Blogposts by Tag: employment

  • International Solidarity

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    Published Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at 10:00
    by julian_schaerbeek Join PES activists in Debate (353 views and 0 comments)


    "International solidarity is the principle that unites us" said Jacinda Ardern, President of the International Union of Socialist Youth at a meeting on international solidarity at ECOSY summer camp. Without international solidarity other principles such as peace, democracy, social justice and equality are meanginless she added. Citing the case of workers in the Phillipines who work 24 hour shifts for 75% of the national minimum wage because they are classed as "apprentices", Jacinda pointed out that employment, economic growth and poverty were not mutually exclusive. Now there is a message for the world trade talks that look like having new life... trade alone won't lift people out of poverty - we also need strong trade unions and good employment and social policies. We all know it but it's important to be reminded. read more

    Tags: development, employment, globalization, workers' rights


  • Immigration - towards an European migration policy

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    Published Monday, July 14, 2008 at 15:24
    by Editor in Debate (543 views and 5 comments)

    What should Europe do to deal with migration? And what should be the PES position on the issue? After the adoption by the European Parliament of the directive on the return of illegal immigrants, the question became (even more) crucial!

    António Vitorino, former Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, defends that there is a need to have a “balanced migration policy”. That is to say that, on the one hand, Europe should “fight illegal migration” and, on the other hand, it is necessary to establish long term cooperation agreements with the countries of origin of immigrants. And let's not forget the humanitarian factor: immigrants should be treated with dignity!

     

    What do you think Europe should head for on this issue? In your opinion how can Europe conciliate its needs of migrants and the security concerns...

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    Tags: development, employment, equality, migration


  • What's our response?

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    Published Friday, July 4, 2008 at 10:23
    by franciscopolo Join PES activists in New Social Europe (317 views and 0 comments)

    As you all know the European Central Bank has its main goal to control the interest rates, that is to say, the price of money in the eurozone. The matter is that the Federal Reserve of the United States is keeping an interest rate much lower than the European ones. While we are having a 4% interest rate, in the States the interest rate is around 2%.

    This has several consequences but the most important ones are that our companies can’t invest so they can’t become more competitive and that our products become more expensive abroad Europe so our companies become even less competitive.

    If we add to all that the fact that oil is having peak prices almost everyday so everything is becoming more expensive for them, the result is easy to see: they are trapped.

    In order to face this situation “the European Central Bank should ask itself not only about inflation but also about economic growth”, Mr. Sarkozy said. “You can double interest rates and that will not make go down the price of the Brent barrel”.

    This is a position held by Sarko. I wrote about it yesterday in my blog. And then I wondered…

    What’s our political response to the economy crisis?

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    Tags: blogger of the week, economy, employment, investment


  • Un Europol social

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    Published Friday, June 27, 2008 at 09:53
    by chourka Join PES activists in New Social Europe (364 views and 1 comments)

    Voilà une idée originale portée par les camarades du SP.a qui mériterait d'être étudiée sérieusement et pourquoi pas reprise dans notre manifeste électoral.

    De quoi s'agit-il exactement ?

    On sait que les forces de police sont coordonnées au niveau européen par EUROPOL pour ce qui concerne les questions liées aux trafics en tout genre, le terrorisme. Bien que cette institution naissante aurait besoin de moyens pour fonctionner efficacement, elle a le mérite d'exister.

    Ce que propose nos camarades belges, c'est que dans le domaine social, une sorte d'inspection européenne du Travail soit mise en place et que celle-ci puisse contrôler le respect au sein des Etats-membres des droits sociaux dans le but d'éviter le dumping social.

    Dans de nombreuses contributions, revient également l'idée d'une harmonisation vers le haut des droits sociaux. Parfois avec des variations comme celle sur l'imposition d'un salaire minimum européen. Le SP.a ne précise pas comment il l'imagine son application quand la Fédération de Paris indique qu'il doit être calculé en fonction de l'échelle nationale des...

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    Tags: blogger of the week, employment, justice, wages, workers


  • In your Dreams!

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    Rating: 4.3/5 with 6 votes

    Published Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 09:48
    by franciscopolo Join PES activists in New Social Europe (484 views and 1 comments)

    On 10 June the Labour Ministries of the European Union agreed the possibility of enlarging the work journey to 60 hour or, eventually, 65 hours if the company and the worker agree to do so.

