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The Brussels-Capital region, the third federal authority in Belgium (alongside Flanders and Wallonia), has submitted its employment plan to the Federal Government in preparation for the Cardiff European Council meeting in June 1998.
The EU Member States have been drawing up national employment action plans based on the EU Guidelines for Member States' employment policies 1998, following the Luxembourg"employment summit" in November 1997 (EU9711168F). The plans are due to be submitted to the Cardiff European Council in June 1998. In order to define the guidelines for employment policies in Belgium, the Federal Government invited contributions from the country's regional and local authorities. Like Flanders (BE9803230N) and Wallonia (BE9803135F), the Brussels-Capital regional authority, which is responsible for employment and training policies in the region, submitted its plan in early 1998. Brussels-Capital is an urban area with a population of one million and nearly 25% unemployment. Among the unemployed, there is a large number of poorly qualified young people, some of whom are also racially discriminated against when applying for jobs.
The Brussels plan follows the general principles of the EU guidelines. However, to reduce unemployment, said Charles Picqué, Minister-President responsible for employment: "Training is not a panacea. One should not fall for the easy option of training programmes which do not lead to secure jobs." Europe should not just give advice, he said, as it must also play a more active role in boosting the economy through fiscal harmonisation and large public works policies. The Minister-President refused to "force the poor to accept policies fixed by the rich". The plan reiterates the guidelines of a regional employment policy which had been submitted in September 1997:
As regards combating unemployment, the region has adopted an original position: it wants to incorporate a "social clause" into public contracts - that is, an obligation on firms to recruit young people from less-favoured districts. This measure will also be imposed on public-sector firms carrying out cleaning, parks and gardens maintenance and conservation work. The region will set up non-profit making firms to respond to social needs such as help for older people, after-school remedial classes and heritage projects.
The region will give subsidies to firms that reduce working time to create jobs because, according to Mr Picqué, this method is more productive in terms of job creation than the proportional reduction of social security contributions.
However, the Brussels plan has not yet been approved by the social partners. Regional-level dialogue has been operational only since the end of 1997 and Anne-Marie Appelmans, the general secretary of the Brussels organisation of the Belgian General Federation of Labour (Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique/Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, FGTB/ABVV), regretted that the regional Economic and Social Council (Conseil Economique et Social), a joint body, has not yet been able to formulate its response.