to information, consultation and participation bodies in enterprises. Discussions are in course to decide on the workplaces to be visited for the study visits. CISL will act as a Co-applicant; FIM and FEMCA will act as Affiliated Organisations. The CISL will be a member of the project Steering Committee. European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) The ETUC is the only general cross-industry trade union confederation which is consulted under Article 154 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). It represents the interests of 85 national trade union confederations, together with 4 national observer organisations, coming from 36 different countries. It also represents the interests of 10 European sectoral trade union federations, which are directly engaged in activities linked to workers participation and company policy on the one hand and the anticipation of change and the development of workers skills on the other. In addition, the ETUC coordinates an EU-wide Workers Participation and Company Policy Committee and an Education and Training Committee with delegates from all EU Member States (as well as Candidate Countries) and European sectoral trade union federations, thus providing an important channel for dissemination of project results. The ETUC will act as an Associate Organisation within this project. The ETUC will be a member of the project Steering Committee. Bloculiu National Sindica BNS, Конфедерация на независимитесиндикати в България КНСБ and Latvijas Brīvo arodbiedrību savienība - LBAS BNS-Romania, KNSB-Bulgaria and LBAS-Latvia are leading confederations within their own Member States and are faced with an urgent need to build and reinforce information, consultation and participation practices, particularly in the area of anticipating change and developing workers skills. To date they have limited experience of deploying trade union representatives at the workplace to anticipate change and develop workers skills. BNS-Romania, KNSB-Bulgaria and LBAS-Latvia will act as Co-applicants within this project. 5

6 The BNS, KNSB and LBAS will be members of the project Steering Committee. Confédération française démocratique du travail (CFDT) The CFDT is the largest trade union confederations in France in terms of membership, with just over 850,000 members. The CFDT will act as an Associate Organisation within this project. The CFDT will be an observer on the project Steering Committee, which guarantees the transferability of the project results to France. * These national confederations have been chosen because they represent different geographical regions within the European Union - South, East and West. They also represent different types of trade unionism medium density and low density. They come from old Member States and new Member States. They come from Member States with higher levels of employment and from Member States with lower levels of employment. They come from Member States with well-functioning information, consultation and participation procedures and from Member States with information, consultation and participation procedures that need to be reinforced. Finally they provide continuity and development in terms of European trade union strategy some were involved in a previous project Implementing a European trade union strategy to support the development of workers skills in manufacturing and beyond, which, inter alia, produced Developing Workplace Learning a trade union toolkit (VP/2014/002/0045).This project will make it possible to embed the toolkit in information, consultation and participation procedures that exist in the different Member States. In addition, the inclusion of LBAS will open up new avenues for geographical expansion, and the inclusion of IG Metall, IG BCE, FIM and FEMCA will provide further avenues for sectoral development. * All these trade union organisations will play an important and active role in the implementation of the action. bfw, DGB, CISL, BNS-Romania, KNSB-Bulgaria, LBAS-Latvia will be members of the project s Steering Committee which will meet on four occasions and contribute in the following ways: guiding the development of project activities evaluating the progress made within the project contributing to the transfer of the project s experiences to other economic sectors and to other countries via the Final Conference for 60 trade unionists from all ETUC affiliated organisations. The CFDT and the ETUC will be observers on the project Steering Committee. With the coordination of the bfw, the DGB, CISL, BNS, KNSB and LBAS will carry out the 6

7 following tasks: participating actively in the design and delivery of 5 study visits (3 to Germany, and 2 to Italy) for groups of 12 senior shop stewards and works councillors coming from Bulgaria, Germany, Italy Latvia and Romania contributing to the preparation of information and training materials to enable senior shop stewards and works councillors to become involved in information, consultation and participation procedures so as to anticipate change and develop workers skills organising a series of information and training seminars in each Member State for groups of 20 senior shop stewards and works councillors who will act as multipliers to make better use of information, consultation and participation procedures at the workplace in order to anticipate change and develop workers skills. Detailed work plan In order to meet its objectives, the work of the project will be divided into six distinct phases. 1/Launching the project (project months 1-3) In the first phase the bfw will select an independent organisation to provide expertise in industrial management in Europe to support the coordination of the overall implementation of the study visits, the preparation of the information and training materials and the information and training seminars. This organisation will be required to undertake the following (a detailed description is given in Annex H.3): support the bfw in the coordination of implementation of the study visits in Germany and Italy cooperate with the partners in the preparation of information and training materials advise the partners on the preparation of information and training seminars support the bfw in the preparation and follow up of all Steering Committee meetings support the bfw in preparation and follow up of the Final Conference The bfw will set up a coordination meeting with the DGB to organise the management of the project. The bfw, in cooperation with the DGB and the industrial management organisation, will coordinate the 1 st meeting of the Steering Committee, to plan the different elements of the project, and more specifically the overall organisation and coherence of the study visits. These meetings will take place in Germany. 2/Planning and carrying out three study visits to Germany and two study visits to Italy (project months 4-8) The bfw and DGB, in cooperation with the industrial management organisation, will convene a meeting with representatives of IG Metall and IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie and representatives of CISL, KNSB and LBAS that will participate in the three study visits to Germany. They will 7

