16 December 2022
On Friday 9 December 2022, Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe General Secretary, met with Mr Luka Mesec, Slovenian Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. Following up on the Meeting of the Ministers of Employment and Social Affairs on 8 December, Mr Mesec and Ms Ronzitti exchanged views on top EU priorities, including the EU measures and actions to limit the rising price of energy, the priorities for social dialogue and the “EU Year of Skills” and the progress on the social partners’ negotiations on telework and the right to disconnect.
It was also the opportunity to exchange on the key topics which were on the agenda of the EPSCO Council 8 December 2022, including on platform work, the Council Recommendation on adequate minimum income and the Council Recommendations on the Care Strategy.
Finally, the meeting also addressed the state of play of social dialogue in Slovenia, and the place of Slovenian employers of services of general interest in the cross-industry social dialogue at the EU level, including steps on how to improve the situation.
Contact: Benoît Cassorla
SGI Europe joins the Global Deal as a new partner. The Global Deal is a multi-stakeholder initiative led by the OECD to promote social dialogue and inclusive growth, bringing together governments, businesses and employers’ organisations, trade unions, civil society and others. The aim of the Global Deal partnership is to benefit from, and contribute to, a platform that highlights the value of social dialogue and strengthens existing co-operation structures. SGI Europe is the first employers’ association of the EU cross-industry social dialogue to join the Global Deal. Read more.
Contact: Maxime Staelens
On 9-14 December 2022, CEDEFOP (the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training) organized a conference “Powering the European digital transition”, which aimed to discuss with policy experts, social partners and a wider group of stakeholders and participants the main findings of Cedefop’s second European skills and jobs survey (ESJS) focused on digitalisation and skills mismatches.
Addressing the social partners’ panel, SGI Europe underlined the strong rationale for all SGIs employers to be engaged in the digital transformation in order to remain competitive, provide the services that citizens expect and meet societal challenges. In this sense, SGI providers have been developing digital solutions for improving their services, including offering greater efficiency and transparency for consumers in sectors such as energy, transport, and healthcare.
SGI Europe highlighted the need to adopt a holistic approach when designing training, considering that the segregation between occupations decreased within sectors, requiring employees to broaden their area of expertise including digital and ICT skills, as well as problem-solving, communication, creative thinking and learning skills.
Contact: Stefan Enica
MEPs of the EP EMPL (Employment Committee of the European Parliament) have adopted on 12 December the draft negotiating mandate of the European Parliament for the directive on improving conditions for workers on digital labour platforms. The amendments voted by the EMPL committee include important changes to the European Commission’s initial proposal, particularly on the employment status and on the automated systems monitoring their work.
MEPs agreed that the employment status defined by the platform can be challenged by the worker, a trade union or a national authority, in which case the worker is presumed by law to be employed. In the event of a dispute between the platform and a worker, the platform (rather than the worker) would have the responsibility to prove that they do not employ the worker. MEPs also introduced a list of non-mandatory criteria to determine a worker’s employment status, such as a set salary, defined time schedule and working time, rating systems, tracking or supervision of a worker, rules regarding appearance or conduct, restricted options to work for any third party or restricted freedom to choose accident insurance or a pension scheme.
Regarding the issue of algorithmic management, MEPs want to prohibit automated systems from taking important decisions and want Member States to ensure human oversight on all decisions significantly affecting working conditions. They made algorithmic management more transparent by obliging platforms to give information to workers on how the monitoring is being used and how it affects their employment relationship, health, safety and working conditions as well as on terminating accounts, promotion or task allocation.
The text agreed by the EMPL committee will be put to vote for plenary adoption early next year. Meanwhile, in the European Council, the file moved in a different direction; the Czech presidency however failed in gathering enough support for its proposed compromise, leaving the file to the Swedish presidency to make progress.
The proposal for a directive on platform work is a key file for SGI Europe as it touches to the key elements of what constitutes a relationship between an employer and their employees.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On 12 December 2022, the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection of the European Parliament adopted a motion for a resolution on the 30th anniversary of the single market, titled “Celebrating achievements and looking towards future developments”.
The motion for a resolution outline that the EU Single Market made a major step in the history of European integration, bringing protection to consumers, and contributing to sustainable growth. It also recognizes the importance of the specific role of services of general interest and the need to guarantee them in the public interest, in line with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. It furthermore emphasizes that proper functioning of the single market is necessary to achieve the EU’s fundamental objectives in respect of sustainable development and a social market economy (public procurement can play a crucial role), while further deepening of internal market through digitalization will help reducing fragmentation. In January, the plenary will vote on the draft resolution.
In 2023, SGI Europe intends to focus further on the recognition and the role of services of general interest in developing the Single Market, and how our members can further contribute in shaping its future.
Contact: Manca Pocivavsek
On Monday, the European Commission’s DG Competition published the Guidelines on State aid for broadband networks. These Guidelines set rules for assessing the compatibility of public funding for the roll-out of broadband with the internal market. These Guidelines try to prevent crowding out private investments and ensure adequate support for less appealing areas.
In January, SGI Europe drafted a position paper, calling for clear prioritization of Gigabit fixed Networks, for extending the time of public consultation, welcoming the introduction of social and connectivity vouchers, which should be allocated only to the networks in line with the EU’s connectivity targets.
Contact: Manca Pocivavsek
SGI Europe sends you its best wishes for the festive season.
Our Newsflash will come back in January 2023.
Please note that the SGI Europe office will be closed from 24 December 2022 until 3 January 2023 included.
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