47 Amendments of Joachim SCHUSTER related to 2017/2114(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas employment rates are generally lower among women, in 2015, the employment rate for men aged 20–64 stood at 75.9 % in the EU-28, as compared with 64.3 % for women;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas in March 2017 the youth unemployment rate in the euro area was 19.4 %, compared with 21.3 % in March 2016; whereas youth unemployment remains unacceptably high; Whereas in 2015 the share NEET's remains high and represents 14,8 % of 15-29 year olds, namely 14 million of NEET's;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas Young people not in employment, education or training are estimated to cost the EU €153bn (1.21% of GDP) a year – in benefits and foregone earnings and taxes[1]while the total estimated cost of establishing Youth Guarantee schemes in the Eurozone is €21bn a year, or 0.22% of GDP ; [1] Euro found report on youth unemployment
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. Whereas an amount of € 1bn is currently allocated to the Youth Employment Initiative plan which is to be matched by €1 billion from the European Social Fund for the period 2017 - 2020;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Bc. whereas in many Member States the working-age population and the labour force are continuing to shrink, notably as a result of low birth rates; whereas the employability of women as the ongoing arrival of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are opportunities for Member states to cope with this issue and reinforce the work force in the EU;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. Whereas also one of the five Europe 2020 targets aims at reducing by at least 20 million the number of people in or at risk of poverty and social exclusion; whereas this objective is far from being achieved and in 2013 almost 123 million people in the EU are in this situation of whom 32,2 million persons with disabilities in 2012;whereas in 2013 26,5 million children in the EU28 were at risk of falling into poverty or social exclusion; points out that high levels of inequality reduce the output of the economy and the potential for sustainable growth;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. Whereas the most precarious work involves the inability of individuals to enforce their rights, where social insurance protection is absent, where health and safety is put at risk and where work does not provide sufficient income to enable people to live decently; whereas insecurity is another key element of precariousness and it encompasses work uncertainty, income insufficiency, lack of protection against dismissal, an unknown length of employment where there is uncertainty about future employment;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. Whereas as opposed to precarious work, decent jobs with employment security must be promoted and required to help tackle unemployment across the EU but also to boost the domestic demand and stimulate growth;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
Ce. Whereas growth in most of member states remains low, the EU growth rate for 2016 having even declined to stabilize at 2 % (whereas Global growth (excluding the EU) is expected to strengthen to 3.7% this year and 3.9% in 2018 from 3.2% in 2016) despite positive temporary aspects such as low oil prices, low interest for credits and unconventional monetary policies showing therefore that the EU can do more to boost the economic and social recovery so as to make it more sustainable in the medium term;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Recital C f (new)
Recital C f (new)
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas labour market conditions and performances show substantial differences across Member States, though these disparities are decreasing;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Highlights that socially responsible reforms must be based on solidarity, integration, social justice and a fair wealth distribution - a model that ensures equality and social protection, protects vulnerable groups and improves the living standards for all citizens; stresses also the need to re-orientate the union's economic policies towards a social market economy;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Is concerned that labour market reforms in many Member states have mainly promoted precarious jobs; observes that 50 % of the jobs created that last 3 years were temporary; in this context, calls for a wage increase not only to guarantee decent income, but also which serves to consolidate the economic recovery through the strengthening of the internal demand;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. In this context, recalls the need to support and enhance social dialogue which plays a critical role in achieving high-level working conditions; emphasises that labour law and high social standards have a crucial role to play in rebalancing economies, supporting incomes and encouraging investment in capacity; stresses that EU law and policy documents must respect trade union rights and freedoms, comply with collective agreements and uphold equal treatment of workers;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Calls on the Commission to build on the resolution of the European Parliament by putting forward ambitious proposals, including a framework directive on decent working conditions and a Social Protocol, for a strong European Pillar of Social Rights and full pursuit of the Treaties' social objectives in order to improve everyone's living and working conditions and provide good opportunities for all;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Warns about the declining wage share in the EU, the widening wage and income inequalities and the increase of in work-poverty; recalls that the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN, 1948) recognizes the need for workers to earn a living wage as does the ILO Constitution (ILO, 1919) and that all human rights declarations agree that remuneration should be sufficient to support a family;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. stresses that wages must enable workers to meet their needs and those of their families and that every worker in the European Union should receive a living wage that provides not only for the mere necessities of basic food, shelter and clothing, but that it is also sufficient to cover healthcare, education, transportation, recreation and some savings to help provide for unforeseen events, such as illnesses and accidents; emphasises that this is the decent living standard that living wages should provide for workers and their families in the EU;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 e (new)
Paragraph 3 e (new)
