A new fund, a large European fund that, starting from the positive experience of the «Sure», will allow countries to regenerate work at a time when ecological and digital transitions risk burning hundreds of thousands of jobs. The proposal comes from the labor ministers of Italy and Spain, the two countries that most of all have focused on the «Sure», which is nothing more than «the temporary support fund to mitigate the risks of unemployment in an emergency». The government of Rome has in fact received 27.4 billion euros of subsidized loans (21.3 Madrid) out of 94, 3 total.
The “Sure-T” project, where the “T” stands for transition, was illustrated to European colleagues at the last informal Bordeaux summit in mid-February and received the approval of the French presidency and from tomorrow, when the ministers of the 27 will return to meet in Brussels, it could officially enter the agenda.
“Climate neutrality, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and a rapid acceleration of the digital transformation are very ambitious objectives that the EU has set itself: a double challenge which, however, takes us in a delicate moment, in which social and economic structures have been strongly weakened by the health crisis “. Hence the idea put forward by our Minister of Labor Andrea Orlando and his Spanish colleague Yolanda Diaz to field a new tool. «The green transition will have divergent asymmetric effects on employment developments between sectors and occupations – it is written in their document -. In the carbon-intensive and energy-intensive sectors, employment will drop dramatically. In others there will be a radical adjustment of the entire value chain, with significant repercussions on the workforce ». The strongest impact is expected in sectors most affected by new technologies, such as automotive, machinery and consumer goods. A similar trend is likely to occur in some service sectors (from banking to online retail) as a result of the increased use of a combination of automation and digitization technologies. ‘
“Specific sectors or regions, in which these changes are occurring at a faster pace – it is pointed out – must quickly adapt to the new paradigm and will need extraordinary support to accompany the restructuring, maintain decent working conditions and avoid work shifts and loss of income “.
In the automotive sector alone, according to a report prepared by PwC for the European car suppliers association (Clepa), the switch to electric could lead to the loss of up to 500,000 seats in the EU by 2040. This loss will not be fully offset by a corresponding growth in the sector of components for electric vehicles, thus generating a net loss of almost 275,000 seats, 73,000 in Italy alone according to Anfia estimates.
According to Orlando and Diaz, working hours reduction schemes represent a first, albeit partial, response to provide employers with the necessary flexibility during restructuring processes without resorting to layoffs. But then it will be essential to combine support measures with opportunities to improve skills and retrain the workforce. “We have reformed the shock absorbers by providing adequate tools for the transitions – explains Orlando -. But we must think of a European instrument, with a mechanism similar to the Sure, but a more targeted object in order to address the asymmetrical consequences caused by the twin transitions as well ».
The idea pursued by Italy and Spain is therefore to provide the EU with a “structural strategic” tool in order to provide workers with the right skills and support companies in the process of adaptation, “ensuring an inclusive and equitable transition”. Compared to the Sure, intended exclusively to finance the reduced work regime, the new fund should thus aim at the retraining of workers also by drawing on national social security funds in order to minimize the impact on the European budget.
“The transitions will affect the whole continent with results that are not entirely predictable – the two ministers conclude in their document-. It is therefore not only a question of consolidating an instrument that gives substance to the social pillar but also of giving an alternative to the dilemma posed between those who oppose transitions, the ecological one in particular, to employment and social stability “.