EMPLOYMENT - GLOBALISATION : KEY FEATURES OF THE GLOBALISATION ADJUSTMENT FUND.

Established in the context of the EU's Financial Perspective for January 2007 to December 2013, the Globalisation Adjustment Fund, which is due to be endorsed by the European Union Council of Ministers on 19 December, is based on a dual observation: 'globalisation has a positive impact on growth and employment' but can also have 'negative consequences for the most vulnerable and least qualified workers in certain sectors'.

The fund, therefore, aims to facilitate the professional retraining of workers who lose their jobs owing to major changes to the structure of global trade as a result of globalisation, where these redundancies have a significant negative impact on the regional or local economy.

TRIGGERING CRITERIA

The fund is triggered where: (1) major modifications to the structure of global trade (2) lead to serious economic disruption, (3) resulting in job losses of a certain magnitude.

The first criterion - modifications to the structure of global trade - is not clarified further.

The second criterion - economic disruption - is illustrated in a non-exhaustive fashion by certain events:'substantial increase in imports into the EU, a sharp decline in EU market share in a given sector, relocation to third countries'. Comment: these events are only examples and do not constitute fund criteria. The fact that restructuring does not result in relocation (to a third country) is not therefore a decisive factor in itself.

The third criterion - job losses - is precisely defined:

- either the laying off of 'at least 1,000 employees in a company in a member state over a period of four months,' including subcontractors (ie 'workers who lose their jobs with suppliers or other businesses downstream');

- or the laying off, 'over a period of nine months, of at least 1,000 employees, in particular in small and medium-sized enterprises in a NACE 2 sector' (second level of the Community nomenclature of activities), in a region of two adjacent NUTS II regions' (Lander, region, community);

- even if these conditions are not entirely met, a request for a contribution from the Globalisation Adjustment Fund can be approved, (1) 'in the case of small-scale labour markets or exceptional circumstances, duly justified by the member state(s)concerned ', (2) 'where redundancies have a serious impact on local employment and the local economy'. Comment: the job losses criterion constitutes redundancy as interpreted at national level. All voluntary redundancies should therefore be considered accordingly.

ACTIONS FUNDED

The fund will finance 'active labour market measures that fall within the ambit of a coordinated body of personalised services aiming to ensure the professional reinsertion of workers who have lost their jobs'. This notably includes:

- assistance with job hunting, professional guidance, tailored training and...