3e. Asks the Commission to study how to identify what a living wage could encompass and how it should be measured, serving as a reference tool for social partners and help to exchange best practices in this regard;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 f (new)
Paragraph 3 f (new)
3f. Recalls that decent wages are important not only for social cohesion, but also for maintaining a strong economy and a productive labour force; calls on the Commission and the Member States to implement measures to improve job quality and reduce wage dispersion, including by raising wage floors also in the form of, where applicable, minimum wages set at decent levels;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 g (new)
Paragraph 3 g (new)
3g. Calls for policies that respect, promote and strengthen collective bargaining and workers' position in wage- setting systems which play a critical role in achieving high level working conditions; believes all this should be done with a view to supporting aggregate demand and economic recovery, reducing wage inequalities and fighting in-work poverty; stresses in this context, that European legislation and policies must respect trade union rights and freedom, comply with collective agreements and uphold equal treatments of workers;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 h (new)
Paragraph 3 h (new)
3h. Warns that excessive levels of top managers' pay come not only at the expense of the shareholders but at the expense of workers; highlights that this excessive dispersion in wages is unethical, increases inequalities and damages productivity and competitiveness of companies; calls on the Commission to present a proposal to adopt at European level a legal obligation requiring listed as well as public companies to disclose the annual total compensation of the chief executive officer (CEO) and the top managers and the median of the annual compensation of all other employees of the company;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 i (new)
Paragraph 3 i (new)
3i. Highlights the importance of the automatic stabilisation dimension of welfare systems to absorb social shock waves caused by external effects as recessions; calls therefore on the Member states to introduce policies to re-establish security in employment by providing pro- active protection, including in case of dismissals; with a view to ILO Recommendation No 202 which defines the social protection floors, calls also on the member states to ensure and increase their investment in social protection systems in order to guarantee their performance in tackling and preventing poverty and inequalities while ensuring their sustainability;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 j (new)
Paragraph 3 j (new)
3j. Highlights that universal access to public, solidarity-based and adequate retirement and old age pensions must be granted to all; acknowledges the challenges faced by Member States to strengthen the sustainability of pension systems but stresses the importance of safeguarding the solidarity in the pension systems by strengthening the revenue side without necessarily increasing the retirement age;
Amendment 78 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 k (new)
Paragraph 3 k (new)
3k. Underlines the importance of public and occupational pension systems which provide an adequate retirement income well above the poverty threshold and allow pensioners to maintain their standard of living; believes that the best way to ensure sustainable, safe and adequate pensions for women and men is to increase the overall employment rate and quality jobs across all ages, improving working and employment conditions, and by committing the necessary supplementary public spending; believes that reforms of pension systems should focus amongst others on the effective retirement age and reflect labour market trends, birth rates, the health and wealth situation, working conditions and the economic dependency ratio;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 l (new)
Paragraph 3 l (new)
3l. Considers that these reforms must also take account of the situation of millions of workers in Europe, particularly women, youngsters and self- employed, suffering insecure, atypical employment, periods of involuntary unemployment and working-time reduction;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 m (new)
Paragraph 3 m (new)
3m. Calls on the Commission to continue to pay particular attention to the improvement of childcare services and to flexible working time arrangements, to the needs of ageing men and women and other dependent persons as regards long- term care;
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 n (new)
Paragraph 3 n (new)
3n. Deplores the persistence of the gender pay and pension gap; calls on the EU and the Member States, in cooperation with the social partners and gender equality organisations, to set out and implement policies to close the gender pay and pension gap; calls on the Member States to carry out wage-mapping on a regular basis as a complement to these efforts;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
Amendment 88 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Regrets that the increase in the employment rate has been accompanied by the increase of atypical, precarious and non-formal forms of employment, zero- hour contracts included and the weakening of social dialogue; encourages the Member States to make further efforts in order to reach the Europe 2020 employment rate target of 75 % while guaranteeing European citizens the best quality of life via quality and inclusive jobs;
Amendment 90 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Underlines that the implementation of the Youth Guarantee should be strengthened at national, regional and local level, and stresses its importance for school-to-work transitions; points out that special attention has to be paid to young women and girls, who could face gender-related barriers to obtaining a good-quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship; emphasises the need to ensure that the Youth Guarantee reaches young people facing multiple exclusions and extreme poverty;
Amendment 92 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Stresses the need to guarantee suitable forms of collaboration between public and private employment services and individualised and mainstream social support services; highlights that a better collaboration of public administrations and stakeholders at the local level and better synergies among levels of governments would increase the outreach and the impact of the programmes;
Amendment 94 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
