Ministers held a busy session of debate in the first day of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council, tackling some of the most awaited dossiers in the agenda. The Council agreed that Parliament's position on the extension of maternity leave to 20 weeks is not conceivable under present circumstances. Ministers also took note of progress made on the directive on equal treatment and adopted two sets of conclusions concerning gender. Further to these issues, ministers also exchanged views on employment policies in the Europe 2020 Strategy and held a policy debate on the future of the pensions systems and adopted conclusions on adequate and sustainable pensions.

The Council held a policy debate on the draft directive aiming at improving the protection of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding. A very large majority of ministers considered that the amendments adopted by the European Parliament at first reading, notably the requested extension of the minimum maternity leave to 20 weeks on full pay, are not an appropriate basis for negotiations, given the cost implications. They also emphasised that a directive should set minimum standards while respecting the principle of subsidiarity and the diversity of the situations in the different member states.

Belgian Presidency concluded that the Commission's original proposal to extend the minimum length of maternity leave from 14 to 18 weeks could be a more acceptable basis for a compromise than the European Parliament's amendments. This proposal is part of Commission's work-life balance package which aims to contribute to a better conciliation of work, private and family life. Another part of the package was a proposal for a directive on the equal treatment of the self-employed and their assisting spouses which was already adopted by the Council on 24 June 2010.

Directive on the principle of equal treatment

Ministers also held a debate over Commission's proposal to extend the protection against discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation to areas outside the labour market (e.g. social protection, including social security and healthcare; social advantages; education; and access to goods and services, including housing).

Given the complexity of the areas to which the proposal relates, and since there is no current prospect of achieving unanimity, the Belgian Presidency has opted for a targeted approach focussing on two areas: financial services and housing. The Presidency aims to achieve greater clarity in provisions relating to the legitimate age-based or handicap-based distinctions which are made in financial services, and to draft more clearly the texts governing housing, for instance those relating to scope and to the meaning of "improvement".

Gender equality

Ministers adopted two sets of conclusions on gender equality. The first one, entitled "Support of the implementation of the European Commission's Strategy on equality between women and men 2010-2015", welcomes the strategy and underlines its links with the Europe 2020 strategy. The second set of conclusions concerns the fight against inequalities in salaries between women and men. By adopting the text, ministers emphasized the need for a more detailed understanding of the gender pay gap, which still averages 18% in the EU. 

The conclusions invite Members states to adopt or pursue a comprehensive set of measures to tackle the full range of causes of the gender pay gap linked to labour market inequalities between women and men, and  coordinating the actions of all relevant key actors, particularly the social partners, at all levels.