Partners for modernizing work

Partners for modernizing work

Keywords Employees, Employers, Improvement,Partnering

A partnership between managers and employees in modernizing the organization of work is the basis of a Communication issued recently by the European Commission. It envisages employers and employees' representatives together developing a framework for action at the appropriate levels. This could include agreeing common ground and shared objectives, with the aim of improving productivity, flexibility and job security. The intention is to build a partnership that takes account of continuous change and growing diversity in modern working life, Commissioner Padraig Flynn said. The Communication acknowledges that concrete measures are the responsibility of companies. It is a key role of managers, with the appropriate involvement of employees, to develop the most suitable and effective working methods, the Commission says. It hopes the process will feed into the implementation of the 1999 Employment Guidelines and the Employment Report for the Helsinki summit (December 1999).