opinion parliamentary committee draft, 10 January 2024
On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on European labour market statistics on businesses, repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 530/1999 and Regulations (EC) No 450/2003 and (EC) No 453/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council
Document EMPL-PA-754689 · (COM(2023)0459 – C90316/2023 – 2023/0288(COD))
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs · Rapporteur: Milan Brglez
AI:In short
This draft opinion proposes amendments to the proposed regulation on European labour market statistics on businesses, covering data collection, definitions, and reporting requirements.
Position. The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs proposes amendments to the Commission proposal, focusing on data quality, social enterprises, and collective bargaining coverage.
Key points
- Calls for accurate, timely and comparable labour market statistics, including for social economy action plan and European Semester.
- Requires information on collective bargaining coverage for monitoring minimum wages and macroeconomic imbalances.
- Extends data on job vacancies and improves timeliness of labour cost index.
- Adds legal basis for annual gender pay gap data to assess pay transparency directive and monitor UN Sustainable Development Goals.
- Defines 'social enterprise' as a private law entity with social or environmental objectives, and requires separate data for social enterprises.
- Clarifies definition of 'employer' to include direct employment relationship, whether formal or informal.
- Adds collective bargaining coverage as a topic for data collection.
Who is affected
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AMENDMENTS
The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs calls on the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, as the committee responsible, to take the following into account:
Amendment 1
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (1) Labour market statistics on businesses in the European Union are required for the design, implementation and evaluation of the Union policies, in particular those addressing economic, social and territorial cohesion, the European employment strategy, the European Pillar of Social Rights and the European Semester. | (1) Accurate, timely and comparable labour market statistics on businesses in the European Union are required for the design, implementation and evaluation of the Union policies, in particular those addressing economic, social and territorial cohesion, the European employment strategy, the European Pillar of Social Rights, the European Semester and the Social economy action plan. |
Or. en
Amendment 2
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (2) The prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances according to Regulation (EU) 1176/201115 and the monitoring of adequate minimum wages according to Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and of the Council16 require accurate information on the evolution of hourly labour costs and wage levels across Member States. | (2) The prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances according to Regulation (EU) 1176/201115 and the monitoring of adequate minimum wages according to Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and of the Council16 require accurate information on the evolution of hourly labour costs and wage levels as well as collective bargaining coverage across Member States |
| 15 Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances (OJ L 306, 23.11.2011, p. 25) | 15 Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances (OJ L 306, 23.11.2011, p. 25) |
| 16 Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union (OJ L 275 of 25.10.2022, p. 33). | 16 Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union (OJ L 275 of 25.10.2022, p. 33). |
Or. en
Read the rest (42 paragraphs)
Amendment 3
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (3) The European Central Bank uses European labour market statistics on businesses, in the context of the single monetary policy, for monitoring inflation and deflation risks arising from labour costs. Therefore, accurate, timely and comparable Union statistics on the evolution of labour costs are necessary. | (3) The European Central Bank uses European labour market statistics on businesses, in the context of the single monetary policy, for monitoring inflation and deflation risks arising from labour costs. |
Or. en
Amendment 4
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (4) It is necessary to extend the coverage of job vacancy statistics and the timeliness of the labour cost index as both indicators are listed among the Principal European Economic Indicators (PEEIs)17 , needed to monitor monetary and economic policies. | (4) It is necessary to extend the data on job vacancies and to improve the timeliness of the labour cost index as both indicators are listed among the Principal European Economic Indicators (PEEIs)17 , needed to monitor monetary and economic policies. |
| 17 Communication of the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on eurozone statistics ‘towards improved methodologies for eurozone statistics and indicators’ – COM/2002/0661 final of 27 November 2002. | 17 Communication of the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on eurozone statistics ‘towards improved methodologies for eurozone statistics and indicators’ – COM/2002/0661 final of 27 November 2002. |
Or. en
Amendment 5
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (5) A legal basis is necessary to regulate the transmission of the annual gender pay gap for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals under the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations (UN), in particular, goal 5 on Gender Equality. | (5) A legal basis is necessary to regulate the transmission of the annual gender pay gap, to assess the impact of the directive on pay transparency, as well as for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals under the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations (UN), in particular, goal 5 on Gender Equality and goal 8 on Decent work and economic growth. |
Or. en
Amendment 6
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 a (new)
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (2 a) ‘social enterprise’ means a private law entity that provides goods and services for the market in an entrepreneurial way and in accordance with the principles and features of the social economy, having social or environmental objectives as the reason for its commercial activity. Social enterprises can be set up in a variety of legal forms1a; | |
| 1a Council Recommendation of 27 November 2023 on developing social economy framework conditions (C/2023/1344) |
Or. en
Amendment 7
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 6
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (6) ‘employer’ means an enterprise or a local unit that has a direct employment contract with an employee (whether the agreement is formal or informal); | (6) ‘employer’ means an enterprise or a local unit that has a direct employment relationship with an employee, whether there is a formal contract or an informal agreement; |
Or. en
Amendment 8
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a – indent 2 a (new)
