22 March 2024
On Wednesday 20 March 2024, Pascal Bolo, SGI Europe President, and Valeria Ronzitti, General Secretary, represented SGI Europe at the Tripartite Social Summit, also in the presence of Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium.
In the opening round, President Pascal Bolo highlighted the importance of access to high-quality services of general interest to reconcile the objectives of competitiveness, adaptation to climate change, and a just transition without guaranteeing. With the expected end of the Recovery and Resilience Facility in 2026 and the implementation of the new economic governance framework, SGI Europe called for the EU's 2024-2029 Strategic Agenda to fully recognise the need to set in place appropriate instruments.
In the moderated discussion, General Secretary Valeria Ronzitti emphasised the need to better involve social partners in designing the “second act” of the EU Green Deal to ensure that it reconciles the industrial strategy, the need to boost the EU's competitiveness, and the green transition's objectives.
During the Tripartite Social Summit, SGI Europe also presented a joint declaration of the SGIs Network (available here) and the March 2024 Pulse of SGIs (available here).
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On 18-19 March 2024, Milena Angelova, SGI Europe’s Vice-President, joined the meeting of the Directors-General in Vocational Education & Training organised by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU in Mechelen (BE). Ms Angelova joined a panel discussion on the challenges faced by the VET systems and the impacts of digitalisation.
On this occasion, Ms Angelova presented vital challenges and opportunities linked with the spread of digitalisation and automation in the world of work and education. As the VET system remains a crucial pillar of our educational environment, it will be fundamental to prepare a workforce ready to navigate the complexities, including bridging the digital divide, making education more accessible and personalised, and embracing the changes.
However, Ms Angelova highlighted the importance of investing in digital infrastructure, teacher and learner training, and preparing the workforce to harness digitalisation's potential.
Challenges – such as skills mismatches, the widening digital divide and the urgent need to modernise curricula – highlight the need for a strategic review of VET systems to improve workforce readiness and promote social cohesion. Ms Angelova calls for a multifaceted strategy that recognises the importance of social dialogue for a collaborative approach to VET reform, ensuring that changes reflect all stakeholders' collective needs and aspirations.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
SGI Europe officially launched its initiative “Companies For Democracy” this week. This endeavour, started in partnership with the European Parliament, aims to create a non-partisan and neutral community of companies and enterprises that take action and display their commitment to free, fair, and democratic elections in Europe.
The upcoming elections, to be held between 6-9 June 2024, will be pivotal for the future of the EU and will impact citizens' daily lives. Promoting active participation and the fairness of the electoral process will be paramount, and enterprises – both as employers and through their relationships with users, clients and third-party stakeholders – can play a key role in disseminating information and providing a platform to exchange on EU-related matters.
You can find more information on the dedicated website https://www.companiesfordemocracy.eu/.
Contact: Maxime Staelens
On 21 March 2024, SGI Europe attended the 4th meeting of the Labour Migration Platform, which was held in Brussels. The platform gathers representatives from the European Commission, Member States, civil society organisations and social partners.
In the meeting's introduction, Michael Shotter (director at the European Commission’s DG Home Affairs) and David-Pascal Dion (acting director at the European Commission’s DG Employment) presented the new Action Plan to tackle skills and labour shortages, which the Commission presented on 20 March 2024.
The meeting also allowed participants to discuss measures and good practices to fight undeclared work and the labour exploitation of third-country nationals, including through a dedicated debate with social partners and CSOs. Participants also discussed measures to attract third-country workers in the long-term care sector.
SGI Europe restated the importance of social partners, both at national and EU levels, to address these issues. The upcoming Labour INT III project, aimed at linking up partners from the EU, national, regional and local levels, will be instrumental to that aim. It is being implemented by SGI Europe and 12 project partners, including the EU Social and Economic Partners (ETUC, BusinessEurope, SMEUnited and Eurochambres), as well as public authorities, private and public employment services, training providers, civil society and migrant organisations.
Contact: Benoît Cassorla
On Wednesday 20 March, the European Commission presented an action plan on labour and skills shortages. The action plan is part of the EU's strategy to boost its competitiveness and enhance its economic and social resilience and is a follow-up to the Val Duchesse Social Partners Summit.
In its communication, the Commission identifies 42 ‘shortage' occupations, with some differences across the Member States. It highlights that demographic shifts drive these shortages, the demand for new skills linked to technological developments and the twin transitions, the drive to develop our industrial sectors further, defence and security needs, and challenges related to working conditions in some sectors and locations.
The plan sets out actions in five key areas to be implemented at the EU, national, and social partners' levels:
On the same day, the European Commission also put forward a package to improve working conditions for trainees, including pay, inclusiveness and quality of traineeships in the EU, which consists of a proposal for a Directive on improving and enforcing working conditions for trainees and combatting regular employment relationships disguised as traineeships and a proposal to revise the 2014 Council Recommendation on a Quality Framework for Traineeships.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
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