Activities of Neoklis SYLIKIOTIS related to 2015/2228(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Poverty: a gender perspective (A8-0153/2016 - Maria Arena) EL
Amendments (8)
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Notes with concern that the financial crisis and response to it has impacted disproportionately on women in the EU in a number of ways - layoffs in the public service, where women constitute on average more than two-thirds of the workforce, have driven many women into unemployment or precarious, low-paid work; funding cuts to public services have increased women's risk of poverty, social exclusion, health problems and violence; home repossessions by banks have increased poverty and the risk of homelessness among women and children; notes that single mothers and single women pensioners have faced the biggest cumulative losses as a result of austerity policies;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Notes that cuts to family benefit and welfare systems implemented as part of austerity programmes in some Member States have reduced the income of women and increased the level of poverty among women and children; urges Member States in which this has occurred to immediately restore their family benefit and welfare systems to ensure an adequate minimum income;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Notes that women struggle to build up sufficient contributions across both the private and public pension systems as a result of the pay gap, precarious and low- paid work, carrying out unpaid caring, and being excluded from the labour market for long periods over the course of their lives as a result of the prohibitive cost of childcare in many Member States; calls for Member States to introduce "care credits" to allow women outside the formal labour market to collect pension contributions;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2d. Considers that austerity policies are resulting in the reprivatisation of care, which not only reduces access to care services but significantly increases the burden on women in childcare and care for older people and people with disabilities by shifting the responsibility for care from society to women; calls on the Member States to restore high-quality and accessible public services including childcare, disability and elderly care;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that women are disproportionately and often involuntarily concentrated in precarious work; urges the Member States to consider implementing the International Labour Organisation (ILO) recommendations intended to reduce the scale of precarious work2 , such as restricting the circumstances in which precarious contracts can be used, using tax measures to disincentivise the over-use of temporary contracts, and limiting the length of time workers can be employed on such a contract, after which they must be given a permanent contract; __________________ 2 International Labour Organisation, Policies and regulations to combat precarious employment, 2011.
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that the lack of free or affordable high-quality childcare contributes to the gender employment gap, the pay gap and related pension gap, and the disproportionate number of women who are in precarious work and in or at risk of poverty; urges the Member States to ensure access to childcare by, for example, increasing expenditure on the provision of childcare services and/or subsidies to households, incentivising employer contributions to childcare costs, and making better use of EU funds;
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that women’s economic independence plays a crucial role in their ability to escape situations of domestic violence, and that women who have exhausted their paid leave are at risk of losing their jobs and economic independence; notes that the recent introduction of domestic violence leave in Australia and the US has provided many workers with employment protection when dealing with the impact of domestic violence, for example, moving house and attending medical and legal appointments; calls on the Commission and the Member States to consider introducinge a statutory right to paid domestic violence leave.
Amendment 89 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Considers that while the promotion of female entrepreneurship may reduce poverty for some women in the EU, it is not nearly a sufficient policy measure to address the scale of the problem; believes that policies which promote a guaranteed adequate minimum income, accessible public services including care services, and secure jobs which incorporate a living wage and a fair work-life balance will make a more significant impact on reducing poverty for a much larger number of women;