6 August 2008

The flexicurity concept should enhance both flexibility and security in a balanced way. While recognising that a job for life no longer exists, strategies need to shift from job security to employment security both in the public and private sector.

European Social Partners recognise that in today’s labour market it is necessary to improve policy measures which address both the flexibility and security dimensions for workers and employers alike.

The setting up of an ad hoc group to study the basis for adopting the flexibility approach, suitable to the Maltese labour market situation and that can create a win-win situation for employers and employees is therefore timely.

Within the Public Service, Malta has already introduced a number of flexicurity measures that emanate from the flexibility concept, in particular with regards social protection systems, efficient public employment, quality of education and affordable and quality care services and family friendly measures. However there is the need for a holistic approach that would guarantee competitiveness and security in balanced manner

NCW Proposals

Strengthening social dialogue
The MCESD which provides a platform for organising the collective voices for workers and employers plays a crucial role in ensuring an effective social dialogue, by setting references to:

• Quality of work and fair working conditions, promoting the health and well-being of workers and reconciling working and non-working life.
• Contributions to social peace and social cohesion
• Wage policies set up by the social partners and with real wage developments consistent with productivity growth
• Access to lifelong learning
• Effective social dialogue should aim at increasing the adaptability of workers and employers and combine a high level of competitiveness for employers with the creation of a good working environment for workers
• A stable legal framework for collective bargaining and social dialogue at all levels for a negotiated balance between flexibility and security to improve the smooth functioning of the labour market and the adaptability of enterprises and workers.

High Quality Public Service
High Quality Public Service plays a crucial role in the development of effective labour market and competitive policies.

Efficient and sustainable social protection systems

• A welfare system able to guarantee high levels of social protection and adequately funded public services.
• The process of the pensions reform currently underway should strengthen, both the first and the second pillar measures and proposals to ensure security for workers in different types of work, including part-time work and current forms of flexible work arrangements that can lead to precarious work.
• This should also take into consideration the end-of-work phase of the individual’s life cycle and therefore guarantee adequate pensions entitlement

Flexicurity and the gender dimension

• Within the MCESD, the flexicurity debate should give more attention to gender differences. Despite the fact that more flexibility through part-time work are welcomed by the majority of women and men to ensure a better work-life balance, women are often at a disadvantage in the labour market in terms of flexibility and security.
• Gender impact assessments should be carried out to ensure that Collective agreements in the context of new forms of work agreements do not impact negatively on female workers and employees, which should also be backed by a legal framework.
• Labour Law and contractual agreements, facilitating access to the labour market and the transition into rewarding jobs should ensure the gender dimension in social protection systems
• Exploring alternative ways to achieve adaptability, facilitate lifelong learning, improve productivity and foster innovation
• Current policies regarding parental leave, part time work and teleworking which are also part of a flexicurity concept contributing to security and flexibility for men and women workers and employers need to be carefully monitored and evaluated.

Flexicurity and the generational dimension
The challenges of globalisation, climate change and technologial change and an ageing society require also an increase in policies to address the adaptability of older workers.

• There is the need to provide easier access to the labour market through incentives, such as work time frames, retraining and on-the-job training that are not necessarily financial. The employment rate is lower among older workers compared to the workforce in general.
• Young people face an uncertain labour market with high unemployment, fixed term contracts, insufficient social security coverage and work below their qualifications
• Reference should be made to the Communication from the Commission concerning youth– Addressing the concerns of young people in Europe – Implementing the European Youth Pact and promoting active citizenship
  COM(2005) 206 final (refer also to the EESC opinion SOC/208 Youth Policy

Flexicurity and SMEs
Proposed policies in the Pre-Budget 2009 document, aiming to create a better and more supportive business environment that stimulates entrepreneurship and innovation with particular focus on SMEs need to be translated into measures that can be realistically implemented locally. (Chapter Two: Supporting Enterprise and Job Creation )
While current measures addressing the needs of SMEs are producing positive results,
flexicurity is of particular importance in the light of their significance in employment terms. Policies in relation to flexicurity, will have to contain provisions safeguarding the needs of SMEs and their employees.  

• Nurturing a national entrepreneurial mindset through the National Curriculum at all levels of education for both women and men to encourage risk-taking, innovation and opting for non-traditional choices
• Ensuring that the specific needs of women entrepreneurs are addressed to increase their participation in economic activity
• Strengthening the innovation capacity of SMEs by facilitating access to technology and finance, providing  innovative support services
• Improve the availability, access (meeting the needs of working mothers) and quality  of adequate training offers for individuals both women and men and employers, taking into account the needs of SMEs
• Ensuring effective and full use of Community instruments, either for the development of regional infrastructures or to support transitions in sectors affected by structural changes through the European Social Fund (ESF) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in particular in the Tourism and Manufacturing Industry
• Making better use of the EIB in taking part of the risk on the SMEs and to look at ways in which banks in Malta can still further boost the support they provide to SMEs, in particular those run by women, as outlined in the European Commission’s Small Business Act 2008

Active labour market policies and education and training
To achieve a well functioning labour market, the interaction of the ALMP with well-designed unemployment benefits with rights and obligations for the unemployed is of particular importance to facilitate reintegration into work

• Internal flexibility can play a key role in advancing productivity, innovation and competitiveness, and can thus contribute to reaching the goals of the Lisbon strategy.
• Functional flexibility that is using workers' capacity to perform different tasks when needed, through job rotation, widening the scope of the job, and job enrichment. can benefit companies by enabling them to adjust the type of activities workers perform to fluctuations in demand  and to more productively utilise human resources and capital investments.
• Working time flexibility needs be established by collective agreements and by law over a longer time period, by making use of overtime, the flexible scheduling of working hours over predefined time frames, shift work, etc. In this way working time flexibility can strengthen productivity and competitiveness, whilst ensuring that employees' protection is taken into account which can otherwise lead to bad working conditions or precarious work
• Effective and high quality active labour market policies, investing in people and helping them address change in a productive way are crucial for the adaptability and security of both firms and employees. In today’s labour market, it is even more necessary to make sure people possess the necessary skills and capacities to adapt to changes and enter and remain  in the labour market and to grasp new employment opportunities. (internal/occupational mobility)
• Another element to improve employability is the promotion and access to lifelong learning, ensuring the employability of workers by improving competencies and qualifications for women and men. The education and training systems need to be better adapted to the needs of the individual and the labour market
• Enhancing external flexibility measures for those without a job to penetrate and sustain themselves within the labour market, help alleviate poverty and social exclusion and reduce undeclared work. These include vocational training, facilitating employment for single mothers, addressing the high levels of early school leavers and low skilled workers.
• Social benefits systems should be designed in such a manner not to disincentivise the inactive from entering the labour maket , while addressing social cohesion
• Undeclared work places workers in insecure working conditions and undermines the financing of social protection and tax systems Fiscal incentives, among others to encourage individuals in undeclared work to regulate their position in the labour market requires particular attention
• Also measures addressing activities by employers who make use of illegal methods of employment, which often lead to precarious work
• Promoting the concept of diversity at work with regards to both human capital  and work should be ongoing