    The reaction in Spain: this is a clear attack to the Social Europe we are trying to achieve and we are not going to assume it easily.

    Today in Europe, the maximum work journey is set at 48 hours per week. It was set this way by the International Labour Organisation in 1917. According to Lourdes Muñoz a recognised socialist blogger in Spain:

    This Directive will eliminate the right to rest during the continued working journeys, it attempts against the safety and health at the work place and difficult the conciliation of personal and working life.

    The promoters of this initiative affirm that this Directive will implement the freedom to individually negotiate the length of our own working journey but as we all know theory is theory and there will be no negotiation. Individualisation of the working relations will break balance.

    Fighting in favour of...

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    Tags: blogger of the week, employment, workers


  • Quality of public services = quality of life

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    Published Monday, June 23, 2008 at 09:06
    by _EPSU_ in New Social Europe (296 views and 0 comments)

    Quality employment and quality public services and not “market obligations” should be the driving principles for the European Union in order to foster social inclusion, equality and solidarity.

    The European Federation of Public Services Unions (EPSU) welcomes PES initiatives striving for better public services such as the call for a specific horizontal framework that should set out concrete quality standards and criteria. This horizontal legal framework, based on the public services protocol annexed to the Lisbon Treaty, could serve as a departure point for sectoral initiatives and could be an opportunity to give more scope for the inclusion of social and environmental criteria in public procurement contracts and in productivity indicators, to raise good administration, transparency, democratic control, to promote more gender equality and to guarantee equal access to public services.

    Concerning employment, a “quality work” has to be preferred to a “flexisecurity approach”. In this respect, EPSU advocates fair working conditions, full rights and representation including better collective bargaining rights. There is also the need to do more in order to improve gender equality and to promote life-long learning especially in the hospital sector....

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    Tags: employment, manifesto, public services


  • manifesto2009 barometer: New Social Europe II

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    Published Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 09:25
    by Editor in New Social Europe (430 views and 0 comments)

    Here is an overview of the topics discussed on the New Social Europe theme with PES manifesto supporters' articles covering issues going from gender inequality to immigration.

    Don’t give up on New Social Europe!

    The European social model needs to be renovated but its bases must be preserved. While we debate the reform of the European social model, we need to also debate the reform of globalisation. This includes, for example, the need for national and international redistribution and the need to stop the race to the bottom, both in taxes (so that states can afford good education and welfare for everyone) by initiating an international tax-cooperation, and in social standards by starting international cooperation to raise them.

    We need concrete measures to ensure globalisation is politically controlled, such as a single EU representation in international financial institutions, the establishment of a UN Economic Security Council, and an efficient control over tax havens

    Tackling social insecurity

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    Tags: activists, barometer, employment, workers, youth


  • We demand fair treatment for workers!

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    Published Monday, June 9, 2008 at 21:03
    by Editor in New Social Europe (345 views and 0 comments)

    No differences between workers from the West and the East. This was one of the conclusions of the debate organized by the Latvian Social Democratic Workers Party (LSDSP) on the “New Social Europe” and the PES manifesto.

    The debate, a two-day event that that took place late April, gathered participants from the party in Riga. Among the speakers was Philip Cordery, Secretary-General of the PES, who presented the PES report on “New Social Europe”. This set off a discussion on the recent ‘Laval case’ where Swedish trade unions took action against a Latvian construction company in Sweden, violating collective agreements. The case was brought to the European Court of Justice which delivered a controversial ruling: Swedish trade unions cannot oblige a foreign company posting workers in Sweden to observe collective bargaining agreements. The 80 meeting participants stated their support for the position of the PES and agreed that Latvians working abroad should be entitled to the same rights as local workers.

    There were also other ideas put forward for the PES manifesto:

    • Tackling the global financial...
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    Tags: employment, social dialogue, workers


  • Trade unions - the Czech experience

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    Published Friday, June 6, 2008 at 11:14
    by Richard_Falbr Join PES activists in New Social Europe (375 views and 0 comments)

    In 1990 the Czech trade unionists had to solve a difficult task: how to transform or create trade unions which should be recognized by trade unions in democratic states?

