The Work of PPE

Our Priorities

Our work is focused on negotiations; lobbying and influencing; informing members; exchanging information and good practice; and membership development.

Our Main Activities and Priorities

Activities:

• Membership development and retention
• Development of operational group
• UK representation at Cross‐sector social partner negotiations 
• Lobbying European institutions on key  employment relations issues 
• Responding to consultations and other initiatives by the Commission, Parliament and Council in the fields of employment, training, social protection, employment law, health and safety, social services of general interest and related issues
• Co‐operation with related employer organisations representing Public Services and promotion of links between cross sectoral and sectoral social dialogue
• Pro‐active work to raise the profile of PPE (CEEP UK) as the European representative organisation for public employers
• Promote the exchange of information and ideas in social affairs ,procurement and competition issues

Priorities 2010/2011:

• Social and employment aspects of climate change policies –“green jobs”
• Support for growth in current economic climate and financial sustainability
• Follow up to 2020 and contribution to 2030 agenda
• Flexicurity
• Mobility and integration
• Working Time Directive
• Follow up of electromagnetic fields
• Follow up on third party violence
• Social exclusion
• Work/life balance
• New road map for equality between men and women
• Pensions
• Gender pay
• New skills for new jobs, lifelong learning and skill mobility
• Posting of workers
• Sectoral dialogue developments
• Revision of competition/procurement/concession/in-house rules
• Quality Framework for public services
• Public/private partnership developments
• Passenger rights
• Future transport

We work in a number of different policy areas…

CEEP’s work is largely carried out in its Policy Committees and Working Groups, which are responsible for responding to EU consultations and drafting policy opinions representing the views of EU public service employers and providers. It is through direct involvement with the work of these Committees that PPE members can influence EU policies and legislation. PPE representatives currently mainly participate in the CEEP Social Affairs, Transport and Local Enterprises Committees. However, other policy areas are also relevant to UK public service providers.

CEEP Committees are currently active in the following policy areas:

• Social Affairs and Social Dialogue
• Transport
• Local Enterprises
• Services of General Interest
• Enterprises, Internal Market and Competition
• Environment
• Water
• Energy
• Communications

Social Affairs and Social Dialogue

The Social Affairs Committee of CEEP deals with EU proposals regarding new employment legislation and social and labour market policy, which directly affect UK public service employers. It is this Committee and its members which represent EU public service employers in negotiations with European trade unions and private sector employers in the social dialogue process . The Social Affairs Committee therefore deals with items of critical concern to UK employers such as the Working Time Directive, the Directive on Temporary Agency Workers, the Parental Leave Directive and other EU legislation on other forms of leave. PPE currently holds one of the Vice Chairs of the CEEP Social Affairs Committee.

Details of the work of the CEEP Social Affairs Committee can be found here. For more information on EU social and labour market policies click here. All social dialogue agreements can be found on this website.

The CEEP Social Affairs Committee also maintains links and seeks to co-operate with sectoral public service employers’ organisations, for example in the field of health care, local government and education. Sectoral social partners have the same rights as cross-industry social partners to negotiate agreements which can lead to binding legislation or autonomous agreements to be implemented at national level. PPE members are also active in the sectoral social dialogue .

Sectoral social dialogue

As well as EU level discussions and negotiations covering the whole of the labour market, similar consultations and negotiations also take place at sectoral level on issues which affect particular service or industrial sectors. Following a decision in 1998, the European Commission has supported the establishment of currently 35 sectoral social dialogue processes.  In the area of public service provision, these include the following sectoral social dialogue committees:

• Hospitals and health care
• Local and regional government
• Postal services
• Urban transport
• Electricity
• Gas

PPE members are active in HOSPEEM www.hospeem.eu, CEMR Employers Platform www.ccre.org and EFEE www.educationemployers.eu representing employers in the health care, local & regional government and education sectors respectively.

Further information on the outcomes of sectoral social dialogue can be found here.

Transport

The CEEP Transport Committee deals with all transport and transport related issues, including railways, urban, water and air transport as well as social and environmental matters. It mainly focuses on issues affecting transport as a public service, such as procurement rules for transport services. Lessons learnt by UK transport companies, for example in relation to the privatisation of the railways are often discussed and taken into account in the formulation of CEEP opinions. Environmental matters and the accessibility of public transport in more remote rural areas are also of concern for the CEEP Transport Committee. Transport for London represents PPE on this Committee.

