Transcript Work, personal and family life and the social dialogue of the future

Work, personal and family life
and
the social dialogue of the future
Ralf Drachenberg
Advisor for Social Affairs
Portuguese Presidency Conference
Lisbon 11-12 July 2007
UEAPME
• European Association of Crafts, Small and
Medium- sized Enterprises
• 99% of all companies in the EU are SMEs,
and 92% are micro enterprises with less
that 10 employees (average 4.5)
• UEAPME is European Social Partner
• UEAPME negotiates and signs agreements
• http://www.ueapme.com
Linking Work-Life-Balance and
the Social Dialogue
• The Lisbon strategy
– Female employment rate target 60%
– Role of European Social Partners
• Activities of European Social Partners
– European framework agreement on parental leave.
– Two European framework agreements on flexible forms of
contractual arrangements, namely part time work and fixed term
contracts.
– Autonomous European framework agreement on telework
• European and National activities create the framework
conditions
• With those the company level has to find practical
solutions
Work-life balance (WLB):
a company perspective
• The company is where the practical
consequences takes place
• WLB the company is important for a
multitude of reasons:
–The challenge of demographic
change
–Business case for work-life balance
–Cost/Benefit ration
Benefits of WLB for the company
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Increase the Retention of staff
Decrease of staff fluctuation,
Decrease of absentees
Increase of motivation and decrease of stress
Improved “work climate”
Increasing the willingness of employees to be more
flexible
– Being more attractive as an employer
– A positive image in the region/local community
– SMEs are socially responsible
Measures for applying work-life
balance at the work place
• Mix of measures and tailored made solutions
• Differences between large and small companies:
– Limited financial and human resources to utilize
– Less visible but also less complicated and more
flexible
– More creative and practical solutions also through
relation with local community
• Support:
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Giving Financial support/incentives
Offering Tax relief
Raising awareness of work life balance
Providing information and advise
Examples of commonly used
measures I
• Measures to distribute the working time over the
life course
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Reduced working time
Lifetime account
Parental leave
Reintegration
• Measures to make the time and the place of
work more flexible
– Flexible working hours
– Part time work
– Telework
Examples of commonly used
measures II
• Measures aimed at improving work climate and
increasing staff retention
– Providing childcare facilities
– Care facilities or support for caring for elderly or ill
family members
• Some more innovative measures:
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Contact between work and family
Assistance
Guidance and counseling
Well being
Family friendly atmosphere and improved “work
climate”
Joint work of the European Social
Partners on WLB
• Not only legislation but needs to be practical
• European Social Partners agreed on a
Framework of Action on Gender Equality
• 1st follow up report:
– “supporting work-life-balance” is the priority most
concentrated on at national level
– The creation of multi company funds for maternity
leave
– The reevaluation of pension rights attached to
maternity leave or care breaks
– Earmarking a proportion of the child care leave to be
taken up by the father
1st follow up report of FoA
The FoA gave new impetus for debates between the social
partners and activities on all the 4 priorities
Different type of activities:
• Activities to disseminate the framework of actions
often starting by a joint translation
• Integration of the priorities in collective
agreements at different levels
• Tripartite concertation: social partners cooperation
with public authorities structures
• Projects or initiatives which tackle one or more
priorities in a more focused way, either jointly between
social partners or separately.
1st follow up report of FoA
• The highest number of initiatives reported
concern the field of work-life balance and
• tools to ensure that work organization responds
both to workers’ and companies’ needs.
• Social partners have for example worked on the
introduction or extension of care leave,
• on the prevention of long working hours,
• on the promotion of flexible and innovative forms
of working such as telework.
Conclusion
• Work life balance is an important issue (for companies)
as it helps to integrate/attract and keep people in the
labour market
• There are various actions which can be taken and
normally they applied in a mix
• Huge difference between the possibilities of large and
small, in particular micro enterprises
• Tailored made solutions are necessary taken the work
place circumstances into account, especially for SMEs
• European Social Partners agreed to jointly evaluate the
implementation at national level of the parental leave
directive together with other reconciliation measures
Ralf Drachenberg
Social Policy Advisor
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +32-(0)2 285 07 21
Fax:+32 (0)22307861
www.ueapme.com