Activities of Agnes JONGERIUS related to 2019/2188(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Reducing inequalities with a special focus on in-work poverty (debate)
Amendments (73)
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas workers affected by in- work poverty often work in jobs with high risk, unacceptable working conditions and occupational health and safety risks; whereas bad working conditions can cause permanent injuries and illnesses that affect the future ability to work and earn an income1a; __________________ 1a Eurofound (2017), In-work poverty in Europe, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas the downturn in the labour market during the previous crisis created a dramatic increase in the number of involuntary part-time workers who are most likely to work in basic or lower-level service occupations and sectors at very high risk of in-work poverty;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas women in EU-27 earn 15% less than men on average8; whereas the ramifications of the gender pay gap include a 37 % gender gap in pension income, a situation that will persist for decades to come, and that creates an unequal level of economic independence between women and men; __________________ 8 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/he adlines/society/20200227STO73519/gende r-pay-gap-in-europe-facts-and-figures- infographic
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas women in EU-27 earn 15% less than men on average8 ; __________________ 8 ; whereas single women typically face an increased risk of in-work-poverty compared to single men1b; __________________ 1bPena-Casas, R. and Ghailani, D. (2011), ‘Towards individualizing gender in-work poverty risks’, in Fraser, N., Gutierrez, R. and Pena-Casas, R. (eds.), Working poverty in Europe: A comparative approach, Palgrave Macmillan, London, pp. 202–231 8 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/he adlines/society/20200227STO73519/gende r-pay-gap-in-europe-facts-and-figures- infographic
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas women’s employment is considerably higher in the service sector than in industry, with women being mostly employed in the health and social sector and in retail, manufacturing, education and business activities with an increasing concentration of women working part-time and in casual jobs;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the scarcity of affordable housing is turning into the biggest driver of inequalities in many Member States;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas care responsibilities are still unevenly distributed in the EU with an overweight of women as primary care- givers in families; whereas limited access to childcare and elderly care facilities results in periods of absence from the labour market and thus in lower pay and in pension gaps; whereas only 4 in 10 children are in formal types of day care facilities1c; __________________ 1c https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2 995521/8681785/3-20022018-AP- EN.pdf/59fcfaa7-0c72-48a6-8603- 899b5b730773
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas young people struggle to find quality and stable jobs with permanent contracts and often experience periods of long-term unemployment; whereas many member states allow employers to pay a lower salary which discriminates based on the employee’s lower age; whereas young people often work in unpaid internships with no job prospects;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas persons with disabilities are often held back from taking up employment due to the risk of losing social benefits for a certain period of time; whereas persons with disabilities often need flexible and part-time work;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas overall part-timers, and in particular involuntary part-timers, have a higher poverty risk when combining different risk factors, including a low wage, unstable jobs, being single earners and having dependent household members1g; __________________ 1g Eurofound (2017), In-work poverty in Europe, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas 6.1% of the population of EU-28 were suffering from severe material deprivation in 201811 ; whereas energy poverty is a widespread problem across Europe, as between 50 and 125 million people are unable to afford proper indoor thermal comfort11a; whereas 11% of the European households have no internet access11b; __________________ 11 Severe material deprivation: inability to afford less than 4 out of 11: mortgage or rent payments, utility bills, hire purchase instalments or other loan payments, one week annual holidays, meals involving meat/fish/protein every second day, unexpected financial expenses, a telephone (including mobile), a colour TV, a washing machine, a car, heating; (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- explained/index.php/Quality_of_life_indic ators_- _material_living_conditions#General_over view) 11a https://ec.europa.eu/energy/content/introd uction-5_en 11bhttps://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- explained/index.php/Digital_economy_an d_society_statistics_- _households_and_individuals
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas Article 4 of the revised European Social Charter stipulates that all workers have the right to a fair wage that ensures them and their families a decent standard of living;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)
Recital L a (new)
La. whereas workers in rural areas have more difficulties in exercising their labour rights and do not have access to trade union representation and negotiation of local and sectorial collective agreements;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L b (new)
Recital L b (new)
Lb. whereas strong social partners and collective bargaining have a positive impact on the overall wage levels in Europe including both minimum and median wage; whereas collective bargaining secures that workers are heard and respected at their workplace; whereas there is a clear positive correlation between workers’ participation at the workplace and company performance and revenue;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L c (new)
Recital L c (new)
