Activities of Siôn SIMON related to 2015/2228(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Poverty: a gender perspective (A8-0153/2016 - Maria Arena)
Amendments (24)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital A (new)
Recital A (new)
A. whereas employment rates are generally lower among women in comparison with men: in 2014, the employment rate for men stood at 70.1 % in the EU-28, as compared with 59.6 % for women1a ; __________________ 1a http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- explained/index.php?title=Employment_st atistics&oldid=190559.
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital C (new)
Recital C (new)
C. whereas women are generally paid around 16 % less than men, and the gender pay gap often leads to women receiving lower pensions than men – on average across the EU, women's pensions are 39 % lower than men's;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Recital D (new)
Recital D (new)
D. whereas parental poverty often leads to child poverty and seriously affects children later in life; whereas single- parent families, especially families headed by single mothers, are at greater risk of poverty or social exclusion (49.8% compared to 25.2%, although there are large differences between countries, according to EU-SILC1b , which is related to the feminisation of poverty, women's overrepresentation in precarious work and as involuntary part-time workers, stated in the disproportionate time spent by women in unpaid work, interruptions in women's careers to care for children or other family members, and pay gap between men and women; __________________ 1b Save the Children, "Child Poverty and Social Exclusion in Europe", Brussels, 2014, p.14.
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital E (new)
Recital E (new)
E. whereas the ICT sector is characterised by both vertical and horizontal segregation which is even higher than in many other sectors, as well as a gap between women's educational qualifications and their position in the ICT sector; whereas the majority (54 %) of women employed in the ICT sector occupy low- paid and low skilled positions and only a small minority of them (8 %) are in the high skill software engineer positions; whereas women are also underrepresented in the decision-making within this sector with only 19,2 % of ICT sector workers having female bosses compared to 45,2 % of non-ICT sector workers;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Recital F (new)
Recital F (new)
F. whereas enhancing women's labour market participation can help to address their increased risk of poverty and social exclusion, especially in case of single parent families, as well as help prevent their experience of poverty in old age due to lower pension entitlements;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital G (new)
Recital G (new)
G. whereas encouraging more women to enter and stay on the labour market can also help to counterbalance the effects of a shrinking working-age population projected in most EU Member States by enhancing labour supply and it would thereby help reduce the strain on public finances and social protection systems, make better use of women's skills and competences and raise growth potential and competitiveness;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Takes the view that gender equality, by increasing social and economic well- being, benefits not only women but society as a whole; recalls that effectively challenging gender stereotypes is crucial to increasing women's participation in all segments of the labour market; calls on the EU to be a champion in challenging gender stereotypes, especially in the areas of education, work and further training;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1a. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to take steps to combat all forms of multiple discrimination on gender basis, to ensure application of the principle of non-discrimination and equality in the labour market and in access to employment, and in particular to adopt social protection measures to ensure that women's pay and welfare entitlements, including pensions, are equal to those of men with the same or similar experience doing the same job or a job of equal value;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 b (new)
Paragraph -1 b (new)
-1b. Calls on the Commission for full implementation and revision of the Directive 2006/54/EC on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation, with a compulsory requirement for companies to draw up measures or plans on gender equality, including actions on desegregation, the development of pay systems and measures to support women's careers;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Points out that the gender pay and career development gap continues for women working in the ICT sector; stresses that the principle of equal pay for equal work in the same workplace to ensure just and fair wages is being challenged even though it constitutes one of the fundamental pillars of social justice in the labour market and should therefore be protected above all else; reiterates that inequalities should not be allowed to take root in the digital economy as regards equal pay and career development; stresses that an increasing labour market participation of women and related investments in social inclusion policies will help to reduce the gender pay gap; highlights the importance of collective bargaining also in the digital market economy to safeguard quality and security of jobs in times of digitalisation;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers that efforts to close the gender pay gap will benefit from measures that improve conditions for all low- and medium-waged workers, including reversing the trend of declining labour income share and linking wage growth to productivity1 , increasing the minimum wage, investing in social protection systems, reducing unemployment and boosting collective bargaining rights; __________________ 1 International Labour Organisation, Global Wage Report 2012/13: Wages and equitable growth, 2013.