The work of the CEEP Transport Committee is summarised on this web page.  Access to further information on EU Transport policy this web page.

Local Enterprises

The Local Enterprise Committee is the forum for consultation, discussion and exchange for representatives of the 16,000 local public enterprises operating all over the European Union. At its four annual meetings, it adopts and monitors the implementation of an annual programme focusing on six types of activities:

• consulting with and informing key stakeholders and experts on European issues relating to local public enterprises;
• participation in the drafting of CEEP opinions and position papers, ensuring that optimal account is taken of the local dimension (for example on Public Private Partnerships, in-house provision, Services Directive, rules governing the provision of Public Services, including the use of state aids and application of procurement rules, etc.);
• drafting of documents and studies concerning local public enterprises (“Serving the public”, “Les EPL dans l’UE des 25”, etc.);
• organisation every year of the European Conference of local public enterprises, a special forum for discussions with the European institutions (Commission, Parliament, Committee of the Regions, etc), and between local public enterprises all over the EU;
• organisation of “trade” working groups (tourism, funeral services, housing and urban development), and of theme-based working groups (PPP, Structural Funds, etc.);
• communication with elected representatives of local authorities and local public enterprises as the “procurers and providers” of local public services.

Information on the work of the CEEP Local Enterprises Committee can be found here.

Services of General Interest

There are close links between the work of the Local Enterprises Committee with that of the Services of General Interest Committee and where their interests overlap, joint meetings are held. The SGI committee is a transversal Committee and deals with the greatest variety of topics of all of CEEP’s Committees, ranging from rules governing public procurement, Public-Private-Partnerships, the implementation of the Services Directive, rules governing State Aids, to the overall policy framework for the provision of public services.

Information on the work of the CEEP Service of General Interest Committee can be found here.

Enterprises, Internal Market and Competition

The European Union was largely conceived as a common market for goods as well as services. EU internal market and competition policy is therefore at the core of EU legislation affecting UK citizens. Its influence ranges from the cost of our energy bills, over the proposed right to travel to other EU countries for health care treatment to the way in which public authorities purchase goods and services. The work of the relevant CEEP Committee is very much concerned with EU public procurement rules, including the inclusion of social aspects in public procurement procedures and the use of in-house providers.

To find further details of the work of the CEEP Enterprises, Internal Market and Competition Committee click on this link. Information on the vast array of EU Internal Market policies as available on this link .

Environment

With climate change high on the global policy agenda, the work of the CEEP Environment Committee is becoming more and more important. As well as such global issues, it also has more practical day to day applications, dealing for example with the disposal of hazardous wastes by local authorities and individuals.

EU climate change policy affects all public services employers who are significant producers of CO2 emissions. However, the policy remit of EU policy goes further to cover land use, the impact of the environment on health and waste disposal.

More information on the work of the CEEP Environment Committee is available here. Information of EU Environment Policy can be found here.

Water

Access to a clean and affordable water supply is taken for granted in most EU countries and it is often forgotten that this is one of the most important common goods, or in EU parlance – a Service of General Interest. The EU is taking an increasing interest in water policy, not only in relation to the climate change agenda, but also in respect of water treatment and the funding and procurement of such services. The CEEP Water Committee therefore deals with important questions such as the sustainability, quality and cost effectiveness of water services.

For more information on this work click on this link. For more information on EU Water policy see this page.

Energy

The Energy Committee in CEEP deals with important questions such as the sustainability of energy supplies and EU energy independence; climate change; support for green energy technologies; and the development of a liberalised internal market for energy. With these important questions, energy policy is increasingly becoming one of the important EU policy areas, with decisions at this level affecting customer choice, the future of sustainable energy supplies and commitments to tackle climate change.

For more information on the work of the CEEP Energy Committee click on this link. For more information on EU Energy Policy see here.

Communications

 The CEEP Communications Committee deals with all aspects related to the information society from the provision of postal services, over broadcasting to the EU framework for the provision of mobile telephony and broadband services. It particularly take account of the social aspects of these services to ensure that competition takes account of the need to provide inclusive services which do not widen digital divide.

This includes the discussion on the provision of postal services to more remote rural communities, the frequency of delivery and the provision of access of broadband services and mobile telephone at prices and in ways which do not exclude a significant proportion of the population from its benefits.

Further information of the work of the CEEP Communications Committee can be found here.