Title: New Aspects of European Integration: Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Dialogue and the Workin
1New Aspects of European Integration Corporate
Social Responsibility, Social Dialogue and the
Working Environment in the Baltic States An
Interdisciplinary Approach
- Seminar 1 European Social Model
2Structure of Seminar
- A few words about the Marie Curie chair
- The European Social Model - a common core of
values? - Achievements of ESM to date?
- Maastricht, 1992, Amsterdam Treaty 1997,Lisbon
Summit 2000 - Revised European Social Charter for Fundamental
Social Rights 2000 - Strengths and weakness of the model
- The ESM under attack the neo-liberal offensive
- Community response the Lisbon Agenda
- ESM a realistic agenda for the enlarged Europe?
3The Marie Curie chair
- Marie Curie chair holder
- Charles Woolfson
4Brief profile
- Reader, Faculty of Law, University of Glasgow
- Member of Glasgow Baltic Research Unit
- Former Marie Curie Experienced Researcher
Fellowship holder, Lithuania - Specialisms in labour relations, corporate
responsibility and regulatory issues of working
environment
5What is the Marie Curie chair?
- A new action under 6th Framework Programme -the
Marie Curie mobility actions - Forty awards in total to be made 2002-2006
- Covering social and natural sciences at a
European level (including accession states) - Total budget 20 M Euros. Total of 30-40 new
chairs with 80-120 PhD theses supervised
6Academic character of Marie Curie chair
- The chair holder shall be a world-class
researcher of any nationality, with outstanding
past achievements in international collaborative
research - The subject(s) to be taught should be of a
leading edge and/or multi-disciplinary nature. - and correspond to directions in research, which
are relevant for Europe.
7Duties of Marie Curie chair
- To give lectures and teach research courses to
students at graduate and/or postgraduate levels - To carry out research and supervise research and
doctoral thesis work - to demonstrate the attractiveness of research
careers - via providing mobility and personal
career advice to younger researchers.
8Specific proposed programme of EuroFaculty Marie
Curie chair
- A key objective of the chair teaching and
research programme is promoting
multidisciplinarity between - - industrial sociology/industrial relations
- legal and regulatory studies
- administrative and political science (European
Integration, enlargement) - working environment studies (occupational health
and safety, work/life well-being)
9Accessing Student Resources and the Evaluation
Questionnaire
- E mail woolfson_at_eurofaculty.lv
- Web http//www.eurofaculty.lv/MarieCurie
- Link Student Resources
- Password Student
- Login Info
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141. What is the European Social Model?
- The term European Social Model (ESM) has been
used in policy circles in Europe but lacks a
precise definition. - Despite this, the idea of ESM informs much of
policy making in social matters at European
level. - Thus, the European Summit (Lisbon 2000) member
states adopted a formal position - the European Social Model with its developed
systems of social protection, must underpin the
transformation of the knowledge economy
15Basic Elements of European Social Model (ESM)
- Basic elements of social model a social
dimension guaranteeing a basic minimum of social
protection available to every worker in the
European Union - Founded on Corporatist social democratic values
a balance of market and social priorities
so-called social market economy - Given strength by Directives which enhance
minimum standards of social protection in the
European Union Framework Directive on Safety and
Health at Work, Transfer of Undertakings, Working
time, and Posted Workers Directive
162. Basic definition
- The ESM is a set of European Community and
member-state legal regulations, but also a range
of practices aimed at promoting a voluntaristic
and comprehensive social policy in the European
Union (Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead, 2003). - Elements of formal legal instruments and
compliance mechanisms - Elements of voluntary practice and
self-regulations
17Examining the ESM in the specific area of working
environment
- social dialogue, labour relations, employee
rights to participation in CEE - health and safety of employees in the workplace
- corporate social responsibility, that is, the
behaviour of companies in the area of social
questions of employee welfare and wider societal
impacts of business
183. A common core of values?
- At the Nice summit (December 2000) of EC heads
of state the common core of values of the ESM
was identified- - the European Social model, (is) characterised
in particular by systems that offer a high level
of social protection, by the importance of social
dialogue and by services of general interest
covering activities vital for social cohesion, is
today based, beyond the diversity of the member
states social systems, on a common core of
values -
19- What are these common European values?
- Make a list..
