HM Treasury News Release
122/97                                       13  October 1997
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        GORDON BROWN UNVEILS UK EMPLOYMENT ACTION PLAN


The UK's Employment Action Plan to tackle UK and European
employment problems was launched today by the Chancellor,
Gordon Brown.  He talked about a new European third way to get
Europe back to work by combining economic efficiency with
social inclusion.

The Chancellor said:

     "With 18 million people out of work in the EU, no-one can
     be complacent about getting Europe back to work. We need
     to build on the best practice in Member States to make
     Europe's labour markets the engines of high employment.

     "We need to find a new third way between rampant free-
     market economics and stifling over regulation, combining
     economic efficiency and social inclusion."

The Action Plan, part of the  Getting Europe Back to Work'
initiative the Chancellor launched in June, was discussed at
the ECOFIN meeting in Luxembourg today. It calls on the EU to
focus its efforts in five broad areas. Those areas are:

*    promoting economic growth and stability;

*    investing in human capital;

*    helping people from welfare into work;

*    improving the workings of markets; and

*    through these and other actions, creating a fair and
     inclusive society.


The Plan takes forward the remit from the Amsterdam European
Council to exchange best practice on employment policy between
Member States of the European Union. 


It sets out the policies the UK Government sees as necessary
to tackle unemployment and raise employment domestically, and
which could form the basis of action in the European Union
context. It considers which employment policies are working
well in the UK and those which need changing.  The Plan notes:

     "The Government is clear that we now need to set a new
     agenda for employability, growth, job creating
     flexibility and inclusion in Europe.  Employability means
     the development of skills and adaptable workforces in
     which all those capable of work are encouraged to develop
     the skills, knowledge, technology and adaptability to
     enable them to enter and remain in employment throughout
     their working lives."




NOTES TO EDITORS


1.   Media copies of the United Kingdom Employment Action
Plan are available from the Treasury Press office on 0171 270
5185 / 5188 / 5245.

2.   Non-media copies of the plan are available from the
Treasury Public Enquiry Unit on 0171 270 4558.