Europe’s recovery for more and better jobs

Article published in Voice of the Workers Weekly

On the eve of the October European Council meeting, the presidents of the EU institutions and EU level social partners (ETUC, BusinessEurope, SGI Europe, SMEunited, CEC European Managers), discussed the transformation of Europe's recovery into long-term sustainable growth supporting more and better jobs at the tripartite social summit.

The main messages that emerged from the summit were the following:

• A socially just transition depends on investment in skills and implementation of active labour market policies to ensure long-term, sustainable growth that creates more and better jobs.
• The recovery plan for Europe – NextGenerationEU - will provide for unprecedented investments into education, training, employment and social protection measures. Social partners, more than ever, have a central role to play for a successful implementation of the national plans and a recovery that leaves no one behind.
• A socially just transition is not just about skills, but investment and anticipation of change. A renewed Social Contract is needed for decent wages, workers’ rights including in platforms and non-standard work, universal and adequate social protection, strengthened social dialogue and collective bargaining.

Participants in the tripartite social summit called for all players to ensure that in the EU’s recovery efforts, no one is left behind.