    In the totalitarian regimes the trade unions were a transmition belt of the communist party. They existed as a kind of social institution organizing holidays and socialist emulation. They were something like the vertical unions in Spain during the Franco's regime. There was no collective bargaining, and the only positive element of their attitude was the free of charge representation of the members before tribunals in labour disputes. After the great General Strike in November 1989 Strike Committees were created and then the Coordination Centre of the strike committees was created in the capital of Moravia, Brno. So a parallel structure with the former communist "Revolutionary Trade Union Movement" was born. At congresses in January 1990 sixty unions were established. Then in March the Czechoslovak confederation of trade unions was created. The Confederation became the member of the ICFTU in May 1999.

    The important result of the Congress which was free, democratic and supervised by observers from trade unions of democratic states was unique: the new trade union structures took over all the...

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    Tags: blogger of the week, employment, workers


  • The golden sixties

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    Published Thursday, June 5, 2008 at 11:50
    by Richard_Falbr Join PES activists in New Social Europe (397 views and 0 comments)

    The golden sixties, era when the Unions had the greatest influence and success, will probably never come back. Those were the days when the Unions in democratic states helped to increase the standards of living of the workers, and even diminished the difference between the white and the blue collar workers.

    The Unions helped to create the European social model. Backed by the ILO, the Tripartite organization created after the end of the First World War, the Unions together with the employer's organizations and governments which did not want to risk another Great October Revolution adopted conventions later ratified by the majority of democratic states. And so the conventions on the right to organize the working time, the ban of slavery, the right of collective bargaining, were considered and respected as rules of the civilized and democratic world.

    Fall of the ILO

    After the fall of the Berlin Wall the enemy which was behind it suddenly appeared among us. And the influence of the ILO and its control mechanisms began to fail.

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    Tags: blogger of the week, employment, social dialogue, workers


  • Do not be afraid of the Czechs

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    Published Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at 09:55
    by Richard_Falbr Join PES activists in New Social Europe (443 views and 1 comments)

    The Czechs welcome the declaration of president Sarkozy. The opening of the market however does not mean that the Czechs will rush to France. We are very conservative and we do not move even from regions where the unemployment rates are high to regions where there is lack of work force.

    The reason is obvious. More than half of the Czechs live in their own houses. And so work must come to the place they live in. This is why I repeated many times to my Austrian and German colleagues that there does not exist a serious reason to keep the market closed. I do, however understand, that there can exist internal political reasons. One short example from the beginning of the 90´s: at that time a considerable number of Czechs so called "pendlers" used to cross the border and work in Germany where they received salaries of about 1000 DM. When the Ministry of Labour of Germany started to control the “pendlers”, the German entrepreneurs moved their businesses to our country, paying the approximate salary of 500 DM only.

    With this example I wish to prove that workers and entrepreneurs always find a way to avert the consequences of legislation which does not respond to real life. read more

    Tags: blogger of the week, employment, immigration, workers


  • Success with Social Europe!

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    Published Monday, June 2, 2008 at 21:31
    by liebetruth Join PES activists in New Social Europe (395 views and 1 comments)

    I believe courageous steps towards a social Europe are needed to tackle the challenges that Socialists and Social Democrats are facing all across the continent before the elections for the European Parliament (EP) in 2009. The trust of the citizens into the European Union and politics in Europe in general can and must be rebuilt. To reach this goal the PES campaign has to make clear that a truly social Europe is possible – and that PES is the only European political party which fully commits itself to turning the vision of a social Europe into reality!

    Social mainstreaming, Common EU minimum social standards and stronger EU social policies are needed to make clear that a New Social Europe is possible! We expect from PES to fully commit itself to building this New Social Europe in the 2009 electoralcampaign. This commitment is the key to rebuilding people’s trust into the European Union and a successful PES at the 2009 European elections.

