The European Union and Employment Relations - Essay Example

The EU and Employment Relations Despite making attempts to regulate and exercise employment relations at the European level, the most criticised criteria performed on the part of European economies is their apparent inability to create equality on the basis of providing employment. In presence of the Gender Policy of the EU which states vulnerability to be negotiated with Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome, guarantees the principle of equal pay for equal work regardless of sex. Article 119 is considered to be one of those solid frameworks upon which Gender policies rest. (Ellina, 2003, p. 21) An example of negotiation is the Introduction of the new article 13 of the Amsterdam Treaty, which prohibits any discrimination on the basis of disability. But negotiation of course does not mean the theoretical perspective alone. It requires practical grounds of the policies which shows clear practise of anti discrimination employment policies. Here the EU lacks behind, when it comes to practise the policies. (Amsterdam Treaty, 2007a) The gender equality report no doubt shows that gender employment issues are almost resolved but the gender pay gap has remained. Despite enhancing article 12 of the Amsterdam Treaty which clearly states that no discrimination would be allowed neither on the basis of gender nor on the grounds of nationality between men and women, women's social position in the labour market is relatively weaker than that of men. (Amsterdam Treaty, 2007a) Women lack behind men in exercising bargain power with employers to negotiate for higher wages. Similarly women lack better access to training, and promotions to supervisory positions. No matter to what extent gender inequality has negotiated with EU policies, it is evident that the Amsterdam Treaty has taken only small steps to help forward the construction of European citizenship. Indeed, it still fails to guarantee a basic common standard of fundamental social rights to EU citizens. The social rights recognized in the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers, which figure in the Treaty only as not legally binding principles, do not allow for a metamorphosis of economic citizenship into the full social citizenship of the European democratic tradition. Transnational corporations while understanding the discriminatory issue have given significant attention to the women's role in influencing women's economic status. Either in the form of supranational policies or global policies (Desai & Naples, 2002, p. 220), they have realised the way women have contributed in the employment in export-processing zones but then again this realisation has not proved the women worth marginalisation. Therefore the result is nothing but low-paying, dead-end jobs followed with poor working conditions. The new innovations in the Equal Treatment Directive 2000 have outlawed indirect discrimination, discrimination on the basis of sex, ethnicity and race. (Hoskyns, 1996) On the one hand, EU has equipped feminists who possess international relations within the boundaries of EU. With a framework of sex equality laws women have been able to extract reforms from national governments. Beneficial mostly for white women who are subjected to strong employment positions with secure and stable jobs, EU policies have benefited middle class women, but what about those vulnerable groups who are considered as minor or even non existent. What about those black and migrant women who are dependant upon receiving male violence not only at their homes but also at their work places in the form of sexual harassment What about those accidents and injuries in the factories, in which use of toxic chemicals are common, that burn workers and still not take the responsibility for their health problems and illnesses The widespread sexual harassment in the Member States and the role of the EU institutions in devising strategies for dealing with it provides an excellent opportunity to explore some of these issues demonstrates the importance of networking across national boundaries while also pointing to the pitfalls and limitations of operating within EU institutions. Despite of such provisions which discourage sexual harassment at work, (Crouch, 2001, p. 25) it is found that most European women are harassed by their colleagues. Sexual harassment at work is so usual that very few women, being unaware of the consequences initially feel the need to complain. However later when they were fired they learned not to complain but compromise. Widespread sexual harassment had a serious impact on working women even before the passing out of this legislation. Now, that the legislation has been practised, it is found that the perpetrators of the harassment are mostly fellow workers and those single, divorced, and separated women. However women under thirty are the most frequently harassed groups. Even in a European Commission report on women in paid employment, it is revealed that 11 percent of the women had experienced a severe form of harassment, which could be described as sexual blackmail. (EU, 2007b) Pregnant Workers directive 1992 which enacted on 15 December, 1999 have revised the provision for pregnant workers. The amendments include a 14 weeks paid maternity leave, right to take a leave from work without loss of pay for ante-natal examinations during pregnancy, unobligation to perform night shifts, maternity leave, pay and allowances. This provision seems too good to be true as far as women on executive posts are concerned. But for lower class women, the companies simply do not hire pregnant women, rather often companies ask before hiring if the women is pregnant and they fire as soon as they get to know about that the women is pregnant. In this way the companies save the allowances and the benefits which they would be reluctant to pay otherwise. (EU, 2007c) Directive on parental leave 1996 no doubt made the life of the parents of a new born easier by introducing right to parental leave. However, research revealed that only 34% fathers were aware of this directive, 18% of the fathers did not opt for the leave as when they were asked about it, their answer was that they could not afford to loose their jobs. 42% said that what they would receive would be insufficient to survive. 