SOLIDAR Round Table Young people and the search for Decent Work

SOLIDAR Event Report #14
SOLIDAR Round Table
Young people and the search for Decent Work
20 March 2012
Venue: European Parliament
SOLIDAR organised a Round Table on 20 March 2012 within the project “Making Industrial Relations
work for Decent Work”. Hosted by Emilie Turunen MEP (The Greens/European Free Alliance), discussion
focused on the situation of precariousness and indecent working conditions that young people face. They
are underprivileged in access to standard work contracts, often being forced to enter the labour market
through flexible agreements.
Interventions were made by: Massimiliano Mascherini (Eurofound), Patrick Itschert (European Trade
Unions Confederation), Jan Kreutz (Party of European Socialists), Giorgio Zecca (European Youth
Forum), Heiki Järveveer (Johannes Mihkelson Centre), Emilie Turunen MEP (The Greens/European Free
Alliance), Alejandro Cercas MEP (S&D), Rovana Plumb MEP (S&D). The round table was moderated by
Conny Reuter, SOLIDAR Secretary General.
REPORT
Welcome and introduction
Conny Reuter and Emilie Turunen opened the debate citing the mileuristas phenomena in Spain, which
currently worsen to the generation nimileurista. In January 2012 youth unemployment hit an average of
22.5% across EU. Youth unemployment is not a new phenomenon, what is new is the staggering
proportion it has reached. Yet, it is not only about unemployment: there is evidence of declining quality of
employment available for young people.
The problem is the precarious conditions that young people face, inside and outside the labour market.
They are trapped in a vicious circle of internships and atypical employment contracts. They are
vulnerable, at the risk of poor working conditions, discrimination, exploitation and also bogus selfemployed
without proper social security.
Achieving decent work for young adults: mobilising and empowering youth in industrial relations
Massimiliano Mascherini (Eurofound) comments that the result of the crisis is that not just those with
lower educational level but also the well educated are under the fire of unemployment. Moreover, in some
countries tertiary degrees do not constitute a protection against unemployment anymore. The EU
employment strategic guidelines call for a new policy action for those Not in Education, Employment or
Training (NEETs), around 7.5 million in the EU. The first partial estimation of the cost of the NEETs,
being 101 billions of euros per year, also justifies this call.
Social partners and Member States have the responsibilities to address this issue. However, instruments
such as collective bargaining have not been an instrument used during the crisis to address and
overcome young people’s situation. Trade unions and employers’ organisations agree on some policy
measures, such as developing apprenticeship and reforming education systems. Yet, employer
organisations revisit the arguments for reducing employment protection and wages for young
workers in view of removing barriers to hire them. While trade unions stress the importance to assess
the quality of jobs offered to young people either after initial education or apprenticeship.
Supported by: DG Employment and Social Affairs
Sole responsibility lies with the author and the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein

Patrick Itschert (ETUC) explained how to better involve young people into trade unions movements,
specifically the ETUC, in order to directly address their issues. For the first time a youth committee was
part of the negotiation process with employers to draft the work programme 2012. Youth
representatives were also part of the delegation to the Council and to the Commission. ETUC will also
launch a campaign to organize young people and in the countries that the Commission Youth
Opportunities Initiative will visit, there will be involvement of young people.
Jan Kreutz (PES), by looking at the number of people present in the room, remarked how youth
employment is on the European political agenda. The Socialist party will soon publish a document
highlighting twenty proposals with which improve young people’s situation. Among those (1) legally
enforceable youth guarantee, with the campaign “Your future is my future” (2) EU employment
programme financed with unspent ESF money (3) an EU quality framework for internship (4)
investigating if and how a dual education system could be part of the soclution to extend throughout
European Member States (5) a strong alliance with partners from the civil society.
Young adults’ transition and integration into quality employment – the reality
Giorgio Zecca (European Youth Forum) begun his intervention warning the participants that in the
Commission Communications Youth Opportunity Initiative there aren’t new funds available for the
measures proposed, but simply a reallocation. He then suggested the following actions:
1) Monitoring process: if a youth guarantee will be legally developed, which are the standards and
criteria? There is the need to create a common framework.
2) A minimum income scheme to be applied in all Member States.
3) Involvement of young people in decision making processes.
4) EU charter for quality internship.
5) Youth entrepreneurship might be a solution if and only if there are complementary measures:
intense and quality training, available funds, social protection.
Heiki Järveveer (JMK) presented his pilot research in Estonia. He portrayed that the main challenges
young people face when entering the labour market are: lack of experience and working skills, insufficient
knowledge about labour law, low wage jobs. In the country, trade unions are relatively weak, lacking
funds, and young people do not feel represented by them. Reciprocally, he remarked that even though
young people are considered as a risk group by trade unions, their main focus is on unemployment. Other
aspects of decent work (such as low-wages) are not debated.
JMK sees the responsibility of public education as well as education and social services providers
to intervene and actively combat high school dropout rates, poor quality of vocational training and higher
education, vocational training as a “dead-end” for those aiming at higher education, insufficient career
counselling and ignorance of rights at work. Yet, a few good examples can be drawn in industrial relations
practises. These practices have a pro-active approach by contacting young adults at an early stage:
the development of vocational training with the involvement of social partners, lectures about labour law
in the school system (by labour inspectorate), learning programmes for risk groups (low-educated young
people, schools drop-outs) and programmes to re-start interrupted studies in universities.
REACTIONS
Emilie Turunen MEP (The Greens/European Free Alliance) outlined the two overarching principles
discussed which concern young people: basic rights and labour law. She gave concrete
recommendations which in her eyes will improve their situation:
EU employment strategy just like the fiscal strategy.
Youth Guarantee.
Creation of an EU 2020 sub-target on youth unemployment (during the revision in 2015).
Quality internship charter: EU has no legal base for biding measure but can drive MS
Law enforcement as in the case for Labour Inspectors.
Supported by: DG Employment and Social Affairs
Sole responsibility lies with the author and the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein

Specifically addressing trade unions, she called for:
“Get back to basic”, unionists need to get out from their offices, organise young people and give
them representation.
A media campaign targeting young people precarious conditions.
Increase the number and enhance the role of youth wings in trade unions.
Break the taboo of a dual labour market. It exists, there are people who are inside the labour
market and over-protected, at the disadvantage of those falling outside the labour market and that
are not represented (e.g. in Italy and Spain).
Alejandro Cercas MEP (Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats) highlighted the
need for actions from the institutions, granting funds, and a different society with solidarity as a core
value. Rovana Plumb MEP (Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats) specifically
called for a new social contract. As young people have not enough trust in politicians, the EU should ask
Member States to make roadmap for concrete steps such as a youth guarantee.
CONCLUSIONS
Conny Reuter (SOLIDAR Secretary General) launched the three pilot studies carried out by project
partners FIC, JMK and LLES on young adults. He then concluded that the EU’s tendency to flexible
reforms in labour markets has not lead to better labour market access for young people, where
standard contracts are being replaced and young people are disproportionally represented in precarious
jobs. For this reason, pro-active protection of young adults’ working rights is required. This calls for
policies and practices approaching young adults at an early stage (in schools and universities, in
transition to labour market) and involving new forms of organisations such as networks, social movements
and NGOs.
Youth/civil society organisations have an increasingly important role in representing young
people, outside of the social partners’ dimension. It is crucial to start building trust between trade
unions and young people at an early stage of their education/training and to foster young people’s
knowledge on labour laws (see presentation on labour inspectors in Estonia). Last but not least, although
self-employment of young people might contribute to reducing unemployment, this will not solve the
problem. It can easily lead to poor working conditions including permanent self-exploitation, insufficient
social protection, debts and bankruptcy.
Supported by: DG Employment and Social Affairs
Sole responsibility lies with the author and the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein