Forum Malta fl-Ewropa in collaboration with Fondazzjoni Temi Zammit organized a workshop on flexicurity held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre on the 18th June. This is the fourth workshop held as part of the ‘Say EU and…Action!’ project in which NCW is participating. Ms Anna Maria Darmanin, member of EESC, chaired the workshop. Dr. Gabriella Pace, CEO of FME, then addressed the floor. She said that flexicurity is a topic which is currently being discussed at several levels, both locally and at a European level. The Hon. Dr. Chris Said, Parliamentary Secretary for Public Dialogue and Information was the next speaker. He said that the real issue is risk and that securing employment must be a priority. Flexicurity is all about change in the employment sector which will lead to more and better jobs.  

One of the guest speakers was Ms Beata Zaborowska from the European Employment Strategy Unit at DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, EU. She said that flexicurity is required for globalisation which itself requires more rapid responses form enterprises and workers. Globalisation also needs new forms of flexibility and security. She defined flexicurity as a political strategy to enhance, at the same time, flexibility of labour markets, work organisation and labour relations, and social and employment security. Flexicurity is a means to reinforce the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy, create more and better jobs, modernise labour markets, and promote good work through new forms of flexibility and security to increase adaptability, employment and social cohesion.

Flexicurity involves the deliberate combination of flexible and reliable contractual arrangements, comprehensive lifelong learning strategies, effective active labour market policies and modern, adequate and sustainable social protection system. Flexicurity approaches are not about one single labour market or working life model nor about a single policy strategy; they should be tailored to the specific circumstances of each Member State. Flexicurity implies a balance between rights and responsibilities of all concerned. Based on the common principles, each member state should develop its won flexicurity arrangements. Progress should be effectively monitored.

Flexicurity should promote more open, responsive and inclusive labour markets overcoming segmentation. It concerns both those in work and those out of work. The inactive, the unemployed, those in undeclared work, in unstable employment or at the margins of the labour market need to be provided with better opportunities, economic incentives and supportive measure for easier access to work or stepping-stones to assist  progress into stable and legally secure employment. Support should be available to all those in employment to remain employable, progress and manage transitions both in work and between jobs.

Flexicurity should support gender equality, by promoting equal access to quality employment for women and men and offering measures to reconcile work, family and private life.

The second guest speaker was Lucy Pace Gouder, Executive within the Gender Equality Unit at ETC. she said that in Malta, the total employment rate of our 15 to 64 year-olds is 55.7%. Most of the men who can work actually do so; in fact, in Malta we are 3% over the EU average work rate for men. However, the participation of women in 20% less than the EU average work rate. In a Global Gender Gap Index carried out in 2007, Malta ranked 99 out of 128 countries in terms of economic participation and opportunities for women to work. In the public sector, several measures have been implemented to ensure more flexible work times; however, little flexibility is offered by our laws since there is no legislation on telework, flexitime or reduced hours. In an ETC research on women and work, family responsibilities were cited by most as not allowing women to find the right balance between work and family life. 44.8% of these women stated that they would like to work since they financially need to. The 3 most important conditions they considered they needed were family-friendly hours, the ability to work at home and good working conditions. The youngest cohort of this study, the 15 to 24 year-olds, showed that they want these conditions more than the older age groups do.

Young people of both sexes want to combine family and work and enjoy both. Technology has changed and opened new possibilities of how and from where we work. Research has shown that multiple roles correlate to high business performance, employees are more loyal with flexibility and the latter can give a wonderful opportunity to find creative, innovative work practices that suit the need of the organisation and its staff, leading to a reduction in staff absenteeism due to flexible work solutions.

We cannot use flexibility to benefit just the employers or the employee but both. We need win-win solutions to help employees with their work-life reconciliation measure and employers with improving their businesses and services.

Doreen Susanne Micallef
NCW president