Lc. whereas collective bargaining and sectorial collective agreements not only regulate wage levels but also working conditions such as working time, paid leave, vacation and upskilling opportunities;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas in ten years the increase in atypical employment was significantly higher than the overall increase in jobs; part-time employment rose most, followed by short-term work19 ; whereas over 1/3 of part-time workers involuntarily work part- time and one in two work in short-term employment only for lack of any alternative20 ; __________________; whereas links have been found between the increase in non- standard forms of employment and the increased proportion of Europeans at risk of in-work poverty1h; __________________ 1hEurofound (2017), In-work poverty in Europe, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg 19Labour market and Social Development (ETUI, 2019) Benchmarking Working Europe, 2019. 20 https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId= 89&furtherNews=yes&langId=en&newsId =9378
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P a (new)
Recital P a (new)
Pa. whereas cross-border and seasonal workers are at high risk of in-work poverty and social exclusion and are often employed in short-term work contracts with little or no job security or social protection; whereas cross-border and seasonal workers often come from vulnerable regions, minorities and disadvantaged social groups, which increases their risk of having their rights violated by recruiters, agencies or employers; whereas numerous cross- border and seasonal workers are exposed to risk from unacceptable working conditions and occupational health and safety risks, which can cause permanent injuries and illnesses that affect their future ability to work and earn an income;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P b (new)
Recital P b (new)
Pb. whereas the European Labour Authority (ELA) was established in July 2019 with the aim of supporting Member States and the Commission in the effective application and enforcement of Union law related to labour mobility and social security coordination; whereas the ELA is expected to reach its full operational capacity by 2024;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P c (new)
Recital P c (new)
Pc. whereas the Commission announced its intention to launch a proposal for a European Social Security Number; whereas no concrete proposal has been launched to this day;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P d (new)
Recital P d (new)
Pd. whereas education level has a high impact on the risk of in-work poverty; whereas the risk of in-work poverty is significantly higher for low-skilled workers; whereas there is still a risk of in- work poverty in some Member States for higher-skilled workers1i; __________________ 1i Eurofound (2017), In-work poverty in Europe, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P e (new)
Recital P e (new)
Pe. whereas the rate of adult learning in the EU was 11.1% in 2018 while the 2020 target is 15%1j; whereas technology and innovation have a great potential for unlocking opportunities; yet more than 40% of adults in the EU do not have basic digital skills; __________________ 1j https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do ?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode =sdg_04_60&plugin=1
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P f (new)
Recital P f (new)
Pf. whereas Eurofound’s survey found that in the context of COVID-19, 16% of workers in the EU expect that they are likely to lose their jobs in the near future1k; __________________ 1kEurofound (2020), Living, working and COVID-19 dataset, Dublin, http://eurofound.link/covid19data
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P g (new)
Recital P g (new)
Pg. whereas according to Eurofound’s survey, during COVID-19, 50% of the working population across the EU experienced a reduction of their working time; whereas more than one third (34%) of those in employment said their working time decreased ‘a lot’, and 16% said it decreased ‘a little'1l; __________________ 1lEurofound (2020), Living, working and COVID-19 dataset, Dublin, http://eurofound.link/covid19data
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q
Recital Q
Q. whereas unemployment, precarious and atypical employment rose sharply during the 2008 financial crisis, and in the COVID-19 crisis the focus is also on social issues with job losses, short- time work, th40% of workers say their financial situation is now worse than before the COVID-19 pandemic, when the European Union was still experiencing strong economic growth; whereats to economic survival, e.g.he proportion of self-employed respondents expressing concern ins small craft industries; whereas the middle class is shrinking, the gap between rich and poor is widening and the disparities within and between Member States are being exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis;ignificantly higher than it is for employees; whereas many workers express concern about the immediate future, with 53% of self- employed respondents and 37% of employed respondents stating that they believe their financial situation will be worse in three months’ time1m; __________________ 1m Eurofound (2020), Living, working and COVID-19 dataset, Dublin, http://eurofound.link/covid19data
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q
Recital Q
Q. whereas unemployment, precarious and atypical employment rose sharply during the 2008 financial crisis, and in the COVID-19 crisis the focus is also on social issues with job losses, short-time work, threats to economic survival, e.g. in small craft industries; whereas inflation is rising with the same speed as wages; whereas the middle class is shrinking, the gap between rich and poor is widening and the disparities within and between Member States are being exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q a (new)
Recital Q a (new)
Qa. whereas 75% of respondents in a Eurofound survey say their financial situation is now worse than before the COVID-19 pandemic, while 68% report difficulties making ends meet and 68% are unable to maintain their standard of living for more than three months without an income1n; __________________ 1nEurofound (2020), Living, working and COVID-19 dataset, Dublin, http://eurofound.link/covid19data
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q b (new)
Recital Q b (new)
