Commission on employment policies

Frank Slegers, European Marches Belgium

In this commission, we will discuss the employment policies of the European Union: how they affect our lives, and how to resist them.

We could depart from the documents of the European Union, and more specifically from the broad economic policy guidelines adopted on 15 June 2001, that will be submitted to the Laeken Summit.

To find this document on the internet:
go to http://ue.eu.int/
select Council of the European Union
then economic and monetary affairs
(or: go to http://ue.eu.int/emu/en/index.htm)
then the broad economic policy guidelines
then »the broad economic guidelines 6/2001«.
There you will find the last proposals for every individual country, including yours...

In the discussion, we should check how these guidelines influence the employment policies of the different governments, and how this changes our every day life.

But we should also and above all discuss how to resist.

The social movements and the trade-unions have developed already a lot of ideas on resisting temporary work, part time jobs, etc. : union control, negotiations, imposing better conditions,... But how to avoid that we finish by »socially accompany« the »modernisation« of labour markets...

And how to link resistance with real alternatives, like the shortening of working time, collective investments in social needs...