4d. Regrets that in some member states the youth guarantee has failed to deliver the expected results; regrets also that the financing of the youth guarantee had not been enough to effectively address the issue and the lack of coordination on the use that member states have done with the funding; reiterates its continuous call for a European framework for introducing minimum standards for the implementation of youth guarantee;
Amendment 95 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 e (new)
Paragraph 4 e (new)
4e. Emphasises that a better work-life balance and strengthened gender equality are essential for supporting the participation of women in the labour market; underlines that the key to women's economic empowerment is the transformation and adaptation of the labour market and welfare systems in order to take into account women's life cycles;
Amendment 96 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 f (new)
Paragraph 4 f (new)
4f. Welcomes the proposal for the Work-life balance Directive as a positive first step forward in ensuring reconciliation of the work and private lives for men and women caring for their children and other dependants and increasing the participation of women on the labour market although regretting that no progress on the maternity leave has been made; insists however that securing appropriate remuneration and strong social security and protection are key to achieving these goals;
Amendment 97 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 g (new)
Paragraph 4 g (new)
4g. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop transformative policies and to invest in awareness-raising campaigns to overcome gender stereotypes and to promote a more equal sharing of care and domestic work, focusing also on the right of and need for men to take up care responsibilities without being stigmatised or penalised;
Amendment 98 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 h (new)
Paragraph 4 h (new)
4h. Calls on the Member States to put in place proactive policies and appropriate investment aimed and designed to support women and men entering, returning to, staying and advancing in the labour market, after periods of family and care- related types of leave, with sustainable and quality employment, in line with Article 27 of the European Social Charter; stresses in particular the need to guarantee reinstatement to the same post or to an equivalent or similar post, protection against dismissal and less favourable treatment as a result of pregnancy, applying for or taking family leave, and a protection period after their return so that they can readjust to their job; reiterates that changes in working hours and/or routines on the return to work (including the need for the employer to justify a refusal) and training periods should also be guaranteed;
Amendment 99 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 i (new)
Paragraph 4 i (new)
4i. Calls on the Member States to step up protection against discrimination and unlawful dismissal related to work-life balance, calls in this context on the Commission and the Member States to propose policies to improve enforcement of anti-discrimination measures in the workplace, including increasing the awareness of legal rights regarding equal treatment by conducting information campaigns, reversal of the burden of proof and empowering national equality bodies to conduct formal investigations on their own initiative of equality issues and help potential victims of discrimination;
Amendment 100 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 j (new)
Paragraph 4 j (new)
4j. Considers that promoting women's participation in the labour market would boost GDP; calls, therefore, on the Commission and the Member States to strengthen policies and increase investment supporting female employment in quality jobs, particularly in sectors and positions where women are under- represented, such as the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and green economy sectors, or senior management positions across all sectors;
Amendment 101 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 k (new)
Paragraph 4 k (new)
4k. Underlines that the integration of long-term unemployed individuals through individually tailored measures is a key factor for fighting poverty and social exclusion and will ultimately contribute towards contributing to the sustainability of national social security systems; considers that necessary, taking into account the social situation of these citizens and their needs in terms of sufficient incomes, adequate housing, public transport, health and childcare as well as a better monitoring at the European level of the policies implemented at the national level;
Amendment 102 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 l (new)
Paragraph 4 l (new)
4l. Notes that an increased effort is required in many Member States to educate the workforce, including adult education and vocational training opportunities; puts emphasis on life-long learning, including for women, as it gives the opportunity to re-skill in the ever- changing labour market; calls for an increase in the promotion of STEM subjects aimed at girls to address existing education stereotypes and combat long- term gender employment, pay and pensions gaps;
Amendment 103 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 m (new)
Paragraph 4 m (new)
4m. Recalls that the role of Member States is to guarantee an access to quality education and training at affordable cost notwithstanding the labour market need across the EU;
Amendment 104 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 n (new)
Paragraph 4 n (new)
4n. Calls on the Commission and Member States to fully implement the Recommendation on Investing in Children and closely monitor its progress; calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop and introduce initiatives, such as a Child Guarantee, placing children in the centre of existing poverty alleviation policies and ensuring dedicated resources necessary for its full implementation;
Amendment 105 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 o (new)
Paragraph 4 o (new)
Amendment 106 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 p (new)
Paragraph 4 p (new)
4p. Calls on the Member states to support apprenticeship and to fully use the Erasmus+ funds available for apprentices in order to guarantee the quality and attractiveness of this kind of training;
Amendment 110 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Notes the importance of skills and competences acquired in non-formal and informal learning environments ;stresses, therefore, the importance of creating a validation system for non-formal and informal forms of knowledge, especially those acquired via voluntary activities; insists in the implementation of the lifelong learning framework approach on a flexible education path recognizing formal, but also non formal and informal learning to foster equity and social cohesion and allowing employment opportunities for more vulnerable groups;