8 decide on the content of the 2-day study visits; the type of workplaces to be visited; logistics, such as accommodation, travel arrangements, interpreters, interpreting equipment, room hire etc. It is expected that the visits will take place in Nordrhein-Westfalen. The meeting will take place in Berlin. The bfw and CISL, in cooperation with the industrial management organisation, will convene a meeting with representatives of FIM and FEMCA and representatives of DGB and BNS that will participate in the two study visits to Italy. They will decide on the content of the 2-day study visits; the type of workplaces to be visited; logistics, such as accommodation, travel arrangements, interpreters, interpreting equipment, room hire etc. Discussions are in course to decide on the workplaces to be visited for the study visits. The meeting will take place in Florence. The visiting confederations (DGB, CISL, KNSB, BNS and LBAS) will then begin the process of recruiting a group of 12 senior shop stewards and works councillors and national trade union officers for the study visits, and organising the travel arrangements etc. The visiting confederations will then carry out the study visits. It has been decided that the study visits will last 2 days, thus ensuring the participation of senior shop stewards and national trade union officers, for whom day release is sometimes difficult. The study visits will provide an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the functions of information, consultation and participation bodies in the host countries, and the role that they play in the anticipation of change and the development of workers skills. Each study visit will contain the following elements, inter alia: Day 0 arrival Day 1 functions of information, consultation and participation procedures - role in the anticipation of change, development of workers skills and enhancement of employabilityplanning the company visits undertaking the company visit Day 2 feedback from the company visit suggestions for information and training materials departure In the course of the study visit representatives of the industrial management organisation will give an expert input on information, consultation and participation procedures in Europe and representatives of the bfw will give an expert input about the development of workers skills and learning at the workplace. The bfw, with the cooperation of the DGB and the industrial management organisation, will coordinate the 2 nd meeting of the Steering Committee, to evaluate the different study visits and to plan the next phase, the preparation of the information and training materials and the organisation of the Final Conference. Moreover, based on the experiences of the study visits the partners discuss and develop Recommendations for a European trade union strategy for 8

9 make better use of information, consultation and participation procedures at the workplace in order to anticipate change and develop workers skills The meeting will take place in Florence. 3/ Preparing the information and training materials (project months 9-11) Following the recommendations of the 2 nd Steering Committee meeting, the industrial management organisation will advise the five trade union confederations on the availability of existing information and training materials and produces further information and training materials on the basis of examples of best practice. The bfw will contribute its expertise on methods and strategies for further training as well as on workplace learning to the information and training material. It is expected that examples of best practice could be drawn, inter alia, from: the functions of information, consultation and participation procedures the roles of information, consultation and participation procedures in anticipating change and developing workers skills the roles of information, consultation and participation procedures in anticipating change and developing workers skills the process of turning workers training needs and experience into trade union demands the process of making the trade union case for anticipating change and developing workers skills the process of entering into dialogue with employers on the anticipation of change and development of workers skills the content of company workplace learning agreement the implementation of a successful workplace learning strategy 4/ Planning and carrying out 11 1-day national information and training seminars (project months 13-17) The 5 national confederations will plan 11 1-day national dissemination seminars, recruit 20 participants per seminar, organise the logistics and carry out the 1-day national seminars. The seminars will have the following objective: to increase the capacity of trade union representatives so that they can make better use of information, consultation and participation procedures at the workplace in order to anticipate change and develop workers skills. The bfw, with the cooperation of the DGB and the industrial management organisation, will coordinate the 3 rd meeting of the Steering Committee to evaluate the 1-day national information and training seminars and to plan the Final Conference. This meeting will take place in Sofia. The aims of the EU-wide Final Conference, will be to increase the capacity of trade union representatives so that they can make better use of information, consultation and participation procedures at the workplace in order to anticipate change and develop workers skills. The Final Conference will: 9

10 present the experiences of the project present the latest developments in terms of the European Commission s New Skills Agenda present the information and training materials present and debate a draft version of the Recommendations for a European trade union strategy for make better use of information, consultation and participation procedures at the workplace in order to anticipate change and develop workers skills. The bfw, with the cooperation of the DGB and the industrial management organisation, will coordinate the 4th meeting of the Steering Committee just prior to the Final Conference, to fine-tune the last logistical details for the Final Conference. 6/ Follow up and further dissemination of results (Months 23-24) The final output of the project will be a successful campaign involving 220 senior shop stewards and works councillors from 5 Member States to make better use of information, consultation and participation procedures at the workplace in order to anticipate change and develop workers skills. This campaign will be built upon 5 study visits, information and training materials and 11 information and training seminars. The Recommendation for a European trade union strategy for making better use of information, consultation and participation procedures at the workplace in order to anticipate change and develop workers skills will be discussed at the Education and Training Committee of the European Trade Union Confederation. It would also be disseminated to all European Works Committees.. 10