20- Democracy (not totalitarianism)
- Individual rights (as against purely collective
rights) - Free collective bargaining (free trade unions
not dominated by the State or Party) - Equality of opportunity (Gender and race
discrimination avoided) - Social welfare and solidarity (social support
for the needy and poor, and inclusion) - In summary, a social dimension is necessary for
economic and social cohesion and therefore also
for political stability and economic performance.
214. Other elements of the ESM
- Key assumptions
- ESM is embedded in a market economy
- The notion of quality the assumption that
competitive advantage and performance can be
boosted by quality in working conditions and
social policy in general. - A role left to public authorities to manage and
moderate the impacts of the free market on the
weaker and more vulnerable sections of society - Specific concern to reduce social inequalities
22Examples-
- At Community level, use of Structural Funds to
reduce inequalities between regions - Social protection programmes European
Employment Strategy to promote labour market
developments eg training, human resource
development - Promotion of workers and citizens rights
through various forms of social charters
(non-binding declarations) spreading theses
values throughout the Community
235. Key Treaty Maastricht Treaty 1992 (Treaty of
the European Union)
- Maastricht Treaty 1992 (Treaty of the European
Union) (Signed by 11 member states with UK
opt-out) - Social Protocol a new legislative framework -
annexed to Maastricht Treaty progressed social
policy in three areas - i. extension of the competences of the Community
on social issues - ii. introduction of qualified majority voting
(QMV) in new areas (such as health and safety at
work, working conditions, information and
consultation, equal opportunities - iii. recognition and extension of the social
partners role and rights.
24Maastricht Treaty
- Overall effect allowed European institutions to
take the initiative on social issues that were
formerly the prerogative of individual states
resulting in significant advances in safety and
health at work legislation through a Framework
Directive and daughter directives and in social
dialogue discussions at Eruopean level.
256. Amsterdam Treaty
- Amsterdam Treaty 1997 (coming into force in 1999)
calls for a more Social Europe addressing
concerns about unemployment and social exclusion.
Incorporation of the Maastricht Social Protocol
into the Amsterdam Treaty(Art 138) - The Social Protocol is a political instrument
that contains moral obligations to guarantee the
respect of certain social rights -related to
labour market, vocational training, equal
opportunities and the working environment. On
social protection and worker participation
decisions still unanimous.
267. The Lisbon Agenda
- The meeting of European heads of state at Lisbon
in 2000 produced a new agenda. - An attempt to reconcile the contradictory
objectives of promoting greater economic
competitiveness in Europe, with preservation of
previous forms of social protection. - To create the most competitive dynamic
knowledge-based economy in the world
27- Three elements stressed at Lisbon Council-
- the interaction between economic, social and
employment policies - the role of new instruments of European
policy-making (the Open Method of co-ordination) - an European Social Agenda assessed annually by
the Commission
28European labour law is relevant in protection of
workers rights and equal opportunities
- Workers rights extended mainly in the area of
the social dimension of industrial change and
restructuring in cases of closure, mergers,
buyouts or changes in enterprise external
organisation. - Directives on collective redundancy, transfers
of undertakings, and employer insolvency. Also
Directives on employers obligation to inform
workers on the conditions applicable to the work
contract, and on fixed-term (temporary) work and
on Posting of Workers abroad for temporary
periods of employment. A new directive of
Provision of Services currently under process of
consultation -
- Directives on the European Company Statute,
European Works councils and information and
consultation in enterprises of more than 50
employees. The largest number of Directives and
instruments are in occupational health and safety.
29Health and Safety in European law
- Article 118A of the Treaty of Rome (incorporated
as Article 137 of the Amsterdam -Treaty- the
Commission with the Member States will develop
clearly defined policy on prevention of
occupational accidents and diseases. - An issue of quality of life, of efficiency and
productivity and also the prevention of
distortion of competition. Costs of accidents and
ill-health arsing from work estimated between 2.8
and 3.6 of member states GDP. - Key instrument Framework Directive 89/391/EEC
which contains basic provisions regarding the
organisation of health and safety at work and the
responsibilities of employers and workers.
Subsequent legislation protects workers form
risks related to exposure to chemical, physical
and biological agents at work with specific
directives on harmful substances such as
asbestos.
