63 Amendments of Ernest URTASUN related to 2016/2017(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2
Citation 2
— having regard to Articles 6(a), 8, 10, 153(1)(i) and 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 49 c (new)
Citation 49 c (new)
- having regard to article 27 of the European Social Charter on the right of workers with family responsibilities to equal opportunities and equal treatment,
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 13
Citation 13
— having regard to its resolution of .....12 May 2016 on the application of Council Directive 2010/18/EU of 8 March 2010, implementing the revised Framework Agreement on parental leave concluded by BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC and repealing Directive 96/34/EC,
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 27
Citation 27
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 38
Citation 38
— having regard to the European Institute for Gender Equality’s 2015 Gender Equality Index 2015and its 2015 report "Reconciliation of work, family and private life in the European Union: Policy review",
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 49 a (new)
Citation 49 a (new)
- having regard to the Council conclusions of 19 June 2015 on equal income opportunities for women and men: Closing the gender gap in pensions (10081/15),
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 49 b (new)
Citation 49 b (new)
- having regard to the European Pact for gender equality for the period 2011-2020 adopted by conclusions of the Council of the European Union Council, 7 March 2011[1a ], __________________ 1a 3073th Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs, Council meeting Brussels, 7 March 2011
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas achieving a genuine work- life balance requires comprehensive policies including measures for reconciling work, caring for and spending time with friends and family, and time for leisure and personal development;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the traditional concept of women and men's roles and of nuclear family is further challenged as the number of single-parent families, families based on same-sex unions, adolescent mothers, etc. are on the rise in the EU; whereas a failure to acknowledge this diversity amounts to further discrimination and negatively affects people living in the EU and their families;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. Whereas the roadmap presented by the Commission is a starting point but certainly not ambitious enough; whereas this opportunity must open a reorganisation process of the Work Life Balance situation of women and mean in Europe and must contribute significantly to achieve higher levels of gender equality;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas the first findings of the Eurofound 6th European Working Conditions Survey show that almost half of the workers have worked in their free time in the past year in order to meet work demands; whereas a significant proportion of workers in the EU has atypical working hours, including working on Saturdays and Sundays, working days of over 10 hours, shift and night work[2a]; whereas doubt has been raised whether long working hours are beneficial to the economy in terms of increased productivity; __________________ 2aEurofound European Working Conditions Survey
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas reconciling work and private life depends also on the working time arrangements at the workplace; whereas working time arrangements change regularly for 31% of employees, often at short notice1a; __________________ 1aEurofound European Working Conditions Survey
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas family-related types of leave are still often grounds for discrimination and stigmatisation for both women and men despite existing legislation;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas the overwhelming majority of workers taking parental leave are women, who also spend two to ten times more time on unpaid care than men[6a]; whereas this has negative consequences for women, such as lower pay, higher concentration in part-time work, career interruptions, a higher risk of poverty and social exclusion as well as a large gender pension gap (40%); __________________ 6aEurostat data for 2010, Commission report 2015 on Equality between women and men in the European Union, SWD(2016) 54 final
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas access to childcare services for young children is the main factor influencing the participation of women in the labour market; whereas for 27% of Europeans the poor quality of childcare made it difficult to access these services;[3a] whereas only 11 Member States have met the first Barcelona target (childcare available for at least 90 % of children between the ages of 3 and the mandatory school age) and only 10 Member States have achieved the second target (at least 33 % of children under three years)19 ; __________________ 19 Progress report on the Barcelona objectives of 29 May 2013 entitled ‘The development of childcare facilities for young children in Europe with a view to sustainable and inclusive growth’ (COM(2013)0322). 3aEurofound European Quality of Life Survey 2012
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas early childhood education and care and children's experiences from the ages of 0-3 have a decisive impact on the cognitive development of children, given that they develop essential capacities in the first five years;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas work-life balance policies should also enable parents to fulfil their responsibilities towards their children, ensuring the financial means, time and support necessary for both mothers and fathers;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
Ec. whereas Europe is the continent with the highest number of older citizens and an ageing process that will continue in the next decades; whereas many member states lack sufficient facilities in long-term care to address the increase in care needs and a stagnation to reduction of the healthy life years indicator; whereas most of the jobs created in formal home care for older relatives have low pay and require low qualifications;[4a] __________________ 4aEurofound (2013) Caring for children and dependants: Effect on carers of young workers.