    Our map towards Social Europe

    I am convinced that the following courageous steps are needed to reach a truly social Europe and should therefore become the centerpiece of the PES manifesto for the European elections 2009:

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    Tags: education, employment, social dialogue


  • Discussion of PES activists Brussels with Vladimir Spidla, Stephen Hughes and Conny Reuter - concrete ideas for a "New Social Europe"

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    Published Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 10:20
    by jan.kreutz Join PES activists in New Social Europe (417 views and 0 comments)

    Dear comrades,

    I would like to share some impressions and thoughts from our last event of the PES activists Brussels. We had a discussion about the New Social Europe with Vladimir Spidla (European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities), Stephen Hughes (MEP, Coordinator of the social democratic MEPs in the Committee for employment) and Conny Reuter (General Secretary of the European NGO SOLIDAR). Since the field of the New Social Europe is very wide, I did not manage to keep the summary very short, but I am sure the following points are good food for thoughts:

    Analysis:

    Everyone in the room agreed that it is important to arrive to a social Europe and that the social democrats should play a leading role in this struggle. The social situation in Europe is worsening: the unemployment level is still high, the quality of work decreases, the number of working poor increases, equality between men and women is still not achieved and the integration of socially disadvantaged people remains problematic.

    There are several reasons why we have... read more

    Tags: employment, fundamental rights, poverty, social dialogue, treaty, wages


  • PES Group in CoR debate: Is the Lisbon strategy still valid?

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    Published Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 12:42
    by Editor in New Social Europe (659 views and 0 comments)

    Yes, but… a revision needs to be done. The social dimension of the Lisbon Agenda and perspectives for post 2010 EU strategy were key issues on the agenda of the seminar on the New Social Europe of the PES Group in the Committee of Regions on 7 April 2008. The seminar is part of the group’s contribution to the PES manifesto consultation.

    The Lisbon strategy aims to make the EU "the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social justice, and respect for the environment by 2010." Sounds good, but did it deliver?

    Additional jobs have been created and there has been a considerable increase in growth and jobs as well as in general productivity during the last years. On the other hand, the EU clearly failed the target of devoting 3% of GDP to research and education (with Sweden and Denmark being pleasant exceptions) and – with a clear focus on economic growth – the dimension of social issues has taken a back seat. The old ideological question whether growth... read more

    Tags: decent work, employment, equality, poverty


  • Labour Movement for Europe: How can we make social Europe a concern for everyone?

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    Published Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 10:44
    by noelhatch Join PES activists in New Social Europe (649 views and 3 comments)

    Deborah Littman, Chair of London Citizens Living Wage Network & UNISON National Officer for Bargaining, at the New Social Europe debate in London, admitted she wholly agreed with many of the proposals made in the New Social Europe discussion paper. But she was concerned on how we get there, how we make social Europe a concern for everyone.

    Work has been made insecure, the social wage has been reduced and there has been a steep decline in bargaining power from workers. Communities have been dismantled, workers distanced from their employers or contractors. There has been a very deliberate policy to push back the gains of the workers, often by stealth. Expectations have been constantly lowered to the extent that our goal becomes not how we can make it better, but how can we prevent it being that bad. How can you organise when you don’t know who you’re actually working for? The trade unions struggle with bargaining, sometimes too conservative in their approach. The game has changed – we need to...

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    Tags: activists, employment, social dialogue, wages, welfare, workers


  • The future of social democracy in Estonia – and beyond

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    Published Friday, April 4, 2008 at 11:43
    by Editor in New Social Europe (604 views and 0 comments)

    What is the future of social democracy in Estonia and Europe? This was the big question posed at conference in Tallinn, Estonia Friday 28 March?. More than 200 people took the opportunity to discuss how Europe’s social democrats should approach the future. Many prominent guests were among the speakers: Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of the Republic of Estonia, Ivari Padar, leader of the Estonian Social Democratic Party, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, PES President and Zita Gurmai, President of PES Women.

    During the speech of the PES President he invited all Estonian social democrats to share their ideas for the PES manifesto – at the conference as well as here on Yourspace. With only 1.4 million citizens this Baltic country is one of Europe’s smallest nations, but there are certainly lots of visions and ideas to be found in Estonia.

    A much debated topic was the introduction of ‘flexicurity’ in Estonia and the rest of Europe. Flexicurity is a combination of flexibility and social security. Successfully combining flexibility and high social benefits leads to both economic growth and high employment – as in the case of Denmark where flexicurity was introduced in the 1990s. Unfortunately, conservatives often view flexicurity as an excuse just to introduce more liberal labour laws....