Qb. whereas low-paying and high- paying jobs continue to grow in numbers, yet the amount of middle-paying occupations is shrinking; whereas low- paying jobs do not imply low qualifications, particularly for platform workers; whereas there is an increasing demand for highly educated workers even in low paying jobs;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Reminds the Commission and the Member States to achieve the goal of comparable living conditions through upward convergence and to counter the increasing inequality and de-solidarisation within and between Member States through appropriate measures, such as the strengthening of collective bargaining systems and a coordinated approach to minimum security systems for all age groups, a minimum income, minimum wages and minimum first pillar pensions;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is convinced that the axiom that ‘work is the best remedy for poverty’ no longer applies today in the face of low- wage sectors, atypical and precarious working conditions and the dismantling of social security systems and that a poverty- free life can only be secured by effective collective agreements, and where they exist, effective statutory minimum wage systems;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is convinced that the axiom that ‘work is the best remedy for poverty’ no longer applies today in the face of low- wage sectors, atypical and precarious working conditions and the dismantling of social security systems and that a poverty- free life can only be secured by effective collective agreements andor minimum wage systems where applicable;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission and the Member States, on the basis of their obligations under the ILO Conventions, the revised European Social Charter and the European Pillar of Social Rights, to promote collective bargaining, and to remove national legislation which hampers collective bargaining as well as the right to associate, negotiate and conclude collective agreements, and to respect and enforce the right to fair minimum wagesremuneration, including through effective statutory minimum wages; where they exist;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission and the Member States, on the basis of their obligations under the ILO Conventions, the revised European Social Charter and the European Pillar of Social Rights, to promote collective bargaining, as well as the right to associate, negotiate and conclude collective agreements, and to respect and enforce the right to fair minimum wages where these are applicable;
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Reminds the Commission and the Member States of the urgent need for a social progress protocol in the European Treaties that, in the event of conflicts between fundamental economic freedoms and collective social rights, wages and working conditions in collective agreements or national legislation, accords priority to the latter;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses that part-time workers and workers in non-standard types of work face difficulties such as exclusion from social benefits by the limited eligibility based on number of hours worked or employment status; calls on Member States to support part-time workers and workers in non-standard types of work with adequate social support such as reduced child care expenses and housing support to combat in-work- poverty;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to undertake real actions against tax avoidance and tax fraud, as an important means of reducing economic inequalities and improving the collection of tax revenues in the Member States;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the Commission’s plan to promptly propose a legal instrument to ensure that every worker in the Union receives a fair minimum wage21 ; calls also for this plan to ensure, through legislation or collective agreements, that nobody is at risk of poverty and that everyone can live from their work and participate in society; underlines that the floor should be at least 60% of the national gross median wage; stressesinitiative should guarantee that statutory minimum wages, where they exist, are never set below 60% of the national gross median wage and 50% of the average wage; believes that such a framework must ensure that wages as a general rule are collectively bargained by social partners; stresses that any initiative must not harm the autonomy of social partners and wage- setting in collective-bargaining systems; stressed that if this is too low to live on in relation to standards in a given country, an additional mechanism based on objective criteria should be used to calculate a supplement that ensures a decent life; __________________ 21 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta- political/files/political-guidelines-next- commission_de.pdfhttps://ec.europa.eu/co mmission/sites/beta-political/files/political- guidelines-next-commission_en.pdf
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5e. Stresses the need to tackle unfair practices such as employer deductions from minimum wages as e.g. for persons with disabilities working in sheltered workshops are not formally recognised as workers under the law; urges the Commission to task Member States to ensure the respect of the principle of equal treatment and equal pay;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. WelHighlights the shift in platform- work of social costs to workers and the public by circumvention of taxes, labour laws and other commesrcial standards for health, safety and environment with grave socio-economic consequences for the platform workers affected; welcomes therefore the Commission’s plan to adopt the Directive on platform work, which is intended to ensure that platform workers are covered by existing labour law, are socially insured and are able to form workers’ representations and organise in unions in order to conclude collective agreements; calls on the Commission and Member States to take action to secure predictable working hours for platform workers; proposes the Commission to present an EU framework similar to the Californian ‘AB5’-law to establish a test of the employment status of independent contractors; stresses that an EU framework of such kind must not interfere with the autonomy of national social partners nor lead to a new type of employment status but exclusively function as a test of employment status to combat false self-employment;
