THE EU's employment and finance ministers have agreed a plan, on unemployment, which now stands at 18 million in the EU. The guiding strategy behind the plan, which will be presented to the Dublin Summit later this month is to increase the workforce's education and skill levels.
It has also been agreed that the Employment and Social Affairs Council is to establish a permanent employment and labour market committee. "Employment policy will no longer be an add on but a central element of the European Union," the Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Ms Eithne Fitzgerald, said after chairing yesterday's meeting.
She would said the new committee would strengthen the EU's capacity to research, develop and implement action on unemployment would do this in parallel with the EU's implementation of economic and monetary policies.
Ms Fitzgerald also said Ireland had turned the corner in combating its own unemployment problem, She revealed that during 1995, out, of 53,000 jobs created, 25,000 had gone to the long term unemployed. Of these, 16,000 went to people, who had been unemployed for over two years.
Conditions now existed across Europe for business to invest in jobs and for governments to invest in education, she added. "And with nine million long term unemployed, half of whom have no or minimal qualifications, a second chance for education or training is crucial if they are to come back into work. Only 7 per cent of unemployed people are on active training, education, or work experience programmes. Today, European ministers have pledged themselves to switch resources towards active programmes for the unemployed."
The council also reached general agreement on a proposed directive which will make it easier for people to take sex discrimination cases The directive will probably be formally adopted as soon as the European Parliament has returned its "Opinion" of the legislation.
Currently, the burden of proof lies with the plaintiff in cases of sex discrimination. The directive will shift the burden to the employer.