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    Tags: employment, welfare, workers


  • Scandinavian PES activists on New Social Europe

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    Published Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 16:33
    by Editor in New Social Europe (617 views and 0 comments)

    Here is the last of four reports from the manifesto debate in Denmark:

    The manifesto theme 'New Social Europe' was one of the topics of discussion when PES activists from Denmark, Sweden and Norway met in Jørlunde, Denmark on March 1st and 2nd 2008. Here are the conclusions from this dedicated discussion group:

    Ole Christensen, MEP, introduced the workshop by speaking about labour market policy in a new social Europe. One of the main focuses was the role of Court of Justice in connection to the Vaxholm case regarding the labour market models in the Nordic countries.

    The case was seen in connection to the increased mobility, out posting of labour and the terms offered the employees as well as the competition between foreign and domestic labour in relation to collective bargaining.

    The focus was also on the Danish labour market model and flexicurity, the role of the parties within the labour market, the social dialogue, rights and duties.

    These great social democratic challenges were highlighted during the discussion:

    • 72 million poor in the EU
    • Vast inequality...
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    Tags: childcare, employment, equality, social dialogue, wages, welfare


  • Ania Skrzypek: Young European Socialists and new social jobs

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    Published Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 15:04
    by ania_skrzypek Join PES activists in New Social Europe (790 views and 3 comments)

    Not a long time ago, by November 2007, ECOSY celebrated its 15 years anniversary. For that occasion we asked our members why they joined the movement. Among many answers the leading one was undoubtedly: because I wanted to make a difference, because I wanted to change… Naïve? I would not say so – I’d rather claim ‘refreshing to remember’, inspiring! Now “New” usually stands for something that is different from everything we know, that can give a potential hope – which is why the "New Social Europe" seem to be the hope to re-boost the discussion on what is the absolutely unique project of Socialists and Social Democrats for Europe.

    We know that the world has changed – we read that in every paper, together with acknowledgements of all the threats that not only hide in every corner, but even enter our houses; like globalization that we voluntarily participate in each day when switching the TV on. Everything is unstable, insecure, questionable – and Superman or Spiderman seem up to date enough to save us.

    I am convinced that instead of a bunch of Armageddon tricks, we need a vision that appeals to people, that...

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    Tags: blogger of the week, education, employment, wages, welfare, youth


  • Want social move ? Look upon Romania

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    Rating: 4.5/5 with 8 votes

    Published Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at 11:03
    by phoenix999 Join PES activists in New Social Europe (857 views and 12 comments)

    Hello,

    A few months ago I had to change my cell phone and I purchased a Nokia phone. After that, I learned that Nokia was leaving Germany with the money of the Germans, leaving Germany for Romania because salaries and wages there were, in euros, FOUR times lower. "What a social Europe !" I said to myself then. If I had known that piece of news earlier, I would have joined the Germans in the Nokia boycott. Anyway I signed the German petition FOR the boycott. But things are changing and Europe is not just a huge market place, not yet : the Romanian automobile workers have decided to go on strike because their wages were too LOW whereas the auto company was making a huge profit with their low standard cars. There, we have two choices left, yes WE, us, Europeans, have one alternative: 

    - Either we choose to follow the media and think : Let's keep these poor fellas underpaid, because there will be a big competition with Morocco or India or whatever, and there, they pay even lower salaries (when and where, in the World, does it end ?);

    - Or, we decide to make a political DECISION : We agree on a decent minimum wage across the whole European Union and we, Europeans, TAX importations from the poor countries where they pay their salaried slaves literally nothing and exploit women and small children. This is our last chance if we want a social Europe and there, as an exception to the rule, I'll quote George W Bush : ' Our living standards are...

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    Tags: employment, equality, public services, social dialogue, wages, welfare, workers


  • PES President: Globalization calls for a strong PES

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    Published Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 14:20
    by Poul_Nyrup_Rasmussen Join PES activists in New Social Europe (736 views and 1 comments)

    I agree with our PES activist when he writes that we need a strong PES to counterweight global capitalism.

    Last summer I presented, together with my colleague Ieke van den Burg from the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, a report on private equity and hedge funds. In the last four years the financial market has grown 30 to 50 percent a year. Today it is no longer the real economy that controls the financial market – it is the other way around! The real economy is governed by nation states and the EU – but who decides on the financial market? The answer is, unfortunately, only a very few people behind closed doors. We in Europe made our democratic political choice in 2000 – with the so-called Lisbon goals – to safeguard the future of our welfare states with more and better jobs and social cohesion. This democratic political choice – made in the European Council – must be respected by all – including the big guys dominating the financial markets.

