EU: a fragmented market ” “

The reform of the labour market is considered of crucial importance for the campaign against unemployment and for development in all the member states of the European Union. The last European Council, held in Barcelona on 15 and 16 March, tackled the question, placing the emphasis on flexibility and stressing the need for structural reforms at the Community level (cf. SirEurope no. 11/2002). To review the situation we interviewed Felice Scalvini , president of the European Confederation of labour cooperatives and social cooperatives. The reform of the labour market in Europe: what practical contribution can the EU make, in view of the different labour laws in force in the member states? “Its contribution may come from the creation of channels of cultural and institutional communication between the labour markets of the various countries, though we should never lose sight of the fact that when we speak of ‘labour market’ we always mean a social institution. The fundamental factor that needs to be addressed is the fragmentation of labour markets in response to world phenomena such as globalization and immigration: the EU could help the national states to reflect on the significance of the integration of the labour market. I may cite as an example, apparently banal, the ‘single European curriculum’, a simple but effective tool that undoubtedly helps to integrate job markets”. The Barcelona summit reaffirmed the EU’s objective of achieving full employment by 2010: is that goal achievable? “If the implementation of appropriate policies were possible, it might not be a pipe-dream. However, our feeling is that it will be difficult to implement such policies, because excessive emphasis is being placed on flexibility, which is of course necessary but not decisive. In Italy, for example, there has been a growth in employment despite the rigidity of the labour market. That’s why in our view it would be necessary to revive the old White Paper of Delors, and aim to exploit to the maximum the so-called ‘employment reserves’. There is a need for flexibility, but not because it produces more employment: jobs are created by active development policies in sectors with a high rate of employment”. What measures are needed to guarantee the dignity and quality of work, especially for young people? “Our Confederation promotes the idea that labour cooperation and social cooperation represent the best institutional basis for reconciling flexibility, on the one hand, and responsibility and self-government, on the other. To strike the right balance between flexibility and proper safeguards for each individual employee there is nothing better that entrusting to workers, as entrepreneurs, the management of the labour factor within their own company. The effectiveness of this solution is testified by the growth of labour cooperatives throughout Europe”.