Informal social affairs Council discusses restructuring

In April 2005, social affairs ministers met informally to discuss the issue of social responsibility in industrial restructuring. Ministers agreed on a range of elements deemed necessary for the management of change.

An informal social affairs Council was held in Luxembourg on 8 April 2005. The main issue on the agenda was industrial restructuring, following the European Commission’s recent second consultation paper, issued to the EU-level social partners three days earlier (EU0504202F). This issue is also topical in many Member States, including the UK, where the bankruptcy of the motor manufacturer Rover has been announced in recent weeks.

Ministers examined two main issues:

• the need for a coordinated policy of anticipation of change; and

• the need for a constructive partnership to manage change, which benefits companies and employees.

They concluded that the circumstances surrounding industrial restructuring differ significantly from one Member State to another and that anticipation and partnership in the management of change are the way to achieve success. Ministers also concluded that restructuring can be an opportunity for innovation and the creation of new products and finally that the notion of job security (linked to a specific job) should be replaced by the wider idea of employment security.

Social affairs commissioner Vladimir Spidla emphasised the importance of setting up a forum on restructuring, as proposed in the Commission’s recent consultation paper. He stated that the first meeting of this forum will take place in late June or early July 2005. He also confirmed that the EU will put money into an 'anti-shock' fund, as set out in the consultation paper, although there is as yet no detail of how this will work.

This information is made available through the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO), as a service to users of the EIROnline database. EIRO is a project of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. However, this information has been neither edited nor approved by the Foundation, which means that it is not responsible for its content and accuracy. This is the responsibility of the EIRO national centre that originated/provided the information. For details see the "About this record" information in this record.