    We need to make the market behave, the same way we have made our markets behave in our nation states and at the European...

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    Tags: employment, investment, president, welfare


  • PES President: New Sustainable Europe

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    Rating: 4.1/5 with 7 votes

    Published Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 16:50
    by Poul_Nyrup_Rasmussen Join PES activists in Save our planet (654 views and 5 comments)

    The suggestion to focus more on environmental issues is certainly a good one. I usually refer to it as a new strategy for ‘smart green growth’, but ‘New Sustainable Europe’ and ‘New Social Europe is also Green’ are also catchy headlines. Thanks to our PES activist for his ideas!

    Smart green growth is already mentioned in the PES strategy for a New Social Europe: we suggest ambitious investments in research and in new energy forms. It’s about millions of new jobs. The conservatives look at the costs here and now, we look at the new opportunities for all: potentially millions of new and better jobs. Europe’s socialists and social democrats need to be proactive and consider how becoming greener can lead to growth and new jobs – such a strategy is certainly something which should be a central part of our manifesto for the 2009 elections.

    Post cards from the PES President

    This week Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, president of the Party of European Socialists, comments on some of the most popular posts on Yourspace. This is the third of six post cards from the PES President.
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    Tags: employment, environment, president


  • Sahlin and Wallström on the future of the EU

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    Published Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 14:22
    by Editor in In the spotlight (626 views and 0 comments)

    The Swedish social democrats discussed the future of EU when the Swedish Social Democratic Party met in the Swedish Parliament on March 7th. The keynote speakers were Mona Sahlin, party leader and chair of the PES group Save our planet, Margot Wallström, Vice-president of the EU Commission, Jan Eliasson, former Minister for foreign affairs, and Wanja Lundby-Wedin, President of the Swedish LO and ETUC. Around 250 persons attended the conference.

    The topics of the conference were:
    • The future of EU with a new treaty
    • Work and justice in EU - are workers rights in the EU threatened by the Laval case?
    Mona Sahlin underlined that the same ideological differences we have in Sweden also exist in the EU. Therefore it matters if we are many who share the social democratic vision. It will be crucial for creating jobs, knowledge and climate change. She also made a reference to the 1990s when many governments were social democratic - that's when we laid the ground for the EU we have today; a union of welfare states, employment and dynamic knowledge based economies. Mona Sahlin also discussed the new treaty which brings many advantages. It... read more

    Tags: climate change, democracy, elections, employment, equality, globalization


  • A new definition of full employment

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    Rating: 4.3/5 with 3 votes

    Published Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 10:00
    by carl0s Join PES activists in New Social Europe (848 views and 3 comments)

    In the Labour Party we have always thought of full employment as a desirable goal. This reflects the influence of those such as Keynes and Galbraith on our thinking (despite Keynes being a Liberal). It also reflects the localized depressions of the 1930s, 1980s and 1990s where classical and neo-classical economics failed so many people. Simple fact: markets are prone to failure. We should not let any prior commitments prevent us from offering clear, humane alternatives should this failure happen again. Around Europe, most people will look to socialist parties to help them.

    With the challenges of an ageing population, we need to redefine what employment actually is. With more healthy people over the age of '65, and increasing numbers of home carers, we have demands that need to meet in different ways. It's wrong to see the growing number of old people as a problem - it's actually a huge opportunity. The same of course applies to membership of PES parties - where members are sometimes regarded as a nuisance rather than a positive resource!

    This is because that if the right community facilities exist, and the infrastructure is available, pensioners should have the opportunity to develop their skills in a variety of social enterprises, some of which could prove lucrative. Examples of this would be in... read more

    Tags: elderly, employment, welfare


  • The difficult questions cannot be avoided

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    Rating: 4.7/5 with 3 votes

    Published Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 17:29
    by helmar Join PES activists in New Social Europe (733 views and 2 comments)

    I have translated a comment written for the Swedish Social Democratic newspaper Aktuellt i Politiken. It deals with how important it is that we Social Democrats don't give up the idea of a New Social Europe just because it takes time to achieve our goals. We cannot avoid addressing important policy areas, such as labour market and health care, on an EU level if we really want to make a change. I would be happy to discuss it with you.

