PARTNERS WORKSHOP: 09/04 - 09/05
Susanna Ponti - Fabi Social Dialogue Expert
Summary:
First day:
- The partners are invited to refl ect and briefl y debate on the themesproposed, to know about the various situations in Europe on the themes chosen and to put their experiences together.
- Listening and sharing of the experiences of the corporate partner regarding two examples of "diversity management".
Second day:
- In the morning, presentation of a specifi c case of the insertion of the disabled.
- In the afternoon, fi nal discussion in order to establish common lines for the presentation of projects for the management and la protection of diversity.
Chap. 1) General themes proposed for debate
Chap. 2) Disability
- After listening to the contribution of the corporate partner, there will be a debate on the topics proposed in points 2.1 - 2.3, together with the experience in the sector in Banca Popolare di Milano
Chap. 3) Gender differences
- After listening to the presentation of the corporate partner on the topics in point 3.2 paragraph 3, trade union partners will be invited to make a brief summary of the situation in their countries and, when possible, to illustrate any experience they may have, especially on the topics in points 3.2 and 3.3.
Chap. 4) Multiracial integration
- Starting from the cases known and presented, opinions on the topic and the experiences of the European trade union partners will be discussed.
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Chap. 1) GENERAL THEMES PROPOSED FOR DEBATE
1.1 How have the increase in the female working population and the ageing of the active population influenced the world of work in your European country?
1.2 Does a high percentage of women workers in banks, and a high average age, influence the organisation of work, and if so, how?
1.3 Have measures on the labour market, with legislative reforms and alternative forms of contracts created new types of discrimination?
Chap. 2) DISABILITY
Framework Directive 2000/78 CE " which required employers ..... to adopt reasonable solutions for the disabled, in other words appropriate measures to enable the disabled to have access to a job, to undertake it, have a promotion or receive training, unless these measures require a disproportionate financial burden for the employer".
2.1 Disabled persons are protected by laws providing protection for entry in the world of work, special concern for physical structures (architectural barriers and work environments) all belonging to the category of protection legislation. However, the directive highlights the
delicate theme of the job advancement of the disabled. In the banking sector, there have already been examples in the past of projects to improve job prospects for some groups of workers with special types of disability (for example, experiences of measures with suitable technology for blind telephone exchange operators).
2.2 This is the question we should ask today: In our sector, thanks to or because of the new technologies leading to the disappearance of some types of jobs once available to some
categories of workers, what is the likely fate of the categories that are increasingly difficult to employ in our enterprises?
Examples:
All medium size branches once had telephone exchanges, which are now used exclusively in the large central offices.
In some types of administrative jobs, categories of workers like the deaf-mute were once employed. Now, with new technologies and new work organisation, these tasks have been centralised into a few places and gradually reduced, limiting employment opportunities for these workers.
2.3 In this regard, and with particular focus on the organisation and types of work, we should consider another type of problem: disability due to serious illness that could affect people during their working life.
While our legislation and contracts provide protection with the conservation of employment, there do not seem to be any actions and best practices for the real integration of these persons in tasks that they could actually undertake in case of worsening of their job conditions (example: persons affected by multiple sclerosis encounter difficulties in the worsening of the disease).
THE BPM EXPERIENCE IN THIS AREA COULD BE VALUABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEBATE AND THE CREATION OF PROJECTS TO PROPOSE IN THIS RESPECT
IN THE SECTOR.
Chap. 3) GENDER DISCRIMINATION
3.1 Gender discrimination is the oldest example of discrimination, and the area where action was first taken to remove any discrimination.
In Italy, data on female employment in the banking sector indicate the success of educational qualifications as the starting point for access to employment.
3.2 Under collective negotiation procedures, banks have long had Equivalency Commissions for Equal Opportunities, and since the enactment of Law 125/91, the banking sector has provided numerous study projects on the employment condition of women in banks.
It is undeniable that the period of major aggregations experienced in the sector in the past decade has delayed what should have been the subsequent phase, i.e. the creation of genuine positive actions affecting the organisation of work for female personnel, for the development of their career in banks.
The great concern in society and in the European community regarding gender discrimination has, however, induced the enterprises to undertake collateral activities to support female personnel in their "external work in family care" such as the creation of childcare services at the workplace. Discussion of this matter could be useful in the debate between the social partners.
3.3 Finally, the topics of career development for women should be discussed, since data is not encouraging.The debate should include the topic of the development of careers among women at higher ages than for men, when the pressure of work for family care should become considerably lower.
3.4 We should also examine aspects of work organisation to determine when it is actually possible to combine job flexibility with employer requirements.
The organisation in the individual enterprises obviously has a considerable impact on this topic, since this is the context where the positive actions should have effect.
Chap. 4) MULTIRACIAL DIFFERENCES: EXAMPLES OF INTEGRATION AND POSSIBLE SUBSEQUENT MEASURES
4.1 In the Italian banking sector there are not many known examples of the integration of personnel belonging to other ethnic groups.
Besides the BPM project, which will provide valuable elements for the debate, we can recall a project implemented in Turin in 2001 by what was then Cassa di Risparmio di Torino and Sanpaolo Spa, with the collaboration of the municipal authorities and the multi-cultural association "ALMATERRA", and the most representative trade unions in
the banking sector.
The aim of the project was the selection, training and job insertion with an unlimited term contract of 10 immigrant women. This was implemented, and led to the insertion of personnel with various ethnic backgrounds, who work in the banking groups.
The project was limited to the selection of female personnel and was intended to be a positive action in favour of highly educated women affected by objective employment discrimination, and did not have a stated commercial scope.
4.2 Although contacts on the local level were formed between enterprises capable of employing migrant workers for non-EU countries, operation had no further continuation, and no particular studies were made on the insertion of this personnel.
The comparison of the two known experiences could definitely be useful to create shared proposals to make to the enterprises for further research on the topic of multiracial employment in the sector.
Likewise, discussions with the enterprises could provide better understanding of the economic and organisational aspects which could open the banking sector to increased employment of persons from different ethnic backgrounds.