The report adopted by the committee calls for the European Commission to bring forward a directive that would help employers, workers and public authorities anticipate change, invest in training, and coordinate national strategies to maintain Europe’s industrial base.

Europe lost a million industrial jobs between 2019 and 2023 and company restructuring is accelerating, particularly in the automotive, chemical and steel industries. 25% of European firms reported that they are planning restructuring in the coming months. In such a turbulent context, strong and stable industrial relations play a critical role in managing change and protecting workers. Local authorities and public employment services have a key role as well.

Reskilling and training are critically important as a part of transition planning. Most European industries are being held back by skills shortages, even where restructuring is underway as skills needs change with technological changes underway. For instance, the energy sector alone will need 145,000 additional workers by 2030, according to European Commission figures. However, only 37 % of adults participated in training in 2016 and this rate has hardly increased since. Adult participation in learning increased in just five member states, which together represented barely 6% of the EU population, between 2023 and 2024, Commission figures show. 

A plenary vote is now expected to take place between the 20th and 22nd of January.

Judith Kirton-Darling industriAll Europe’s General Secretary stated “Our members experience informed our Just Transition Manifesto in 2022, today’s vote endorses our demands for worker protection in transition. We have been calling for a stronger legal framework on anticipation and management of change, rights to training and strengthened worker participation. We are living in a extremely turbulent times - this demands a strengthening of worker protection measures and social dialogue to avoid that anyone is left behind.”