The report, drafted by UK member Dave Quayle, is a response to proposals by the European Commission which views worker mobility between jobs, and between regions and EU countries, as "a key instrument for an efficient functioning single market and essential for allowing more people to find better employment".
Councillor Quayle, a Labour member of Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council, broadly welcomes the Commission's action plan, but stresses that local and regional authorities must have the right resources to ensure the strategy works on the ground.
He calls for a series of actions aimed at encouraging job opportunities on the basis of 'flexicurity', the Nordic concept of improving the EU's global competitiveness whilst preserving traditional European social welfare standards. (Cllr Quayle is the CoR's spokesman on flexicurity: see former press release).
His report underlines the need to remove all barriers to the free movement of workers in the EU – one of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the European Community since its foundation in 1957. At present, four Member States still apply restrictions on workers coming from countries which joined the Union in 2004 (Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia), and 15 impose barriers on Bulgaria and Romania, which joined the Union in January last year. No restrictions apply for Malta and Cyprus and Cllr Quayle argues that no barriers should apply to countries joining the EU in future. (See summary table of Member State policies).
The report calls for greater emphasis on language learning and the promotion of multilingualism, pointing out that, as providers of education at primary and secondary level, local and regional authorities have a key role to play in developing the skills needed to prepare people for living and working in different linguistic and cultural environments.
It states that they should offer prompt and accurate advice to people seeking work in other countries and in helping them to communicate with the competent authorities of the host country in relation to their rights to social protection. As major employers, local and regional authorities should also be encouraged to fill job vacancies throughout the countries of the EU and to increase the possibilities for short- or medium-term work placements for individuals from other Member States, the report notes.
Cllr Quayle wants to see a beefed up role for EURES, the European job mobility portal and network, which highlights job vacancies in the European Economic Area (the 27 EU countries plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), as well as in Switzerland and other partner organisations. He underlines that portability of pensions and more flexible social security provisions in and between Member States is essential in order to encourage people to work abroad.
The report acknowledges that strains can be placed on local and regional authorities in cases where a large number of migrant workers take up work and residence in an area, in particular if this change occurs suddenly. Resources must be made available to deal with the consequences of this for social services, education, healthcare and housing, says Cllr Quayle, adding that authorities should work in partnership to plan and manage for increased job migration or risk damaging European unity.
The report is due to be adopted at the CoR's plenary session on 8-9 October.
