Possible work topics were debated against the background of the political agenda of the European institutions and the priorities of the members of CESI and covered all of policy areas that CESI covers: Employment and social affairs, women’s rights and gender equality, public administrations, education and training, health services, postal services and telecommunications, and defence.

The preliminary list of work topics includes the following:

Horizontal employment and social affairs
• Adequate minimum wages in the European Union
• Sustainable corporate governance
• Fostering freedom of association for trade unions
• Enhancing occupational health and safety (esp. Covid-related)
• Future of work – Future of Trade unions – Future of industrial relations
• Implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights

Women’s rights and gender equality
• Preventing and combating gender-based violence
• Improving the gender balance of women in managerial positions in the private and public sectors
• Establishing an EU right to voluntary periods of part time work and a right to return to full-time work thereafter
• Avoiding gender-related disparities as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic fallout
• Mitigating the digital gender divide
• Implementation of the post-2020 EU gender equality strategy

Public administrations
• Professional space for civil servants
• Investments and support for public administrations and its personnel
• Rules and support for voluntary remote working (together with COM SOC/WG Future of work)
• Involvement of municipalities in the EU Green Deal
• Fight against in-work poverty and for minimum wages in the public sector
• Better public recognition of public services and of the personnel delivering them
• Role of public services to make states and societies resilient to crises
• Role of public services in implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights
• Enhanced cooperation in the area of a financial transaction tax (FTT)
• EU Tax Observatory
• Digital tax
• Work topics of the European social dialogue on central government administrations and on local and reginal governments and of the Platform on Tax Good Governance

Education, training and research
• European Education Area: More investment in education systems (including through the Corona Recovery Plan) and greater recognition of the teaching profession
• The EU’s Digital Education Action Plan; digital equipment in education systems
• Introduction of a European Child Guarantee (EU legal right to affordable and high-quality childcare)
• Launch of an intergenerational alliance for learning, skills and employment
• Work topics of the European social dialogue on education

Health services
• More investment in health systems (crisis resilience, staff-patient ratio)
• Improved OSH and protective equipment for health care personnel
• Fostering affordable and high quality care facilities
• Greater support for & investment in caring professions (non-material & financial recognition; quality standards & mutual recognition for skills & training)
• European health union: Better crisis preparedness, management and resilience (incl. EU framework for production and stockpiling of medicines and medical material and equipment, a reinforced role for the EMA and the ECED, pharmaceutical strategy and the EU beating cancer plan)

Postal services and telecommunications
• Evaluation and possible revision of the EU postal services directive 97/67/EC, esp. in terms of decent work
• Decent employment & working conditions in parcel deliveries
• Combating precarious work in call centres and the logistics sector
• Implications of the Covid-19 pandemic on the work and occupational health & safety of telecommunications and postal service personnel
• Achievement of worker-friendly digitalisation in telecommuni-cations and postal services
• Identification of future professions and relating VET schemes in postal service companies
• Work topics of the European social dialogue on postal services

Defence
• More equal employment and working conditions of military personnel before, during and after joint operations (‘social dimension’ of PESCO)
• Establishing a personnel-friendly European Defence Union
• Defence of adequate health and safety standards of military personnel in regular operations

All preliminary work topics will be set definitely following a meeting of the Presidium of CESI on this topic on February 3.