BusinessEurope and the European Commission: in league against labor rights?

When European head of states meet on March 14 and 15 in Brussels for the European spring summit they will asses the 'progress' of reforms in EU member states and how they match with the “Country Specific Recommendations” the Commission gave to the member states. In this supplement we examine how the European Commission and BusinessEurope are working hand in hand to push for neoliberal structural reforms – with a particular focus on labor rights – within the so called European Semester (see below).

While it is not clear what the outcomes of the spring summit will be and how it will asses the implementation of the Country Specific Recommendations by member states, we are given an idea when we take a look at the Annual Growth Survey – a paper published every year by the Commission – to set common targets for economic policy across Europe. And as we show here, despite the devastating effects the current direction has not only on economic growth but also in our every day lives, the Commission will not consider changing the course of its neoliberal agenda. However, this is less surprising when we take into account that BusinessEurope, one of the most powerful business lobby groups in Europe, has a strong interest in these policies. 

Yet BusinessEurope and the Commission still aren’t entirely happy with the current framework to impose austerity and neoliberal structural reforms. As we will show in this report, though the Commission's line of attack on wages and labor rights coincides with BusinessEurope's agenda, both remain unhappy about individual countries' lack of commitment to impose their suggested 'structural reforms'. Therefore the Commission, along with BusinessEurope, is pushing for a new round to strengthen so-called economic governance rules. The core proposal at the top of the agenda is the idea of contractual arrangements between the Commission and the member states to make at least parts of the Commission's recommendations binding.

Taking advantage of austerity

BusinessEurope's labor reform agenda needs to be understood within the context of the European crisis. Indebted European countries (often due to bank bailouts) have been given loans on the condition that they impose harsh anti-labor reforms.1Indeed, by late 2011, three countries in the eurozone, Greece, Portugal and Ireland, were all under the shock therapy of the Troika (the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the European Central Bank). Additionally, non-eurozone EU members Romania, Latvia and Hungary were also under the Troika. All these countries implemented vast anti-labor reforms that have substantially deteriorated average living standards. 

However it is not just countries under the Troika that have slashed labor rights: this is a policy across Europe. And the European Commission's proposals to its member-states within the European Semester (see below) to impose shock therapy style labor reforms, often coincide with BusinessEurope's demands laid out in its 2011 Reform Barometer.2 For example, five countries (Belgium, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Italy and Spain) were asked to flexibilise and decentralise labor agreements in order to weaken unions, involving less binding national agreements and less cross-sectoral agreements. Italy and France were asked to make lay-offs easier. BusinessEurope demanded the abolition of any indexation systems – in which wages rise in line with inflation – where they still existed. Similarly, the Commission asked Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain to weaken their respective wage indexation systems. In line with BusinessEurope, the Commission also proposed an increase of the retirement age in seven countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Poland). The Council adopted all these Commission recommendations which were then included in National Reform Programs. 

In its 2012 Reform Barometer BusinessEurope records its approval of these European Commission's country-specific-recommendations and implementation of these reforms: “We recognise that important reform progress took place in the last months of 2011 in many countries.”3 In addition, the crisis has given the European Commission new powers to deliver the kinds of labor reforms BusinessEurope would like to see implemented.4

European Semester

The European Semester was launched together with the Europa 2020 initiative for economic growth (which succeeds the Lisbon Strategy) and aims to improve Europe’s competitiveness. It was one of the first initiatives after the outbreak of the current crisis to promote the new European economic governance framework. The underlying idea is that European member states' economic polices are too divergent and therefore need to coordinate among themselves to reach their 'common' aim of a competitive Europe. 

The European Semester consists of several steps in relation to the economic and fiscal policies of the member states.

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/chart_en.pdf

1. Annual Growth Survey: the Commission outlines the overall aims in economic and fiscal policies for the coming year.
2. The Annual Growth Survey is debated by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.
3. The European Council endorses reform priorities for the member states at the EU spring summit.
4. The member states present their National Reform Programmes (NRP) and Stability and Convergence Programmes (SCP).
5. The European Commission issues their Country Specific Recommendations (CSR) to the member states and they are endorsed by the European Council.
6. At the end of the year the member states present their draft budgets.

This procedure gives the Commission a clear lead. It is not democratically elected bodies who set the priorities for Europe, but the Commission who, with the publication of the Annual Growth Survey, sets the agenda at the beginning of the semester. Later in the process it is only the European Council and the Commission who actually take decisions while the European Parliament is sidelined. 

Also noteworthy are the existence of 'European Semester Officers' who have only recently come to public attention.5 While it is not entirely clear what these officers do, this could be an attempt by the Commission to try and expand its power within member states.

