The Quality Jobs Act announced today by President von der Leyen must meet the urgency of the situation facing working people who cannot be asked to settle for half measures after years of falling real wages and rising precarity at work.
In her State of the Union address, the Commission President acknowledged “how hard times have been for so many families” as a result of the rocketing cost-of-living and said it is a “matter of “basic social justice” to bring forward legislation to meet their needs. Raising wages through collective bargaining is the answer.
The announcement ended a 9-month wait for the Commission to announce the first social legislation of President von der Leyen’s second term, a period during which a raft of deregulation legislation has been proposed to meet the demands of corporations who have seen profits increase while wages fell.
It confirmed that the Quality Jobs Package which was already announced by the Commission will include legislation, although no details were given as to what it will include. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) says the Quality Jobs Act must be introduced this year and meet the following tests:
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Collective bargaining coverage: 80% of workers in every EU country are covered by collective agreements, with verified national plans put in place with trade unions.
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Ethical public procurement: Public contracts are awarded only to organisations whose workers are covered by collective agreements.
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Just Transition Directive: EU law to ensure changes in the economy are made through proactive planning and worker involvement - not chaotic redundancies.
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AI in the Workplace: A Directive that ensures AI systems at work uphold the ‘human in control’ principle and work in a transparent way which respects workers’ rights.
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Protections against stress and burnout: EU Directive that guarantee safeguards against psychosocial risks, online harassment, and enforces the right to disconnect.
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Subcontracting limits: Labour intermediaries are regulated and subcontracting is capped at two tiers to prevent exploitation.
The European Commission must also clarify that the proposed 28th Company Regime will not attack labour law, which would be completely contradictory to the Quality Jobs Act.
ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch:
“For the millions of people working harder than ever to afford life’s basics, it will be a relief to finally hear the President of the European Commission say she understands how tough things have got and confirm that she will take concrete action to help.
“Having made that promise, President von der Leyen must now ensure the Quality Jobs Act meets the urgency and gravity of the situation faced by working people. Trade unions have clear tests for the Quality Jobs Act and, having waited so long for action, will not settle for half measures.
"One of the best ways to lift families out of poverty is to ensure they can earn a decent wage. That means ensuring they benefit from a collectively bargained contract. Quality jobs are incompatible with the rise of exploitative zero-hours contracts which should be banned. Instead, we need to ensure that every worker’s existing right to collective bargaining is enforced by excluding organisations which refuse to play by the rules from public procurement.
“President von der Leyen was also right to say that the speed of change in our economy is affecting people’s lives and careers. The logical consequence then is to include a Just Transition Directive which gives workers the right to training during working hours, and a directive which ensures that the use of AI benefits workers rather than violates their rights.
“You cannot build a high quality economy on low quality jobs. In fact, poor quality jobs are driving labour shortages in key sectors. That’s why all of Europe’s economic success stories are built on quality jobs underpinned by collective bargaining. Europe can never win a race to the bottom. Our path to competitiveness is through high quality jobs, high investment and a reputation for high standards and services.”
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