30Health and Safety at Work Directives and measures
- A key Directive is on the organisation of working
time (93/104/EC), plus further working conditions
measures regarding protection of pregnant women,
young people at work.
318. Social Charters
- Community and the Member States defined
fundamental social rights on the basis of two
texts- - the European Social Charter signed at Turin on 18
October 1961 and - the 1989 Community Charter of the Fundamental
Social Rights of Workers. - These fundamental social rights mainly concern
employment, living and working conditions, social
protection, social dialogue and the combating of
exclusion.
32Revised European Social Charter for Fundamental
Social Rights 2000
- Article 31
- Fair and just working conditions
- 1. Every worker has the right to working
conditions which respect his or her health,
safety and dignity. - 2. Every worker has the right to limitation of
maximum working hours, to daily and weekly rest
periods and to an annual period of paid leave.
3310. Strengths of the ESM
- The ESM while attempting to endorse common
societal values also leaves open key aspects for
local adaptation by member states (the principle
of subsidiarity) - recognising the diversity of local and national
conditions (multi-level governance and decision
making processes)
34- ve virtues of adaptability and flexibility in
policy making within a common framework. - ve attempt through a common set of standards and
values to prevent social dumping or free
riding - to attract foreign investment by
offering lower levels of protection to citizens
and workers eg on safety and health at work.
3511. Weakness of the ESM
- -ve complex and ill-understood policy model which
lacks transparency and relevance - -ve subsidiarity is often used by member states
to block new Community policies and instruments
and resist binding social regulations - -ve remuneration, the right of association, and
the right to strike or lock out are not addressed
at Community level. While these issues are
addressed in the non-binding Revised European
Social Charter for Fundamental Social Rights 2000
this does not create enforceable rights
3612. The ESM under attack the neo-liberal
offensive
- The ESM founded on social democratic values (a
social welfarist Europe a balance of market and
social priorities) - Attack from within
- - powerful individual member states such as UK,
Italy and Germany hostile to ESM, especially
during the 1980s and 1990s, but still today (the
Third Way of Tony Blair, Germany Hartz IV
reforms). - - UNICE the European Employers Federation
afraid of too much regulation as a burden on
business
37ESM under attack
- Major international financial institutions (IMF,
World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development) argue that European competitiveness
depends on being able to compete in the global
market place ie with cheaper sourced products
from SE Asia, China etc
38The nature of the attack on the ESM-
- - New forces of globalisation make the ESM an
outdated concept of the 1960s and the 1970s - - Social welfarist approaches stifle individual
initiative and free market enterprise (the nanny
state) - - Social protection measure introduce harmful
rigidities into the labour market which
undermine necessary flexibility and
competitiveness (eg minimum wages, too high
unemployment benefit levels, unwillingness to
accept lower pay and benefits eg reduced state
pension rights and increased working age).
3913.The ILO as a standards setter in labour and
employment conditions
- All EU member states have ratified both the main
ILO Conventions on trade union rights (87 and 98) - In general, trade union rights are respected in
law and practice in the 15 long-standing EU
member states. However, in particular in the new
member countries violations of trade union rights
take place, and labour legislation does not
always conform to the ILO Conventions.
40- All EU member states except Estonia have ratified
both the main ILO Conventions in the area of
discrimination and equal remuneration. - All EU states except the Czech Republic, Estonia
and Latvia have ratified both ILO Conventions
against child labour. - All EU member states except Latvia have ratified
both the main ILO Conventions on forced labour. - But ILO enforcement mechanisms are weak in the
area of labour protection.
41Some Indicators of Social Development
- Employment distribution
- Purchasing power
- Poverty indicators
- GDP per capita
- Average wages
- Unemployment
- Active Expenditures on labour market policies
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44Poverty Indicators in Latvia
- Central Statistical Bureau (2004) records a
rising Gini co-efficient - 36 in 2003 compared
to 30 in 1996, with a S80/S20 Quintile share
ration of 6.1 in 2003. - The level of deprivation on a 7-item scale by
country ranks Latvia at 2.07, just ahead of
Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. This can be
compared to a Candidate Country Average of 1.40
and an EU 15 average of 0.64.
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47GDP PER CAPITA AT PURCHASING POWER PARITY (EURO)
Source THE WORLD BANK, Washington, D.C. 2002
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49Unemployment rates 1990-2002
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53Two Strategies for Development
- Current Baltic Labour Use - Soviet Comparisons?