BusinessEurope's wish for 2012: low wages  

According to the Reform Barometer 2012, BusinessEurope would like to make concrete the Commission’s main priorities listed in its Annual Growth Survey for 2012 published in November 2011:6 “The priorities identified by BusinessEurope member federations are in line with the main priorities set out by the Commission,” such as to “reform employment protection legislation in consultation with social partners with a view to reducing the excessive rigidities of permanent contracts”. 

Revising wage setting mechanisms is also a major priority: 

“BusinessEurope members attach much importance to reform wage bargaining/setting systems. Wage flexibility is an essential element of European private companies’ competitiveness to win markets at global level and create employment in Europe. Companies must be able to adapt wages to their performance, aligning them on productivity. Reforms are therefore needed to put in place more flexible and/or decentralised wage bargaining structures and help ensure that growth of real wages is kept in line with labor productivity.”7

Despite the fact that transnational corporations alone do not create much more than 20% of the overall employment in the EU, they continue to preach this deceptive argument of 'employment creation'.8 The claim that they want real wages to be in line with productivity is also deceptive. In fact the EU's unit labor cost indicator in the six-pack scoreboard unfairly compares nominal wages ('labor costs') with real – as opposed to nominal – GDP growth. Notice too, that an increase in labor productivity is not enough justification to raise wages: according to the Europact, growth and competitiveness must also increase at a satisfactory pace. In a nutshell, it is very clear when wages should be kept down but much more complicated to define when real wages should go up. 

The wage-setting criteria laid down by the Europact and the Macroeconomic Surveillance Procedure completely disregard the European Social Charter, a Council of Europe's Treaty which has been ratified by all EU member states.9 This Treaty guarantees that: “All workers have the right to a fair remuneration sufficient for a decent standard of living for themselves and their families.”

The Council of Europe defines a “fair remuneration” in these terms: 

“In order to be considered fair… a wage must be above the poverty line in a given country i.e. 50% of the national average wage... In addition, in principle a wage must not fall below 60% of the national average wage… unless a state is able to  demonstrate that the wage is sufficient for a decent standard of living, e.g. by  providing detailed information on the cost of living.”10

BusinessEurope and the Commission are completely indifferent to such criteria. The aim of European employers is to keep down what they see only as costs – labor costs in this case – in order to make their profits rise at satisfactory rate for their own growth. 

BusinessEurope’s per country demands for 2012  

BusinessEurope lays out its general position in the 2012 Reform Barometer thus: 

“Modernising wage bargaining and wage-setting mechanisms is... key to improve competitive adjustment channels, so that companies can produce in each country with globally competitive unit labor costs... Removing price-indexation schemes, restricting indirect labor costs, and reforming social benefit systems are important priorities in this respect.”11

This breaks down into three categories of demands, many targeted at specific countries [see tables]. These  priorities reflect the input of national employers’ federations via BusinessEurope:

• Reform wage bargaining / setting.

• Promote ‘active labor markets’ and labor mobility across countries and sectors,12 including by increasing retirement age, limiting access to unemployment benefits and relaxing job protection.

• Making workers pay by ''improving'' the interplay of tax and benefit systems. This concept developed by the Commission aims to provide incentives to remain in work for more years and to reduce “indirect” employers' costs such as contributions to social welfare and state revenues in general.13

The following three tables show BusinessEurope's priority policies and countries based on the three categories of demands above. This can be compared with the general policy directions governments pledged to follow under the Europact.  Under that are listed the recommendations submitted by the Commission and the Council in May 2012 in response to the national reform programmes of governments.14 Next to that is listed what happened or is to happen at the national level. 

Table 1 Collective bargaining, wage-setting and wage indexation 

Table 2 Increase 'flexibility', labor mobility

Table 3 Making workers pay, reducing employers' 'indirect costs' and contributions

BusinessEurope’s disappointment with member states and the push for “contractual agreements”

Despite the fact that current austerity policies are crushing European economies and worsening the social situation for millions of people, both the European Commission and BusinessEurope are promoting the same approach in their latest documents. 

This becomes even more clear with the publication of the Annual Growth Survey 201315 accompanied by the Draft Joint Employment Report, both published in November 2012 and starting this year’s European Semester.16

The 'restructuring' of Europe's economies is in the view of the Commission “disruptive, politically challenging and socially difficult – but it is necessary.”17 In reality this means that despite the majority of people who reject the current policies (“politically challenging”) and the millions being thrown into poverty (“socially difficult”) they won’t stop pushing this agenda. The indifference of those in power towards sovereign democratic decisions was demonstrated only recently when a whole range of important EU officials let the Italian people know that there is no alternative to austerity, despite the fact that a huge majority voted for parties rejecting exactly this course. 

The shared agenda of the Commission and BusinessEurope is austerity plus neoliberal structural reforms. As in their 2012 Country Specific Recommendations the Commission pushes for labor market reforms and praises those countries which have already taken steps in this direction.

In the aforementioned Employment Report they celebrate the fact “that wages and labor costs have started to support external imbalances” meaning that “real compensation per employee declined in about half of the Member States” which “contributed to the gradual improvement of the competitiveness of export-oriented growth.”18 On the other hand the Commission complains about “asymmetric employment protection” causing “labor market segmentation” with the result that “the likelihood of being employed on a permanent contract is lower in Member States with stricter employment protection legislation.”19 So on this topic as well, the Commission sees a need for lower protection and a roll-back of social rights.

In reference to this assumption the Commission assessed structural labor market reforms across the EU. They are particularly approving of two different approaches to structural labor market reforms in particular. First they pay tribute to a number of countries which have reformed unemployment benefits to “facilitate the return to work”.20  Hidden behind this euphemism are reforms in Belgium, Spain, Ireland, Italy and Sweden which reduced the amount and/or duration of unemployment benefits. Second, the Commission was satisfied by the reform of the wage setting mechanism in several countries, in particular Spain, Estonia  and Portugal, where collective bargaining is undermined by company level agreements or companies now have the right to opt out of collective agreements.21

The Annual Growth Survey for this year follows the same trajectory as last year’s Country Specific Recommendations (see above). These promote similar policies:

• “Align retirement age with life expectancy.”22
• “Ensure cost-effectiveness and sustainability”23 in the healthcare sector. 
• Reducing the tax burden on labor while increasing taxes on consumption and related to property and environment.24
• “Reductions in social security contributions” for new recruits.
• “Simplifying employment legislation” (flexible working arrangements) to “reduce labor market segmentation”.25
• Adapting wage setting systems and minimum wages to make them fit with productivity developments and “job creation”.26
• Strengthen the “link between social assistance and activation measures”. 27
• “Lowering the overall administrative burden on enterprises. Particular obstacles to activities in job-rich sectors such as construction, business services, logistics, tourism and wholesale trade should be overcome.”28

All these proposed measures share a common aim with the Country Specific Recommendations adopted last year for 2012 and 2013: to lower the standard of living of the broad majority to “rebalance” the European economies in order that profit share rises and export within Europe but especially with other parts of the world is privileged over internal demand. This fits perfectly with the interests of BusinessEurope. 

A common agenda without the instruments to enforce them

While BusinessEurope is very satisfied with the CSR and the Commission’s approach towards structural reforms, they also see reasons to complain. Big business views national governments hesitant to implement the recommendations as a key problem.

In late 2011 BusinessEurope demanded: “National Reform Programmes must clearly reflect these commitments [to competitiveness enhancing structural reforms, A/N] and real implementation must follow. Unfortunately, this was not only the case in the 2011 exercise. Many National Reform Programmes lacked ambition and vision.”29 In another document some days later BusinessEurope continued this doctrinaire tone when it told national governments: “So, no more lip service in Brussels. But a real commitment from all member states[...].”30

For both the BusinessEurope and the European Commission there is a dilemma. While the Six Pack and the Fiscal Compact give the Commission important powers to enforce austerity, they still lack the same instruments to enforce neoliberal structural reforms in member states, unless a country enters the diktat of the Troika. The European Semester is therefore a welcome instrument to set the agenda, but lacks strict enforcement mechanisms to ensure that member states follow it. 

In response to this type of concern the European Council asked President Herman Van Rompuy in cooperation with the Commission and the European Central Bank to present new proposals to deepen Economic and Monetary Union. 

Among different ideas – including further control over national fiscal policies – one in particular is noteworthy with regard to BusinessEurope's dissatisfaction with the commitment to structural reforms. In an report in June 2012 Van Rompuy found that the key was “to make the framework for policy coordination more enforceable”31 as a response to this problem Van Rompuy proposed so called “contractual arrangements”32 in October 2012. The idea is that member states would enter these agreements on a mandatory basis with the European institutions, namely the European Commission,33 and agree on structural reforms within a certain time frame. Contrary to the Country Specific Recommendations and the National Reform Programmes, these agreements would be binding.  

Conclusion

A clear consequence of these labor reforms is that real wages in the eurozone are falling, collective agreements are being undermined, and social benefits cut.34

 This is the unambiguous result of the austerity policies pushed by BusinessEurope and the European Commission prioritising the reduction of unit labor cost above all else. As the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) puts it: “Austerity is about 'disciplining' wages to boost business' profits.”35

While banks are saved with tax-payers money (€4.5 trillion or one third of the EU GDP up to now) and corporations' profitability and competitiveness are kept high, the large majority of European citizens are experiencing a serious deterioration in their capacity to meet their needs. This fact alone undermines one of the central EU dogmas that assumes corporate competitiveness is always beneficial for society at large. 