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E d (new)
Recital E d (new)
Ed. whereas 80% of care needs are provided by informal carers in the EU; whereas about 3.3 million Europeans aged between 15 and 34 have had to give up full-time work because they lack care facilities for dependent children or older relatives;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas the combination of care and paid work has an important impact on the sustainability of work and employment rates, in particular for women who might face at some stage in their life both or either care responsibilities for grandchildren and/or elderly parents[5a]; __________________ 5aEurofound report Sustainable work over the life course: Concept paper (2015)
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
Fc. whereas some legal systems in the EU maintain non-individualisation of tax and social security systems, with women granted only derived rights through their relationship to men, including for access to health and pension services; whereas Member States that impose dependency of the wife/mother are imposing direct discrimination against women, and denying full citizenship rights to women through the selective way state services are delivered;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that reconciliation of professional, private and family life needs to be guaranteed as a fundamental right for all people, with measures being available for everyone, going beyond young mothers, fathers or carers; calls therefore on the EU and Member States to promote, in both the public and private sectors, business welfare models which require respect for the right to a work-life balance;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Points out that the EU is facing unprecedented demographic challengedevelopments – an ageing population, low birth rates, changing family structures and migration; is concerned that austerity measures have had a negative impact on the sustainability of public finances needed for work-life balance policies and services that foster demographic renewal;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Is alarmed at the disastrous long term impact of austerity measures on women's economic empowerment and equality between women and men, with rising unemployment and cuts in public services and benefits resulting in a care crisis; underlines that reductions in care services, cuts in child, disability, carers' benefits and reductions in tax credits, cuts in statutory leave, including parental and paternity leave, tend to shift care services onto unpaid women who, as a result, are unable to pursue insurable employment or may only be employed on a part-time basis;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Underlines that migrants and refugees should have the same rights and should have access to the same benefits and services through a universal model that is not related to insurance contributions and employment history;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the Commission’'s approach to work-life balance policies as key in addressing socio-economic challenges; calls on the European Social Partners to come forward with an agreement on a comprehensive package of legislative and non-legislative measures regarding the reconciliation of professional, private and family life; calls on the Commission to put forward a proposal for such a package as part of the Commission Work Programme 2017 in the context of the announced European pillar of social rights should it not be possible for an agreement between the social partners to be reached; stresses that the comprehensive legislative proposal should include as a legal basis equality between men and women, also including legislative powers for other measures ensuring the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of women and men at work;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to put in place policies that acknowledge the increasing diversity of family relationships and , parenting and grandparenting arrangements as well as society as a whole, in particular to guarantee that a child is not discriminated against because of its parents’' marital status or family constitution;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to provide special measures for those most disadvantaged or currently excluded from existing legislation and policies, such as single parents, non-married couples, same-sex couples, migrants, self-employed people or so-called 'assisting spouses';
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure that the wellbeing and best interest of children are primary considerations in the development, monitoring and implementation of work-life balance policies; calls on the Commission and Member States to fully implement the Recommendation on Investing in Children and closely monitor progress;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure legislation and policies on work-life balance take into account the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and the Concluding observations of the 2015 CRPD Committee to the EU;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Underlines that key to women´s economic empowerment, is transforming and adapting the labour market and welfare systems in order to take into account women´s life cycles;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Calls on the Member States, together with the Commission, to guarantee that family rights assigned by public policies, including parental leave, are equal in terms of individual rights and equally accessible for women and men;
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Urges Member States to replace household unit models by the individualisation of taxation and social security rights to ensure that women have individual rights and to counter dependency status through their partners or through the State;
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Calls on MS and the Commission to reformulate tax and benefit systems that give financial incentives for the spouse earning less to withdraw from the labour market or to work part-time as it may run counter to a higher take-up rate of parental leave by fathers and brings negative consequences for women, such as reinforcing the gender pay, care and pension gap; calls on the Member States to consider providing shared pension rights in cases of divorce and legal separation;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Urges the Commission to adopt a post-2015 Gender Equality Strategy and to implement it through the European Semester, including the Annual Growth Survey and the country-specific recommendations in line with the recommendations of the European Pact for gender equality for the period 2011- 2020;
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Member States to put in place proactive policies designed to support women and men with caring responsibilities in entering, returning to and staying in the labour market with stable and quality employment, in line with article 27 of the European Social Charter;
Amendment 269 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to involve the social partners and civil society in gender equality policies; stresses the importance of collective agreements in combating discrimination and promoting equality between women and men at work, and of research and, exchanges of good practices and adequate funding;
Amendment 272 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop policies and awareness campaigns that not only target men, but also businesses, organisations and society as a whole, in view of recognising the right and need for men to request i.a. leaves and adapted working hours in order to take up care responsibilities without being stigmatised and penalised;
Amendment 282 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Asks the Commission to strengthen the Roadmap by focussing on legislative measures; Strongly regrets that the Commission withdrew the revision of the Maternity Leave Directive and calls as a matter of urgency for it to return with an ambitious proposal guaranteeing as a minimum the same level of protection with the withdrawn Directive; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that women are fully paid for the duration of maternity leave; stresses that maternity leave must be accompanied by effective measures protecting the rights of pregnant and new mothers, reflecting the recommendations of the World Health Organisation21 ; __________________ 21 http://www.who.int/topics/breastfeeding/en /
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Considers it crucial to ensure adequate remuneration and social protection during any type of family- or care-related leave in order to ensure that low-income workers can benefit from leave measures on an equal footing with others;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Stresses the need to guarantee favourable conditions for the return to work of those who have benefited from a family- or care-related leave, especially concerning reinstatement to the same post or an equivalent or similar post;
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to publish an implementation report on the Parental Leave Directive and urges it to use the review clause to extend the minimum duration of paid leave from four to at least six months to be taken altogether or in fractions, to allow a more flexible use and allow parents to better combine work and care responsibilities; calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure the parental leave period is non- transferable and shared between parents;
Amendment 307 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Believes that promoting the individualisation of the right to leave as well as the role of fathers is essential to achieving gender-balanced reconciliation of work and private life; calls on the Commission to introduce measures to encourage men to undertake unpaid care work;
Amendment 308 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls for an eventual revision of the leave regulations and policies to accommodate the role of many working grandparents to care for grandchildren;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point 1
Paragraph 15 – point 1
(1) a paternity leave directive with a minimum of a mandatory two-week fully paid leave;
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point 2
Paragraph 15 – point 2
(2) a carers’ leave directive which supplements the provision of professional care, enables care for dependants and offers the carer adequate remuneration and social protection; as well as the right to return to work and protection from dismissal; calls for employee-driven flexibility and sufficient incentives for men to take up carers' leave;
Amendment 334 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point 2 a (new)
Paragraph 15 – point 2 a (new)
(2a) An adoption leave directive with minimum standards applicable in all Member States to address the specific needs of adoptive parents and children;
Amendment 342 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Member States to introduce ‘'care credits’' for both women and men as equivalent periods for building up pension rights in order to protect those taking a break from employment to provide informal, unpaid care to a dependant or family member and to ensure that time spent as a carer is calculated into pension eligibility to reflect the contribution that these carers continue to make to society;
Amendment 354 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Urges the Member States to invest in and ensure the availability of and universal access to affordable and high- quality early childhood education and care, elderly and dependant care by, for example, increasing public expenditure on care services including independent living schemes, and incentivising employer contributions to care costs, including by making better use of EU funds, and calls for the MFF revision to be used to step up investment in social infrastructure including public care structures and services for children, the elderly and other dependents; notes the disproportionate impact that lack of investment in public care structures and services has on single parents, the vast majority of whom are women;
Amendment 368 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls for the introduction of targets on care for elderly and other dependants, with monitoring tools within the European Semester; calls on Eurostat and Eurofound to collect relevant data and to carry out studies; calls for these data to be included in the Gender Index developed by EIGE;
Amendment 377 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to establish qualitative standards for all care services, including on availability, accessibility and affordability care, drawing inspiration from existing Frameworks such as the European Quality Framework for Long- term Care Services;
Amendment 380 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Points out that an important element in achieving quality services is investing in the workforce[7a]; calls therefore on Member States and social partners to promote decent working conditions and quality employment for care workers, including through decent pay, recognition of care workers' status and the development of high quality vocational training pathways for care workers; __________________ 7aEurofound (2015) Early childhood care: working conditions, training and quality of services – A systematic review
Amendment 393 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Calls on Eurofound to develop further its activities in relation to monitoring of good-quality jobs and the need for measuring based on its concept of job quality[8a]; __________________ 8a Eurofound report on Trends in job quality in Europe (2012) and Eurofound report Convergence and divergence of job quality in Europe 1995-2010 (2015)
Amendment 408 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Is concerned about the increased amount of involuntary part-time work, particularly among women with caring responsibilities, that increases their risk of in work poverty; stresses that when a worker chooses part- time work, the quality of their employment and non- discrimination against them as compared to full-time workers must be guaranteed; in line with the part-time work directive, and calls on the Commission to follow-up on the application of this directive[9a]; __________________ 9aCOUNCIL DIRECTIVE 97/81/EC of 15 December 1997concerning the Framework Agreement on part-time work concluded by UNICE, CEEP and the ETUC
Amendment 411 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Asks the Commission to guarantee that part-time workers, workers facing job discontinuity and workers with career gaps or with periods where fewer hours were worked have an effective equalisation to full time workers in their right to access a decent pension scheme without any form of discrimination;
Amendment 417 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Points out that excessive working hours and insufficient rest periods, atypical working hours, as well as the disproportionate output required, are major factors in increased levels of poor health and occupational accidents and diseases; points out that flexitime, predictable working hours and being able to take time off at short notice during working hours, positively influence the work-life balance[10a]; calls on the Commission to initiate infringement proceedings against Member States who are failing to implement the Working Time Directive; __________________ 10a Eurofound European Working Conditions Survey
Amendment 424 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Calls on Eurofound to keep monitoring how working time arrangements support work life balance and to monitor public policies and social partners' agreements in this field; calls on Eurofound to develop research on how dual worker households manage their working time arrangements together and how best to support them;
Amendment 429 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Reiterates its call to Council for swiftly adopting the Proposal for a Council Directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation;
Amendment 436 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 b (new)
Paragraph 25 b (new)
25b. Points out that 'quality of life' is a broader concept than 'living conditions' and refers to the overall well-being of individuals in a society, identifying a number of dimensions of human existence as essential for a rounded human life;[11a] __________________ 11aEurofound 3rd European Quality of Life Survey
Amendment 439 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Underlines that leisure inequality and unequal sharing of responsibilities between women and men has an impact on women’s personal development, learning of new skills and languages, and participation in social, political, cultural and community life, and especially on women's economic situation;
Amendment 449 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Stresses that gender segregation, pay, long life earnings and pension gaps, gender stereotypes and high levels of stress in managing professional and private life are reflected in women`s high physical inactivity rate and have a huge impact on their physical and mental health23 ; __________________ 23 European Parliament Directorate- General for Internal Policies of the Union study of March 2016 entitled ‘Differences in Men’s and Women’s Work, Care and Leisure Time’.
Amendment 454 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Calls on the Member States and social partners to develop and put in place policies for educational and training leave and to make learning outside work accessible, in particular to workers in disadvantaged situations;
Amendment 462 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Calls on the Member States to put in place adequate minimum income schemes to enable all people to live a life in dignity, to support their full participation in society and to ensure independence throughout the life cycle;