ETUC Resolution on the European Job Guarantee

ETUC Resolution on the European Job Guarantee
Adopted at the Executive Committee Meeting of 6-7 December 2023

The ETUC supports the idea of a European Job Guarantee, which would provide employment opportunities for the long-term unemployed through a state-run programme for job seekers unable to find opportunities in the open labour market. The Job Guarantee should be built on the following main principles:

• Offering job opportunities that align with individual competencies and career aspirations;
• voluntary engagement of unemployed persons, with no conditionalities or sanction in the event of a refusal of job offers (like preventing access to unemployment benefits) and no repercussions for participants who choose to leave the job or programme;
• provision of quality job offers, with permanent contracts and wages and rights in line with “going rate”, “prevailing conditions” and the relevant collective agreement and national labour standards. Involvement in a job guarantee scheme should enhance the chances of reintegrating into the labour market and should not create a separate or parallel labour market.
• the programme should include long-term unemployed persons with a personalised approach and prioritising those more excluded or discriminated against from the labour market.
• participants should be granted the right to re-skilling and up-skilling, as well as pre-employment training and on-the-job training. Also, the programme should provide counselling to its participants and tackle gender-based discrimination and inequalities.
• and a territorial approach, with the meaningful involvement of trade unions in the design, implementation, and assessment of the programme. Other  actors of the region should also participate, so as to ensure that the programme responds to the unmet needs of the territory, while maintaining a strong foundation in social dialogue.
• The Job Guarantee should not limit other programmes at local, regional or national level addressing long-term unemployment, especially if they are more favourable for long-term unemployed people.

The European Job Guarantee may be open to the involvement of any employer, whether from the private or public sector, profit or non-profit, providing that they adhere to the aforementioned principles and other social conditionalities that ensure social progress and quality jobs, that they have no recent unfair redundancies, or violations of workers’ rights, that they recognise trade unions and have no previous record of trade union busting or abuses. When considering the involvement of Local and Regional Governments as potential employers in these programmes, it is essential to accompany their participation with augmented financial and human resources support. This will enable the creation of directly employed, sustainable jobs, and provide adequate training opportunities. It is imperative to emphasise that the jobs created must address unmet needs in the territory, with a focus on social and environmental causes, to avoid competing with existing businesses and causing unfair competition.

By enacting a European Job Guarantee, the EU can effectively contribute to achieving the objectives outlined in the European Green Deal and to upholding the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights. However, to become a genuine guarantee for the unemployed, it must be founded on the provision of high-quality jobs. As defined by the ETUC (ETUC Resolution: Defining Quality Work: An ETUC action plan for more and better jobs), such jobs encompass good wages, work security through standard employment and social protection, the right to lifelong learning, equal pay for work of equal value, safe and healthy working conditions, reasonable working hours with a healthy work-life balance, and the right to trade union representation and collective bargaining.

The implementation of a European Job Guarantee is expected to yield positive spillover effects in the territories where it operates. Notably, such a programme can contribute to the stabilisation of the economy and stimulate growth by offering more people employment, income, and the ability to contribute through consumption and taxation, thereby driving further return of the programme into society. It can also help reduce the strain on the social security system.

The involvement of social partners in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the Job Guarantee is crucial for its success, as trade unions hold valuable insights to the specific needs of the workers within each region. In order to guarantee full transparency of the offers provided, an observatory for the implementation of this programme with the participation of the above-mentioned actors and the corresponding Public Employment Services should be established.

We can draw valuable lessons from the European Youth Guarantee, which potential benefits have remained unfulfilled. According to ETUC, the implementation of the Youth Guarantee by several Member States has even led to a rise in precarious job conditions for young people and its financial resources were insufficiently allocated. Learning from this shortcoming, it becomes crucial for the European Commission to take all necessary measures to avoid such negative consequences at any costs when developing the European

Job Guarantee, by ensuring that its implementation is properly funded and it  leads to quality jobs and substantial and sustainable improvements for its participants in the labour market.

The European Job Guarantee should consider the lessons from the implementation of the Council Recommendation on integrating the long-term unemployed into the labour market. This initiative fell short of expectations primarily due to inadequate provisions for the engagement of trade unions and social partnerships.

Drawing from the insights gained from our members' experiences (see annex I), the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) advocates for the establishment of a potential European Job Guarantee with the following key demands:

• Full employment rights: This includes the application of the collective agreements specific to the respective sector applicable to both companies and public sectors operating under the Job Guarantee.
• Voluntary nature of participation and comprehensive support: participation in job guarantee schemes shall be completely voluntary and must not involve any form of sanctions.
• Improved data collection: Enhancing the availability of data to evaluate the effectiveness of these programmes in improving the well-being of participants and communities and facilitating participants' integration into mainstream employment.
• Broadened scope of sector coverage: Ensuring that a comprehensive range of sectors is covered under the European Job Guarantee. In certain cases, an excessive reliance on the provision of neighbourhood services is observed, which often involve core tasks with low qualifications. While low-qualified workers may constitute a larger proportion of the beneficiaries of this programme, the approach previously outlined should be avoided as a standard practice.
• Effective outreach to target groups: prioritising effective outreach and engagement with the target group, in a gender-responsive manner, particularly those individuals who have limited or no opportunities in the traditional labour market. Social partners should be involved in the definition of the target groups.

ETUC strongly advocates for the establishment of a European Job Guarantee as a means to address long-term unemployment. We strongly advocate for sufficient funding and that the funding for the European Job Guarantee comes from a dedicated allocation of EU budget. This approach ensures that the necessary resources for the programme are prioritised independently, without impacting other projects within the European Social Fund. While the initial budget assigned to the pilot project may be used to establish a network within existing European policies, the final programme's allocation should be aimed at generating direct employment opportunities and providing support to public employment services responsible for managing the initiative. In order to ensure quality implementation of the programme, the capacities of Public employment services have to be  increased by investing in their human and financial resources. The primary allocation of funding for the European Job Guarantee should prioritise public and non-profit employers. ETUC calls for additional EU funding to be allocated for supporting Member states in providing Job Guarantee.

The European Commission has shown interest in the potential implementation of a European Job Guarantee. Currently, the Commission is actively developing a pilot project designed to establish a network that connects regions across the EU already operating similar programmes. Furthermore, the Commission has outlined provisions within the "Social Innovation Initiative" of the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) for projects focused on "Demand-driven territorial approaches to tackle long-term unemployment." An allocated budget of EUR 34 million is earmarked for this purpose, and the call for such projects is expected to be officially published by the conclusion of 2024.

ETUC emphasises the importance of ensuring that the perspectives and demands of trade unions are taken into consideration by the European Commission. Whether the focus is on the development of projects that address the needs of final users or the establishment of networks that support existing practices, it is essential that the voices of workers and their representatives are heard and integrated into these programmes.