Agenda Raad Werkgelegenheid: rapport-Kok, RSI en straling op het werk, arbeidstijden, sekse-gelijkheid (en)

(Katharina von Schnurbein)

The items relating to employment, social affairs and equal opportunities will be taken on Tuesday, 7 December. This session will be chaired by Minister Aart-Jan de Geus, with Mr Vladimir Spidla representing the Commission.

Lisbon Strategy - Kok report and new Social Policy Agenda

Ministers and the Commissioner will debate the findings of the Kok report on the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy and provide input for the Commission's forthcoming communications on the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy and the Social Policy Agenda for 2006-2010.

Council is expected to endorse an expert opinion on the Kok report from the Employment and Social Protection Committees and an opinion by the Employment Committee on the Commission's Annual Report on Migration and Integration.

Health and safety - optical radiation, stress and musculoskeletal disorders

Council is expected to reach a political agreement on a proposed directive that seeks to protect workers from the risks of exposure to optical radiation. This is the last in a package of four health and safety directives, on noise, vibration and electromagnetic fields.

Council will also discuss two important modern workplace issues being dealt with as part of the "social dialogue" between the two sides of industry which is promoted by the Commission.

Commissioner Spidla will present an autonomous agreement reached by the social partners on identifying and tackling work-place stress and a consultation paper seeking the views of employers' and workers' representatives on musculoskeletal disorders (such as back pain and repetitive strain injury).

Working time

Council will try to resolve the outstanding issues relating to the Commission's proposal to amend the working time directive. This proposal updates key aspects of the 1993 directive: the definition of on-call time, the reference periods for calculating the 48-hour maximum working week and the opt-out from the 48-hour week.

Council is currently divided over the opt-out, with some Member States calling for it to be phased out (as the European Parliament has requested) and others calling for the opt-out to remain and to be applied on an individual basis only.

The Commission is proposing a compromise between these two positions. Under this compromise, workers would be able to opt out through collective agreements.

Where there is no collective agreement, the individual opt-out would remain but would be subject to the employee's consent.

Gender equality

Council will discuss the extension of two financial programmes on gender equality to cover the period until the EU's new budget framework for 2007-2010 comes into effect.

It will also adopt a general approach on the proposal by the Commission for a recast directive on the equal treatment of women and men in employment and occupation. This proposal is an important element of the ongoing process of better regulation at EU level as it simplifies and updates Community law in this area by merging six separate directives into one text.