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| – (iii) collective bargaining coverage; |
Or. en
Amendment 9
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 5 a (new)
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| 5 a. For all the topics in the Annex, the Member States shall collect and provide separate data on social enterprises. |
Or. en
Amendment 10
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I
| Text proposed by the Commission | ||||||
| ANNEX I | ||||||
| Domains, topics and detailed topics; periodicity of the data provision, reference periods and deadline for data transmission per topic | ||||||
| Domain | Topic | Detailed topic | Periodicity | Reference period | Data transmission deadline (1) (2) | First Reference Period |
| Earnings | Structure of Earnings | Earnings Total annual and monthly earnings and all their components, as well as hourly earnings paid to each employee sampled. | Every four years | Calendar year | T+16 months | 2026 |
| Employer’s characteristics Economic, legal, geographical and employment information on the local unit to which each sampled employee is attached, and on its enterprise. | ||||||
| Employee’s characteristics Individual demographic, educational, contractual and occupational information on each employee sampled. | ||||||
| Working periods Information on paid working periods, for each employee sampled. | ||||||
| Technical items of the survey Sampling and data collection information for each employee sampled and his/her employer (e.g., weights). | ||||||
| Gender Pay Gap | Hourly earnings Hourly earnings of male and female employees by main | Every year | Calendar year | T+13 months | 2026 |
| characteristics of the employer and of the employee and corresponding relative differences between hourly earnings of male and female employees. | ||||||
| Employees Number of male and female employees by characteristics of the employer and of the employee. | ||||||
| Labour costs | Structure of labour costs | Labour costs Total costs borne by the employer for employing labour and components of these costs. | Every four years | Calendar year | T+18 months | 2028 |
| Hours worked Hours actually worked by main types of employees. | ||||||
| Hours paid Hours paid by main types of employees. | ||||||
| Employees Number of employees by main types. | ||||||
| Local units Information on local units in the sample. | ||||||
| Labour cost index | Quarterly index of labour costs per hour worked Quarterly index of labour costs per hour worked, by type of costs; unadjusted and adjusted time series. | Every quarter | Calendar quarter | - Early estimates: T+45 days Final data: T+65 days | First quarter of year 2026 | |
| Quarterly index of total labour costs Unadjusted and adjusted time series. | ||||||
| Quarterly index of hours worked Unadjusted and adjusted time series. | ||||||
| Annual labour costs | Every year | Calendar | End of the | |||
| Annual labour costs levels (weights) by type of costs. | year | first quarter of year T+1 + 65 days | ||||
| Labour demand | Job vacancies | Vacant posts Information on vacant posts recorded; unadjusted and adjusted time series. | Every quarter | Calendar quarter | - Early estimates: T+45 days Final data: T+70 days | First quarter of year 2026 |
| Occupied posts Information on occupied posts recorded; unadjusted and adjusted time series. | ||||||
| (1) After the end of the reference period “T”. | ||||||
| (2) When the above-mentioned deadlines fall on a Saturday or a Sunday, the effective deadline shall be the following Monday before 12:00 am (CET). | ||||||
| Amendment | ||||||
| ANNEX I | ||||||
| Domains, topics and detailed topics; periodicity of the data provision, reference periods and deadline for data transmission per topic | ||||||
| Domain | Topic(1) | Detailed topic | Periodicity | Reference period | Data transmission deadline (1) (2) | First Reference Period |
| Earnings | Structure of Earnings | Earnings Total annual and monthly earnings and all their components, as well as hourly earnings paid to each employee sampled. | Every four years | Calendar year | T+16 months | 2026 |
| Employer’s characteristics Economic, legal, geographical and employment information on the local unit to which each sampled employee is attached, and on its enterprise. | ||||||
| Employee’s characteristics Individual demographic, educational, contractual and occupational information on each employee sampled. | ||||||
| Working periods Information on paid working periods, for each employee sampled. | ||||||
| Technical items of the survey Sampling and data collection information for each employee sampled and his/her employer (e.g., weights). | ||||||
| Gender Pay Gap | Hourly earnings Hourly earnings of male and female employees by main | Every year | Calendar year | T+13 months | 2026 |
| characteristics of the employer and of the employee and corresponding relative differences between hourly earnings of male and female employees. | ||||||
| Employees Number of male and female employees by characteristics of the employer and of the employee. | ||||||
| Collective bargaining coverage | Number of employees covered by collective agreements | Every year | Calendar year | T+13 months | 2026 | |
| Labour costs | Structure of labour costs | Labour costs Total costs borne by the employer for employing labour and components of these costs. | Every four years | Calendar year | T+18 months | 2028 |
| Hours worked Hours actually worked by main types of employees. | ||||||
| Hours paid Hours paid by main types of employees. | ||||||
| Employees Number of employees by main types. | ||||||
| Local units Information on local units in the sample. | ||||||
| Labour cost index | Quarterly index of labour costs per hour worked Quarterly index of labour costs per hour worked, by type of costs; unadjusted and adjusted time series. | Every quarter | Calendar quarter | - Early estimates: T+45 days Final data: T+65 days | First quarter of year 2026 | |
| Quarterly index of total labour costs Unadjusted and adjusted time series. | ||||||
| Quarterly index of hours worked Unadjusted and adjusted time series. | ||||||
| Annual labour costs | Every year | Calendar | End of the | |||
| Annual labour costs levels (weights) by type of costs. | year | first quarter of year T+1 + 65 days | ||||
| Labour demand | Job vacancies | Vacant posts Information on vacant posts recorded; unadjusted and adjusted time series. | Every quarter | Calendar quarter | - Early estimates: T+45 days Final data: T+70 days | First quarter of year 2026 |
| Occupied posts Information on occupied posts recorded; unadjusted and adjusted time series. | ||||||
| (1) After the end of the reference period “T”. | ||||||
| (2) When the above-mentioned deadlines fall on a Saturday or a Sunday, the effective deadline shall be the following Monday before 12:00 am (CET). | ||||||
| (3) All topics shall be disaggregated by social enterprises. |
Or. en
Annex: entities or persons from whom the rapporteur has received input 3 paragraphs
The rapporteur has received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the draft opinion:
| Entity and/or person |
| Statistical office of the Republic of Slovenia (Statistični urad Republike Slovenije) |
| Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (Zveza svobodnih sindikatov Slovenije) |
| European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) |
The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur.