Flexicurity The concept of ‘flexicurity’ attempts to find a balance between flexibility for employers (and employees) and security for employees. The Commission’s 1997 Green Paper on ‘Partnership for a new organisation of work’ stressed the importance of both flexibility and security to competitiveness and the modernisation of work organisation. The idea also features prominently in the ‘adaptability pillar’ of the EU employment guidelines, where ‘the social partners are invited to negotiate at all appropriate levels agreements to modernise the organisation of work, including flexible working arrangements, with the aim of making undertakings productive and competitive and achieving the required balance between flexibility and [...]

Finland's globalisation working group recommends "flexicurity" A globalisation working group of the secretariat for the economic council of Finland said Monday that the Finnish government should reduce employees' protection against dismissal and increase company-level wage determination. A report given to Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (centre) added that owing to the effects of globalisation it was increasingly difficult to maintain wage structures that did not reflect productivity. The working group's conclusion is that wages should be allowed to be determined at company level more than they currently are. In essence, the working group is prepared to take the Finnish labour market down the road pioneered by Denmark in the 1990s, sometimes dubbed [...]

Bulgaria Refreshes Business Climate in Europe On EU Doorstep: 5 December 2006, Tuesday.European companies, including from their newly acceding colleagues from Bulgaria, have shown greater confidence for the year ahead, and expect growth for all major economic indicators. Following an overall positive business climate in 2006 and confidence boosted by stronger-than-expected economic growth, the coming 2007 is looking brighter for the vast majority of European businesses, according to an annual survery of Eurochambers. The report of the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry (EUROCHAMBRES), released this week, shows that businesses across Europe believe that both export and domestic sales will improve in 2007, raising overall turnover and fostering optimism about [...]

EU to call for more labour-law flexibility By Jan Strupczewski BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union should modernise labour laws to meet the economy's need of greater flexibility, but also seek to maximise worker protection, the European Commission will say this week. Workers at the Amazon.co.uk warehousenorth of London, November 17, 2006.REUTERS/Dylan Martinez In a report on what the EU should do to boost jobs and achieve sustainable growth, the EU executive advocates a combination of flexibility and security, or "flexicurity," to help the European labour market take on the double challenge of fierce Asian competition and an ageing society. "Rapid technological progress, increased competition stemming from globalisation, changing consumer demand and [...]

Tangian, Andranik European flexicurity: concepts (operational definitions), methodology (monitoring instruments), and policies (consistent implementations)   Reihe: WSI-Diskussionspapier; Nr. 148e. Düsseldorf: 2006, ISSN: 1861-0625. 60 Seiten   |  Download Bezug über Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Abt. WSI, Ingrid Krippes Hans-Böckler-Str. 39, 40476 Düsseldorf, Tel: 0211/7778-245, Fax: 0211/7778-190 Abstract The notion of flexicurity promotes the idea of compensation of labour market deregulation (= flexibilization) with advantages in employment and social security. The paper contains a brief history of the concept and its operational definition. To monitor effects of flexicurity policies in Europe, flexicurity indicators are [...]

Vladimír ŠpidlaMember of the European Commission responsible for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal OpportunitiesBoosting productivity and creating better jobsFinnish Presidency conference in cooperation with the European Commission "Boosting productivity and creating better jobs"Espoo (Finland), 16 and 17 October 2006 Reference:  SPEECH/06/598    Date:  16/10/2006     HTML: EN FR DE CS [...]

  Danes can show Europe the way Bruce Stokes YaleGlobal MONDAY, MAY 22, 2006 WASHINGTON  Sarah Surratt is a serial casualty of the trade wars. For 21 years, Surratt worked for Allied Signal in Kannapolis, North Carolina, until her job was moved to Mexico in 1992. She was lucky to snare a post at Pillowtex, a local textile maker. But in July 2003, she was again out of work, when Pillowtex, unable to compete with rising imports, shut down. Surratt then found work at a local community college, making 29 percent less than she did at Pillowtex.Surratt is not alone. The average American who loses his or her job due to trade stands a one-in-two chance of making less money in a new position, assuming he or she can get one. In a recent study by the U.S. Government [...]

Saturday, April 29, 2006 From left to right: Finnish Ambassador Kim Luotonen, French Ambassador Philippe Thiebaud, Labor Minister Lee Sang-Soo, and EUCCK Vice President Peter F. Thewlis EUCCK Vice President Peter F. Thewlis invited H.E. Lee Sang-Soo, minister of labor to a luncheon meeting held at Grand Hyatt Hotel on April 25, 2006. During the meeting Minister Lee delivered a speech under the title of "Labor Policy Directions for 2006" Among the VIP participants were Finnish Ambassador Kim Luotonen and French Ambassador Philippe Thiebaud. The following is the the full text of his speech. Introduction I would like to thank the businesspeople gathered here despite your busy schedules, and I would also like to express my gratitude to Vice President Peter Thewlis and the [...]