31% were those who felt that their careers would be no more after acquiring parental leave. This clearly elucidates the significance of EU provision on parental leave 1996. (Thompson, July 1996) Employment protection - transfer of undertakings 1998 indicates that employees' rights would be safeguarded even in the case of transfer of ownership. That means legal regulations of fixed-term contract are protected in order to ensure employment protection rather than by economic trends or political fashions. Transfer of undertakings of fixed-term contracts differ widely among the Member States of the European Union. EU has taken all the measures to regulate atypical employment relationships so that unemployment through the promotion of non-standard forms of employment may be controlled. However, the modes of non standard forms of employment which utilises those lower class workers who are in minority or engaged in any form of immigration are not affected by the law. Fixed-term contract must be in black and white. However, if the parties want to enter into a fixed-term contract, they are not, in general, required to be covered by legally prescribed reasons. The main dismissal protection regulations do not apply to these contracts. Furthermore, sick pay benefits are modified with respect to these contracts. (Schumann & Rogowski, 1998, p. 27) Working Time Directive (1993) has been shaped up in context with the most fundamental trade union demand setting up a 48 working hour week on average inclusive of overtime. With four weeks annual leave, this directive has excluded those hours which are spent on air, road and rail transport. Despite the directive the gap between individuals' working time preferences and their actual working hours has highlighted the loopholes in the directive underlying policy approaches towards the regulation of working time. (Messenger, 2004, p. 10) In fact, the EU Working Time Directive's 48-hour limit on working hours was already exceeded in most EU member states on its adoption; its provisions on rest breaks and night work have been more influential. Where hours limitations are strong, however, they can contribute to the preservation of workers' health (Spurgeon, 2003) Despite these differences in regulatory regimes, similar techniques have been adopted to facilitate the diversification of working hours. These legal changes are still unable to facilitate many kinds of working time arrangements experienced by lower class. Since no organisation wants to compensate their employees who are engaged in blue collar jobs, therefore it is often noticed that there is compensation on long hours, compressed work weeks, variable daily shift lengths or part-time work as long as organisations do not find other competent workers. Single European Market By granting new decision powers to the European Parliament the SEM (Single European Market), on one hand acquired aggregate economic gains for the transport market while on the other hand the completion of the single market was bound to have implications for the rest of the world. Indeed the SEM initiated new problems by the liberalisation of the free trade services. For example the SEM included many countries which were not a part of the natural transport market; therefore countries like Yugoslavia, Austria and Switzerland uphold divergent views on how transport should be treated. Countries such as the UK view it as simply another sector which should have its internal efficiency maximized while France, Germany and some other states treat transport as a tool for achieving wider social, regional and political objectives and adopt policies accordingly. Hence diverse infrastructures, uncommon perspectives and operational policies inherited by the Community policy-makers added to the problems of formulating a common approach in the name of SEM. (Swann, 1992, p. 146) The EU economic integration is based on the foundation of internal trade liberalization which has not only made the trade life easier for the European nations but has also alleviated all forms of possible conflicts by introducing a single currency 'Euro'. The Treaty of Rome clearly emphasized the creation of a common market, and more specifically the establishment of a customs union for goods, with a limited number of sectoral policies regulated at the European level. (Egan, 2001, p. 40) With such developments within the EU, progress was expected and could be made only if they continued with supranational decision making structures. However, this was not the case! Oil crises of 1973 and 1980 proved this notion that EU had always followed with weak intergovernmental legislative framework. Because of the legal market dependency on each other within, the EU has followed with conducting intergovernmental relations and the relationships between business and government, therefore the legal framework evolution over the past decades in Europe deserved careful attention to confront to the crises and challenges which awaited the EU. Instead of demonstrating the regulatory agenda, EU had to come up to dominate the regulatory agendas of its member states. In this manner EU had realised the supply and demand for European regulations, which had produced until now thousands of regulations in a host of policy areas. The EU must have tackled the growing number of national regulations and standards, since these could threaten and affect market integration. In trying to find an effective mechanism to bridge the gap between different regulatory traditions, EU must grapple with a double challenge. It has to reduce obstacles to trade to promote competition thereby finding more efficient ways to regulate, while also protecting important welfare policy goals. References Crouch A. Margaret, (2001) Thinking about Sexual Harassment: A Guide for the Perplexed: Oxford University Press: Oxford. Desai Manisha & Naples A. Nancy, (2002) Women's Activism and Globalization: Linking Local Struggles and Transnational Politics: Routledge: New York. Egan P. Michelle, (2001) Constructing a European Market: Standards, Regulation, and Governance: Oxford University Press: Oxford. Ellina A. Chrystalla, (2002) Promoting Women's Rights: The Politics of Gender in the European Union: Routledge: New York. Hoskyns, Catharine (1996). Integrating Gender. London: Verso Messenger C. Jon, (2004) Working Time and Workers' Preferences in Industrialized Countries: Finding the Balance: Routledge: New York. Rossilli Mariagrazia, (2000) Gender Policies in the European Union: Peter Lang: New York. Schumann Kalus & Rogowski Ralf, (1998) Labour Market Efficiency in the European Union: Employment Protection and Fixed-Term Contracts: Routledge: London. Spurgeon, A. (2003) Working Time: Its Impact on Safety and Health, Seoul: ILO and Korean Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute. Swann Dennis, (1992) The Single European Market and beyond: A Study of the Wider Implications of the Single European Act: Routledge: New York. Amsterdam Treaty, (2007a). Accessed on Nov 15- 2007 from EU, 2007b. Accessed on Nov-15-2007 from < www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/pdf/shworkpl.pdf> EU, 2007c. Accessed on Nov-15-2007 from < http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c10914.htm> Thompson, July 1996 accessed from < http://www.thompsons.law.co.uk/ltext/l0120002.htm> Read More