More, but not always better use of labor - making use of underutilized labor, especially for
heavy industry - Baltic States have underutilized labor,therefore
less incentives to use most effectively - Incentives for more productive organizing of
labor will come with the push factor of higher
wages managers need to improve economic
organisation
54- Wages and Productivity will Move together. More
product can be produced using more labor, but at
price of inefficiency - Labor mobility without matching safety and wages
could result in stagnation in rich countries,
whose high wages serve as push factor for the
innovations we all enjoy - Will allow poorer nations wages to rise, as they
come closer to the stagnating rich nation
economies - But the race to the bottom will be on as new
sources of cheap labor are sought.
55Corporatism Government, employers and labour
- State sponsored organizations help develop
Swedens mineral resources and Finland does it
with forestry - Develops economies of scale a better use of
economic resources on a large scale - Get prices wrong in order to get development
right! - Create cooperation between labor, business, and
government. Make the right mix, or equilibrium
between these forces a balance of power.
56- State directs cheap credit to key sectors.
Accelerates their development - State bureaucracy powerful, but based on merit
(not corruption or favoratism). - Scandinavian model differed from East Asian model
in that labor given more power. Asian model uses
the state to suppress worker wage demands. - Market and international competition used in both
models to ensure competitiveness.
57Breakdown of Corporatism 1970s 1980s
- Deep Economic Crises of 1970s
- Overproduction/Crisis of profits
- Eurodollar market
- Rise of opportunistic capitalism as less profit
made from growth paper profits - Soviet threat to the West diminishes, thus
removes incentive to develop co-operation
involving all partners - Labor demands more precisely at point when
Corporatist model is under stress. Cooperation
begins to breakdown
58Results
- Global growth slowdown
- East Asia only exception
- exception to this was the Philippines pursuing
liberal policies and achieving lowest growth in
region - Russia, Baltics, Belarus, Ukraine, China, and
South Asia now fast- growing regions - Latvian growth linked to Russia
- Return of Russian demand with post neoliberal
ruble launched recovery - High oil prices
59Lessons
- Corporatist models directing investment to key
industries and allowing a balance of power
between labor, capital, and state, were effective
in the Scandinavian model - Economic liberalism policies to promote
globalisation - Since 1990s world economy has been marked by low
growth, instability, and a drift to de-regulation
60Discussion on the ESM - A realistic agenda for
the enlarged Europe?
- Can the ESM be transposed into the CEE new member
states? - What might be the internal political, economic,
administrative, social barriers to transposing
the ESM? - What might be the external political, economic,
administrative, social barriers barriers to
transposing the ESM? - Do we need a European Social Model?
61Implementation Theory
- Key policy goal of the Lisbon strategy has been
to reduce the administrative burden of business
(European Council, 2000). - SARFS
- a mix of chronic political instability, fiscal
crises, complex policy demands, unresponsive
decision-making processes, and poor policy
management capacity at the centre, contributing
to high levels of executive policy
unreliability which, in turn, has slowed the
pace of reform (Evans and Evans, 2001, p. 935).
62Veto Points
- Exogenous pressure to conform to the requirements
of the European acquis. - The trajectory of reform has been an imposed one,
in which the accession states were required to
meet externally imposed regulatory frameworks and
standards - veto points emerging in a domestic context,
which may compromise the successful transfer and
imposition of EU requirements.
63Barriers to Implementation
- Veto points, whether de facto or
institutionalised, exist if -- the policies
underpinning the proposed institutional rules are
not clear enough to offer a coherent
institutional model, and if domestic preferences
do not converge towards reform (Dimitrova, 2002,
p. 2) - Conditionality and asymmetry in the
enlargement process make the possibility of
institutionalised veto points unlikely.
64Informal veto points
- Absence of formal institutional veto points
should make EU-led institution-building
successful - there is still the question of whether major
political actors are united around ideas about
the new institutions, so that the new rules have
the chance to endure without being immediately
contested (Dimitrova, 2002, p. 6).
65The domestic reform fit
- If EU requirements fail to correspond with the
domestic reform fit, for example, because
domestic consensus is inspired by different
ideas, or because there is no consensus on
reform, the newly imported rules are likely to
be contested and even changed.