In fact, the implementation of these policies are undermining democratic processes in EU member states. The Spanish and French governments are implementing very different programs than the ones they won an electoral mandate for. These two countries, together with Belgium, are neglecting collectively concluded labor agreements. The Slovenian government has explicitly ignored the results of a referendum against the raising of the retirement age. Meanwhile, Greece's shock therapy, as we have seen, is not just undermining labor agreements but violating fundamental rights. 

Corporate employers’ lobbies are making the best of the atmosphere of crisis and the new economic frameworks, as they are able to focus their influence at the EU level and not having to worry about democratic accountability mechanisms that could block the deeply unjust reforms they’re demanding. 

Unfair austerity policies pose a serious threat to democracy, and employers' lobbies – pushing for these policies – profiting from the results, should be held to account. 

• 1. http://www.efsf.europa.eu/about/index.htm
• 2. Every year BusinessEurope presents economic policy proposals to European institutions as a Reform Barometer.
• 3. BusinessEurope Reform Barometer 2012 http://www.businesseurope.eu/content/default.asp?PageID=568&DocID=29922
• 4. For further information see: http://corporateeurope.org/publications/businesseurope-and-economic-gove...
• 5. http://europeaneconomicpolicy.blogspot.be/2013/01/european-semester-offi...
• 6. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-11-821_en.htm
• 7. BusinessEurope Reform Barometer 2012 http://www.businesseurope.eu/content/default.asp?PageID=568&DocID=29922, p. 16
• 8. ‘The share of the public employment in developed market-economy countries is close to 22 percent of total employment’ (ILO statistics over public employment http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/stat/download/wp_pse_e.pdf) The Commission says ‘SMEs generate two-thirds of private sector employment’ http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/magazine/articles/smes-entrepreneurship/a...
• 9. The European Social Charter http://www.coe.int/T/DGHL/Monitoring/SocialCharter/
• 10. European Committee of Social Rights – Decision on the Merits 23 May 2012 http://www.coe.int/T/DGHL/Monitoring/SocialCharter/Complaints/CC66Merits... and European Social Charter Committee of Independent Experts, Conclusions XIV-2, Vol. 1, 1998 (p. 50-51) http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/socialcharter/conclusions/Year/XIV2...
• 11. BusinessEurope Reform Barometer 2012 http://www.businesseurope.eu/content/default.asp?PageID=568&DocID=29922, p. 24
• 12. One more tool of achieving lower wages through social dumping.
• 13. A comprehensive approach contributing to making work pay. http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/employment_and_social_policy/job_...
• 14. All programs can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/making-it-happen/country-specific-recomme...
• 15. Annual Growth Survey 2013: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/ags2013_en.pdf
• 16. Draft Joint Employment Report: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/ags2013_emplr_en.pdf
• 17. Annual Growth Survey 2013: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/ags2013_en.pdf, p. 1
• 18. Draft Joint Employment Report: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/ags2013_emplr_en.pdf, p. 6-7
• 19. ibid. p.10
• 20. ibid. p. 16
• 21. ibid.
• 22. Annual Growth Survey 2013: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/ags2013_en.pdf, p. 5
• 23. ibid.
• 24. ibid. p. 10
• 25. ibid.
• 26. ibid. p. 11
• 27. ibid. p. 12
• 28. ibid. p. 8
• 29. BusinessEurope; Overcoming the Crisis: Towards a Policy Programme for Sustainable Recovery, November 2011, p. 2, http://www.businesseurope.eu/content/default.asp?PageID=568&DocID=29429
• 30. Phillip de Bruck, address at “The Growth Imperative - CIP Business Congress”, November 2011, p. 3, http://www.businesseurope.eu/content/default.asp?PageID=568&DocID=29497
• 31. Van Rompuy, June 2012: TOWARDS A GENUINE ECONOMIC AND MONETARY UNION, p. 6
• 32. Van Rompuy, October 2012: TOWARDS A GENUINE ECONOMIC AND MONETARY UNION, p. 7, http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/1328...
• 33. European Commission, 30th November 2012: A blueprint for a deep and genuine economic and monetary union Launching a European Debate, p. 21
• 34.  Real Wages Fall in Euro Zone http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304692804577282960672816688.html The OECD 'said real wages before tax fell in 18 of its 34 members during 2011' http://www.athensnews.gr/issue/13493/55214 
• 35. ETUC Austerity Watch #3 http://www.etuc.org/IMG/pdf/NR_3_weakening_coll_bargaining_plusjob_prote...