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Highlights that women pensioners run higher poverty risks than men as a consequence of the inequalities existing between men and women in the labour market; stresses the importance of combating indirect discrimination in pension schemes, not only in occupational schemes but also in the practices of statutory pension schemes; therefore, as regards the occupational old age pensions schemes, which are also deeply involved in the processes of reforming old age pensions, they are increasingly run according to insurance principles and thus under the criteria of capitalization, and this might give rise to many gaps in terms of social protection1c ; emphasises that the Court of Justice of the European Union has made it clear that occupational pension schemes are to be considered as pay and that the principle of equal treatment therefore applies to these schemes as well; __________________ 1c http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender- equality/files/conference_sept_2011/dgjus tice_oldagepensionspublication3march20 11_en.pdf
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. NCalls on the Member States to step up their efforts to combat undeclared work and precarious jobs; highlights the high levels of undeclared work performed by women, which negatively impact on women's income, social security coverage and protection and have a bad effect on the EU's GDP levels; 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 or atypical contracts can be used 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 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Notes that another facet of job precariousness is the extent of involuntary part-time work, which has increased from 16.7% to 19.6% of total employment and the spread and diversification of forms of casual working; the self-employment rate of women continued to be around 10%, while the male rate remained roughly one in five;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Stresses that despite the fact that women are increasingly well qualified, even out-performing men in terms of educational attainment, they continue to be underrepresented in the labour market; therefore, it leads to the need for further action towards a comprehensive integration of the work-life balance approach into policy making, including care facilities, leave and flexible working time arrangement, as well as tax and benefit systems free of disincentives for second earners to work or work more;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to enhance the reconciliation of work and private life by concrete measures, guaranteeing better protection of women at work, such as urgently proposing new legislative proposal on Maternity leave Directive, Carers´ leave Directive, reinforcing legislation on paternity leave;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Calls on the Commission to break the so-called "glass ceiling" that hinders women from accessing managerial and top positions; calls, therefore, for swift adoption of the Women on Boards Directive as an important first step for equal representation in the public and private sectors, and stresses the Commission's responsibility to take any action that could help break the deadlock in Council regarding EU legislation addressing transparency and greater gender balance in recruitment for decision-making positions;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes thatCalls on the Member States to create better conditions for employment of women; stresses in this regard the Barcelona Objectives and the importance of accessible and affordable quality childcare for the employment rate of women; notes that cuts in public services and social infrastructure are disproportionately hitting women and thereby having a detrimental impact on women's participation in the labour market and thereby increase women's risk of poverty, social exclusion, health problems and violence, and especially the lack of affordable 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 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Reiterates its call on the Commission and Member States to introduce a Child Guarantee with its specific fund so that every child in poverty can have access to free healthcare, free education, free childcare, decent housing and adequate nutrition, as part of a European integrated plan to combat child poverty including both the Child Guarantee and programmes offering support and opportunities for the parents to come out of social exclusion situations and to integrate the labour market;
Amendment 86 #
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; calls on the Commission and the Member States to consider introducing a statutory right to paid domestic violence leave.leave for victims of domestic violence as well as the introduction of "care credits" to allow women outside the labour market to collect pension contributions;
Amendment 92 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses the need for more appropriate indicators at EU level to improve data collection and qualitative analysis as well as gender-responsive budgeting to capture the gender dimension of poverty and social exclusion;
Amendment 94 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the country-specific recommendations in the European Semester on addressing the gender pay gap are implemented;
Amendment 95 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Calls on the Member States to use Structural funds, in particular European Social Fund, to improve education and training with a view to improving labour market access and combating unemployment, poverty and social exclusion; highlights that the 20 percent share of the European Social Funds (ESF) allocated to social inclusion measures and social innovation projects should be used more actively to support initiatives aimed at empowering women experiencing poverty and social exclusion; and urges the Member States to undertake more information campaigns on opportunities for participation in EU funded projects;
Amendment 98 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5d. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to involve social partners (trade unions and employers) and civil society, including gender equality bodies, in the realisation of gender equality, with a view to fostering equal treatment; stresses that social dialogue must include the monitoring and promotion of gender equality practices at the workplace, including flexible working arrangements, with the aim of facilitating the reconciliation of work and private life; stresses the importance of collective agreements in combating discrimination and promoting equality between women and men at work, as well as other instruments such as codes of conduct, research or exchanges of experience and good practice in the area of gender equality.