Commission lays down action plan to boost jobs

Guidelines for reform of the labour markets of member-states have been drafted by Social Affairs Commissioner, Mr Padraig Flynn. Each state would be required to produce its own national plan explaining how long it would take to implement relevant parts of the Commission programme.

Progress would be monitored annually by the Commission and the Council of Ministers using new powers under the Amsterdam Treaty.

The Employment Challenge:

"Ambitious, but realistic" task of raising the EU employment rate from 60 per cent to 65 per cent in five years. The increase would be achieved annually as follows: [SBX] 1 per cent from EU's 3 per cent growth; [SBX]

0.2 per cent from general trend of reduction in working time; [SBX]

0.3 per cent from structural reform of the labour market.

What member-states must do. Fostering entrepreneurship:

Reduce overhead costs of hiring additional workers; [SBX]

Remove obstacles in welfare system to moving from dole to selfemployment; [SBX]

Set national target for reduction in tax burden on labour. (EU average tax burden un labour up from 39.8 per cent in 1986 to 41.2 per cent of GDP in 1996, although fell in Ireland by 1.6 per cent in last two years.); [SBX]

Promote new sources of local employment, in particular of personal services. Commission suggesting experimental reduction in VAT on personal services and local services with high labour content; [SBX]

Encourage local employment partnerships like the four in Ireland (Limerick, Dublin, Westmeath, Dundalk-Drogheda) to match local training and employability of workforce to local job needs.

Fostering employability:

Offer every unemployed person a new start in form of training within 12 months of going on dole; [SBX]

Same for young people, but within six months; [SBX]

Set national target for the number of people to be transfered from passive income support to active employability measures; [SBX]

Increase numbers on dole who are offered training from 10 per cent average to 25 per cent within five years;

Reduce early school-leaving by half within five years and raise progressively numbers with full second-level qualification; [SBX]

Improve availability of apprenticeships; [SBX]

Combined effect of measures expected to cut long-term unemployment by half within 10 years. Fostering adaptability:

Use social dialogue to encourage both flexibility in working time and protection of those in nonstandard work contracts.

Fostering equality:

Tackle gender gaps by progressively reducing difference in unemployment rate between men and women; [SBX]

Reconcile work and family life by raising levels of childcare using standards of best performing member-states as a benchmark.