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EuroCommerce - Uni-Europa Commerce Joint Declaration of the Conference on Employment Lisbon, 14 April 2000 Promoting employment in European commerce is the main priority for the social dialogue between EuroCommerce and Uni-Europa. This dialogue started in 1985 and has evolved into being probably the most active one in the European Union. This Conference on Employment in Lisbon in April 2000 makes an important step forward in the process of follow-up and implementation of the engagements taken in previous joint agreements. A framework agreement on mature workers will be signed in the very near future. Negotiations concerning a framework agreement on telework are in progress. An agreement on racism and xenophobia has already been concluded this year. This demonstrates the commitment and the capacity of EuroCommerce and Uni-Europa to bring initiatives to concrete results. The ambitious project to adapt vocational training to the fast expansion of e-commerce is another example of how the social partners are prepared to take concrete action in areas of joint responsibility. EuroCommerce and Uni-Europa will remain committed to developing the future workforce in commerce. Few industries impact so strongly on the daily lives of all Europeans as commerce. With more than 22 million workers, commerce is also a particularly important employer in the European Union. The workforce is diverse and enterprises have traditionally been able to offer jobs particularly to young people and women. In large parts of commerce, workers have been able to develop their skills and to pursue their professional careers. The interaction with customers, which still has a decisive influence on the success of most enterprises, has been positive for many commercial workers. The European social partners for commerce have underlined that a favorable development of employment in commerce and distribution requires job-intensive growth and policies which promote the development of consumption, including policies which are designed to keep interest rates low. Today, commerce in Europe is changing fast. New technologies and important structural changes are remodeling the industry, with major implications for customer services, competition, employment and jobs. Electronic commerce and other technological applications will open up new possibilities for enterprises and their workers, but can also bring problems which need to be addressed. Retail and wholesale trade is increasingly competing with other sectors and must therefore continue to develop its attraction and competitiveness. The way to meet these challenges is through quality services well adapted to consumer needs and expectations, produced by a properly trained, qualified and engaged personnel, working under secure and favorable employment conditions. For European culture and way of life, it is important that different kinds of commerce can co-exist and develop. This may require steps to be taken also by public authorities, such as to ensure small and medium sized enterprises opportunities to retain and develop their competitiveness and to provide stable and good quality employment. There is also a need to promote both inner cities, and rural growth. Without support measures, many small towns will continue to see their retail service withering away. The effects of this development on employment, on environment, on service levels and on the municipal economy should be assessed also at European level. The social partners for commerce welcome the efforts of the European Union to promote employment, including the active approach taken by the Portuguese presidency in convening a special summit on employment and the information society. EuroCommerce and Uni-Europa Commerce are prepared to take up the challenge of the European Council of Ministers and the European Commission to the European social partners and to take the lead in creating a framework through social dialogue where enterprises can adapt smoothly to changing consumer needs while providing secure quality employment for their workers. In this dialogue, the emergence of the information society and particularly e-Commerce will play a leading role. EuroCommerce and Uni-Europa Commerce will also continue to share the responsibility for supporting the entry of new Member States into the European Union and the inclusion of their social partners in the social dimension of the Community. Round table meetings in the candidate countries, where the need for the partners to organise and to develop stable labour relations structures is underlined, will continue to be at the heart of this approach. The achievements so far show that there is a dynamism in the social dialogue in commerce, which can be an important element in promoting the European employment objectives. At a time when technological developments and globalisation bring major changes to European retail and wholesale trade, a frank and constructive social dialogue between well organised and representative social partners who respect each other is particularly useful. EuroCommerce and Uni-Europa Commerce want to develop a significant dialogue on employment and labour relations, seeking to establish a common understanding on minimum standards, also for the longer term development of working life in European retail and wholesale trade and to actively promote good employment and labour relations practices. On the basis of their agreement on fundamental principles and rights at work, this approach can be a major contribution by the social partners in commerce to developing a diversified and viable wholesale and retail trade, with large and small enterprises complementing each other, producing high quality services to all European consumers. Following today’s Conference, EuroCommerce and Uni-Europa Commerce will be analyzing employment and employment related trends in commerce to identify areas of joint work and action to prepare the workforce and the companies for the challenges of the future. |
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