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Member States, when implementing the work-life-balance Directive22, to ensure that access to childcare in general and in particulCommission and Member States to secure the full implementation of the work-life-balance Directive22, to ensure a higher participation of especially women into the labour market; stresses that better options for shared parental leave reduce abruptions in work-life which has positive impacts on employment opportunities for women, income levels and in-work social benefits; stresses that unaffordable or inaccessible quality child care for single parents is secured so that they are not pushed into precarious and low-paid work; acilities largely contribute to the tendency of involuntary part-time work; stresses therefore the importance for Member States to prioritise high quality, reliable and affordable child care; calls on Member States to ensure in particular accessibility to affordable, quality child care facilities for single parents, workers in large households and workers on temporary contracts; __________________ 22Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Member States, when implementing the work-life-balance Directive22, to ensure that access to childcare in general and in particular for single parents is secured so that they are not pushed into precarious and low-paid work; calls on the Member States to guarantee that beneficiaries of the payment or allowances of parental leave will be protected from falling below the poverty line; __________________ 22Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU
Amendment 296 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Underlines that tackling the gender pay gap and the consequential pension gap is essential to tackle in-work poverty for women; calls on the Commission to present a framework on pay transparency and to ensure that a binding EU legislation fully respects the autonomy and contractual freedom of national social partners in particular in those Member States where pay is also a responsibility of the national social partners;
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for compliance with the rules on equality and anti-discrimination, particularly with regard to wages; stresses further that the responsibility lies to a large extent with employers themselves and calls on the European Commission and the Member States to introduce measures obliging all employers, in both public and private sectors, to adopt full pay transparency policies and practices, as well as providing effective access to justice and setting penalties and sanctions for employers that violate the right to pay equality;
Amendment 306 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Is concerned that non-standard and precarious work may increase due to the Covid-19 crisis; stresses that statutory minimum wages should cover all workers, including currently excluded categories of workers such as non-standard workers;
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure access to decent, affordable housing for all and to do more to promote affordable public housing; calls for national and local authorities to adopt adequate housing policies, to create conditions and support for investments in social and affordable housing and tackle energy poverty;
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. CStresses the increase of precarious and non-standard types of jobs; calls on the Commission and the Member States to target atypical and precarious employment groups in the labour markets and to take measures to counteract this form of employment e.g. within the EU-Semester;
Amendment 326 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Urges Member States to phase out the use of zero-hour contracts; calls on the Commission and Member States to tackle involuntary part-time work and to make strong efforts to promote open- ended employment and to restrict the use of continuously renewed temporary contracts;
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Firmly believes that the employer bears the full responsibility of providing the necessary equipment, clothing and insurance for the employee to perform the function of the work with no cost to the workers themselves; stresses that employers are fully responsible for the expenses or necessary training to fulfil the responsibilities of the job function;
Amendment 329 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls to enhance labour inspectorates in the Member States and secure their adequate funding; stresses the continuous need to secure effective and adequate controls, inspections and complaints; emphasises that monitoring and control are of particular importance in cases of third-country nationals working within the Union; calls for the fastest possible implementation and operation of the European Labour Authority (ELA); calls for the ELA to have real labour inspection powers in crossborder cases and to monitor that Member States comply with ILO Conventions and EU labour law; calls on the Commission and the Member States to monitor compliance with applicable labour and social legislation more closely by instituting controls and to involve the European Labour Authority (ELA) in cross-border situLA in cross-border situations to secure the proper enforcement of union law related to labour mobility and social security coordinations; ;
Amendment 333 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls on Member States to tackle undeclared work; believes that Member States must tackle complex labour laws, taxation burdens and ease administration to create stronger incentives for declaring work;
Amendment 335 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. NotStrongly emphasises that the autonomy of social partners is a valuable asset; welcomes the Commission’s plan to adopt an action programme to protect and strengthen collective bargaining systems at national, in particular sectoral, level and recommends taking measures under Articles 151 and 153 TFEU; stresses that collective agreements must not be subject to regulations and interpretations at European level;
Amendment 339 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Stresses the need for a coordinated approach at EU level in order to achieve real wage growth for all, prevent the downward spiral of unhealthy labour cost competition, and increase upward social convergence; calls on the Commission to propose a directive guaranteeing trade unions access to workplaces for the purposes of getting organised, sharing information and consultation, thereby securing every EU citizen the right to voluntarily organise a trade union, strengthening workers’ representation, and securing the right of social partners to collectively bargain across all sectors; stresses that the right to organise must also include non-standard workers and those in false self-employment such as platform workers;