    It takes time for a new Europe to develop

    A Catalan, an Estonian, a Welshman and me. No, this is not the start of a joke about national characters; it is a normal dinner in Brussels and no stranger than when I spend time with friends from all over Sweden when I am in Stockholm. It would be absurd if I told my friend from the South of Sweden that I think we should not have national labour market policies, since we have both higher salaries and lower unemployment in Stockholm. I would probably be punched if I said to my friend from Gothenburg that Stockholm hospitals cannot accept patients from other regions since they have different bacteria and viruses in their hospitals. And I would definitely get into an argument with my friend from the North of Sweden if he said that he does not care if we have congestion charges in Stockholm or not, since they have no problem with pollution or congestion in the North. It is obvious that our visions reach over the regional borders, but is it as self-evident that this...

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    Tags: employment, health


  • Labour offers investment, jobs and education for a “New Beginning” in Malta

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    Rating: 3.8/5 with 4 votes

    Published Thursday, January 24, 2008 at 11:56
    by Editor in New Social Europe (1112 views and 3 comments)

    “New Beginning” is what the Labour Party of Malta (MLP) is offering voters as it prepares for general elections expected in March or April this year. New investment and new jobs top the Labour Party’s programme, alongside better education and health services.

    Speaking at a press conference in Malta yesterday alongside PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, MLP Acting Leader Charles Mangion made the link between the Malta Labour Party’s programme – aimed at helping Malta face the challenge of globalization – and the Party of European Socialists’ ‘New Social Europe’.

    “Education is so fundamental”
    PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen told the press conference. “We need education for new jobs, we need education and qualifications to compete.”

    As Malta prepares for its elections, Yourspace asks whether the Malta Labour Party’s priorities should also be the PES priorities for the European elections next year?
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    Tags: education, employment, investment


  • What is the future of European SMEs?

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    Rating: 5/5 with 4 votes

    Published Monday, December 3, 2007 at 09:45
    by Sortir de l'Impasse Join PES activists in New Social Europe (1094 views and 2 comments)

    There are currently 23 millions small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe, representing 99 percent of European companies and account for around two thirds of European jobs.

    In the latest Eurobarometer report dedicated to SMEs published in May 2007 (16,339 SMEs interviewed in 27 country members), we are told that European SMEs believe that “competition in their markets has increased over the past two years. Six out of 10 managers stated that competition has recently intensified. The perception of increased competition is even more widespread among LSEs.”

    According to this survey, 12 percent of the SMEs' turnover comes from their “new or significantly improved products.” France has one of the lowest rates with 7 percent only, whilst Slovenia equals 24 percent, Romania 21 percent, Germany 11 percent, and Italy 12 percent. Actually, one of the ways to resist this increasing competition is to invest in research and development in order to be able to launch new products.

    The right wing parties often claim that labour costs are too high for the SMEs. This Eurobarometer pointed out that “labour costs” are regarded a constraint for...

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    Tags: employment, investment


  • PES Council: a common manifesto, yes please

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    Rating: 3.6/5 with 5 votes

    Published Friday, November 23, 2007 at 16:54
    by Editor in New Social Europe (1005 views and 0 comments)

    Towards the PES manifesto – was the dynamic title of the fourth and last plenary of this week’s PES Council. The session was a mix of live speakers and videos with PES activists giving their take on what should be in the PES manifesto.

    There were several topics which were mentioned again and again – by both politicians and PES activists: workers rights, employment, immigration, energy supply and climate change. Several speakers also mentioned the lack of citizen participation and the low turnout at European elections as issues that the PES should deal with.

    Marek Siwiec, Vice-President of the European Parliament and from Poland, was among the plenary’s live speakers. He brought up the gap between rich and poor parts of Europe as an important priority for the PES manifesto:

    “New Social Europe sounds very different in rich and poor Europe. In poor Europe access to quality education is the number one issue right now. There are great differences between the villages and the cities when it comes to the possibilities for education.”

    These were just a few of the opinions put forward during the debate today – you can watch the full session, including all speeches.

    Next to what is mentioned here – what do you think should be in the PES manifesto? read more

    Tags: council, education, employment, equality, immigration


  • New Social Europe - for both rich and poor countries

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    Rating: 3/5 with 6 votes

    Published Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 14:27
    by anqa in New Social Europe (974 views and 0 comments)

    Another visit to the office of Marek Siwiec, Vice-President of the European Parliament and member of SLD in Poland. Among other things he raises the question of how we can make the vision of New Social Europe a reality in all EU countries.

