The members of the Public Services Employers’ Forum (PSEF), representing Public Services and Services of General (Economic) Interest (SG(E)I) employers and providers, are looking forward to the new legislative term and would like to take this opportunity to introduce their role and priorities with a view to future dialogue with European Union (EU) decision-makers.

 

Public services and SG(E)Is are a cornerstone of the EU Social Model and of democratic societies; they have a central role to play in ensuring the citizens’ quality of life, contributing to informed citizenship, supporting the development of European businesses and contributing to the growth and competitiveness of the EU.

 

The quality and access to essential services such as education, energy, healthcare, public service media, public transport and services provided by local and regional governments is instrumental to the realisation of our common objectives, and we, PSEF members, are committed to doing our part in balancing the economic and social dimensions of the EU.

In the context of the identification of the new political priorities for the EU, we call for Public Services and SG(E)I providers to be placed at the heart of the project for a striving Europe, as their empowerment should be a key issue in every single Member State.

 

The Public Services Employers’ Forum would like to highlight the following priorities:

 

Strong social partners’ organisations are instrumental for the successful implementation of the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR). All European social partners’ organisations aim to strengthen social dialogue at all levels, in order to reflect and respond to the needs of more diverse economic and social situations. However, the degree to which social partners have been involved in the design and implementation of relevant reforms and policies, as stated in the principle 8 of the EPSR¹, still varies from one Member State to the other. Identifying strong representative organisations and supporting their capacity building remains a key objective to ensure successful participation of social partners.

 

The 17 SDGs facilitate finding common global solutions by addressing poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice.

Effective public services are key to their successful implementation, requiring the provision of public goods. It will require efficient and successful coordination between the providers of those public services.

 

The European Union took important steps to put forward-looking investments a core element of our macroeconomic policies. Our members recognise and value the impact of the European Fund for Strategic Investment and the added-value of the investment-focused Country Specific Recommendations while stressing the importance of maintaining grants for certain types of investments. We also strongly support the initiatives of the European Commission to link the implementation of the EU funds with the priorities identified in the European Semester.

 

The EU Semester has become the main instrument of coordination of the reform process across the EU. Our members have great hopes that their efforts will be recognised within the European Semester through the implementation of the principles of the EPSR dedicated to the access to and quality of essential services, whilst enabling genuine multi-level governance of the European Semester.

 

Horizontal and vertical segregation of the labour market are major issues for our members and have a big impact on gender equality. Traditional gender norms and stereotypes continue to have a strong influence on the division of labour between women and men, at home, school, work and in society as a whole. Effective and well-funded public services support the achievement of gender equality in the labour market, namely by easing the daily social integration of all societal groups. At the same time, actions must be taken at the national level to address stereotypes that still influence in education and career choices, and prejudices that affect women’s integration in the labour market and development in the workplace. Member States should also cater for the necessary investments in social infrastructure and welfare policies that can support a fair sharing of family and work duties within households.

 

The emergence of digitalisation, in all its dimensions, is having far-reaching economic, social, and political consequences on all spheres of our lives. Digitalisation is an opportunity that also requires understanding and addressing transition challenges, as well as related training and investment needs. Successfully steering the process of digitalisation is largely dependent on the effective provision of SG(E)Is, such as modern education, training and lifelong learning systems and broadband infrastructure.

Public services and SG(E)Is provide essential services and infrastructure and enjoy the trust of the citizens. As citizens increasingly access services online via global platforms, these platforms have evolved into gatekeepers between service providers and citizens, often taking unilateral decisions on their services’ display and ranking. We have a responsibility to ensure that nobody is left behind, that all citizens can find and access SG(E)Is’ services in the digital environment.

 

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