[FR] National employment pacts

REPORT BY JEAN-LOUIS ARNAUD

PRESENTATION BY JACQUES DELORS

Our Study and Research Group, in cooperation with the European Trade Union Institute, held its fourth seminar on 10 June 1998 on a subject that is particularly sensitive at the present time, characterised by a return to growth, but also by persistent underemployment and the need to adapt the form of our social model. The aim was to bring together some 30 European figures from the business, trade union, academic and political spheres to discuss national employment pacts as part of the new system of industrial relations that is taking shape at European level.

What is the assessment of the various national employment pacts in Europe? What are the prospects for this type of tripartite agreement, including in its European dimension, as an instrument for combating unemployment and renewing the welfare state? What responsibilities do the various actors, the state and the social partners, have to ensure their success? These were the main questions raised. This summary report of the proceedings is a contribution to a debate that deserves to be continued, as it is crucial for the future of employment in Europe, but also for the future of our social model, whose reform, in line with certain fundamental values, is becoming a condition for its survival.