    How do you think we can assure high social standards in both new and old member states?

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    Tags: education, employment, equality, wages, welfare


  • Time for the right for workers to buy out?

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    Rating: 5/5 with 3 votes

    Published Thursday, November 8, 2007 at 20:49
    by jonathanbishop in New Social Europe (988 views and 1 comments)

    Increasingly large companies are saying that manufacturing plants are not making enough profit and are inefficient. They give these as reasons to close plants and relocate the jobs. This is affecting large numbers of workers who are working their hardest for these profit greedy enterprises who have disregard for social responsibility.

    This is not sustainable, as the drive for greater integration means that workers will have a decent standard of living across the EU and these moves by large companies are causing instability in the common market.

    The Acquired Rights Directive has given workers rights to have their contracts transferred when the company they are working for has been bought by another. The same legal base could be used to give workers who are going to lose their jobs because of a company closing the plant they work in the right to take over the plant by acquiring all the machinery and other equipment in a worker buyout to form for example a workers' co-operative.

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    Tags: employment, welfare, workers


  • We will globalize the welfare state

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    Rating: 5/5 with 3 votes

    Published Tuesday, November 6, 2007 at 12:20
    by Editor in New Social Europe (788 views and 0 comments)

    Here is another interview from last week's conference about Decent Work. This time we have talked to Josep Borrell, former president of the European Parliament and president of the Global Progressive Forum.

    What do you think socialists and social democrats should do to ensure decent working conditions - both for people in Europe and in the rest of the world?

    Find more interviews from the conference at our YouTube channel, among others we have talked to Guy Ryder from the International Trade Union Confederation and Maria João Rodrigues, adviser for the Portuguese EU Presidency.

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    Tags: employment, equality, wages


  • Sheffield, UK: plenty of ideas for PES manifesto

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    Rating: 4.5/5 with 2 votes

    Published Monday, November 5, 2007 at 11:29
    by Editor in New Social Europe (1087 views and 1 comments)

    Thanks to Labour MEPs Richard Corbett and Linda McAvan for dedicating an hour of their Yorkshire Regional Policy Forum to a discussion on the PES manifesto.

    Workers rights, a stronger commitment to a fair living wage, and equality in the workplace were among the issues raised by the audience alongside many questions about how the PES manifesto2009 consultation would work.

    The consultation was welcomed by former MEP David Bowe who suggested that the consultation should have add a new theme of ‘making Europe work’ (i.e. implementing all EU rules properly in all countries). Rounding off the discussion was MP and former Europe Minister Dennis McShane who told the meeting that Europe was a ‘wedge’ issue between Labour and the increasingly isolationist conservatives.

    The meeting, which took place on November 3rd in Sheffield, also featured a workshop on ‘An Environmental Union: the EU and climate change’.

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    Tags: employment, equality, wages, welfare


  • Catalonia in the New Social Europe

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    Rating: 4.5/5 with 2 votes

    Published Tuesday, October 30, 2007 at 22:41
    by estherbcn326 in New Social Europe (1293 views and 0 comments)

    The debate on the economic and social model that Catalonia needs cannot be held without taking into account the political strategy of the European Union in this field. In fact, since some years ago, the globalized world in which we live has made necessary for the Catalan economy to add its weight to the total weight of the European countries that conforms the Union, so as to reinforce its participation in the world market.


    For much of its recent history, the European Union has been a driving force of social and economic progress crucial for our development. Until 2000, Directives such as the Equal Pay Directive for men and women (1975), the Directive on the protection of workers' health and safety at the workplace (1989), the Directive protecting the rights of workers posted in another Member State (1996) and the antidiscrimination Directives for racial and employment equality (2000), brought big advances in cohesion and in the quality of life for Europe's citizens. However, from 2002 on, Europe has seen few significant social policy initiatives, and this passivity –both from the European Commission and the Members States- has concurred with an increase of the socioeconomic tensions caused by the impact of globalization in the labour market, with the massive introduction of new technology penetrating every part of our economies,...

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    Tags: education, employment, equality, welfare

    File: Catalonia in the New Social Europe301007.doc


  • Get real - a future for manual workers

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