Taking stock of the actions undertaken since the Porto Social Summit in May 2021, with the adoption of the European Pillar of Social Rights implementation plan, (see IR Notes 164), on 11 May, MEPs passed a resolution on a Roadmap on a Social Europe. This initiative is being taken in response to the Council’s recommendation on strengthening social dialogue, as proposed by the Commission in January (see IR Notes 201). MEPs stress that “social dialogue, democracy at work and the right to collective bargaining are key to implementing the EPSR and to achieving upward convergence in living and working conditions across Europe”. They have also drawn up a list of their expectations of the Commission and of Member States, which thus constitutes a roadmap, indicating the positions they are likely to take on forthcoming social issues. More particularly, as far as company employees are concerned, we note 9 key objectives:
1/ taking additional measures to work towards the objective of “zero deaths at work”;
2/ promoting targeted incentives to facilitate a gradual transition to retirement (flexible working-time arrangements, suitable adjustments to workplaces);
3/ putting forward a legislative proposal for a European social security pass to provide national authorities and social partners with a “real-time instrument to effectively enforce national and EU law”;
4/ preparing a directive on psychological risks and well-being at work;
5/ revising the existing directive on public procurement, in order to further strengthen social clauses, by requiring economic operators and subcontractors to fully respect the right of workers, including the right to collective bargaining;
6/ presenting an instrument for a social convergence framework;
7/ revising the Directive on temporary agency work;
8/ presenting a legal framework to anticipate and manage changes related to the green and digital transitions in the world of work, focusing first on the importance of safeguarding high-quality employment, by accompanying workers through labour market transformations and providing access to adequate training, and second, on the involvement of social partners in decision-making processes, including by promoting collective bargaining on the anticipation and management of change;
9/ considering a legislative proposal on artificial intelligence in the workplace.
