At the Informal EPSCO (Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council configuration), Valeria Ronzitti, CEEP General Secretary, presented the views of public services’ employers on the main EU social issues.

The Pillar of Social Rights:
“CEEP welcomes the Commission consultation on a Pillar of Social Rights, including public services as key actors for overcoming the crisis and moving towards a deeper and fairer Economic and Monetary Union. It is now essential that the heading about access to high quality services is fully part of the consultation with social partners, both at European and national level. This is not only about the Pillar providing a solid foundation for public services to flourish; it is also, and more importantly, about recognising their growth and job creation potential.
This approach will also increase the Pillar potential to support social upward convergence in Europe.
However, for this initiative to become effective and legitimate, national social partners need to be fully involved by their respective governments in answering to the consultation and shaping the initiative.”

The revision of the Posted Workers directive:
“The proposal for a revision of the Posted Workers directive needs to clarify important issues within the original directive. It should also be an opportunity to bring legal certainty on the relation between the Posted Workers directive and the new public procurement rules from 2014, which seek to foster social criteria in tendering.
Contracting authorities will be reluctant to use that possibility: the current Commission’s proposal on “Posted Workers” exclusively refers to national level remunerations, profiling new law cases if local tendering procedure deviate from that principle."