Amendment 341 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13c. Calls on the Commission to promote the use of ESF+ for capacity building of social partners with the aim of strengthening collective bargaining in Europe; calls on Member States to establish the necessary institutions and mechanisms to support collective bargaining, with a particular focus on sectorial collective bargaining; calls on Member States to consult and involve national social partners in law making whenever that is of relevance to them;
Amendment 346 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission to set compliance with applicable collective agreements as a condition for accessing aid from EU funds and programmerequire receivers and beneficiaries of EU funding, grants, structural funds, Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), lease contracts and other relevant actors to support and respect applicable collective agreements and working conditions;
Amendment 348 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. RecommendSuggests that Member States should take action to promote collective bargaining where coverage is below 70%; stresses that any action initiated must ensure a strong inclusion of national social partners in the decision process; believes that any action plan must not interfere with the autonomy of national social partners in any way or make collective agreements universally applicable, unless national social partners provide the full approval;
Amendment 359 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Commission and Member States to enforce, effectively and through sanctions, the right of workers to organise and to negotiate and conclude collective agreements, and to ensure that unions can enter plants, speak to workers at workhave access to the work floor, speak to workers at work, also if they work digitally, and organise them;
Amendment 376 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. UrgesCalls on the Commission to improvrevise the pPublic pProcurement Directives to prevent competition at the expense of wages so that only those who do not undermine existing 2014/24/EU with the aim to implement a social clause that requires economic operators and subcontractors to fully respect workers’ right to collective bargaining, and to set conditions for the full implementation of the applicable sectorial collective agreements can successfully bidd the working conditions described herein; calls on the Member States to ensure compliance, monitoring and enforcement;
Amendment 381 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. ProposWelcomes to the Commission’s plan to change European rules so that solo self- employed and non-standard workers can unite and conclude collective agreements; stresses that this must not delay any other initiative from the Commission to tackle false self-employment and secure rights for non-standard workers;
Amendment 387 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Welcomes the adoption of the Mobility Package; believes the Mobility Package is a strong tool to combat social dumping and in-work-poverty on the roads; calls for a fast and full implementation of the regulation to the benefit of truck drivers across Europe; stresses that further and similar initiatives must be taken to tackle social dumping and in-work poverty for other industries affected by social dumping and bad working conditions, such as in air transportation and in the shipping industry;
Amendment 388 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)
Paragraph 19 c (new)
19c. Believes that every worker must have access to a full overview of who their employer is and their salary- and working rights, either in accordance with the sectorial collective agreement or national legislation; believes that this information should be available for labour inspectorates to control that employers live up to their responsibilities; believes this could take the form of a special ID- card for cross-border workers, which has already proven effective in combating social dumping in some Member States; calls in this regard on the Commission to promptly introduce a digital European Social Security Number; believes that a European Social Security Number has a strong potential to serve as a control mechanism for both individuals and relevant authorities, to secure that social security is paid in accordance with the obligations, and to combat social fraud;
Amendment 389 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 d (new)
Paragraph 19 d (new)
19d. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal on the skills agenda; highlights that low levels of education is one of the root-causes of in-work poverty; stresses that life-long learning and reskilling is crucial to achieve higher wages; stresses the urgent need to establish a Skills Guarantee in line with the principles of the Youth Guarantee; believes that European citizens should be guaranteed high quality upskilling and reskilling opportunities within a period of four months after becoming unemployed or leaving formal education; agrees that a strong focus on digital skills is necessary;
Amendment 390 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 e (new)
Paragraph 19 e (new)
19e. Calls on Member States to work closely together with the social partners, education and training providers, enterprises and other stakeholders to address structural weaknesses in education and training systems and improve their quality and their relevance for the labour market, also with a view to enable every worker to have access to life- long learning;
Amendment 391 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 f (new)
Paragraph 19 f (new)
19f. Stresses that persons with disabilities are highly impacted by restricted eligibility to social benefits based on number of hours worked; calls on Member States to offer flexibility in disability benefits, to prevent the risk of people losing entitlement to future disability allowance once they have entered employment;
Amendment 392 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 g (new)
Paragraph 19 g (new)
19g. Calls on the Commission to present a Disability Strategy beyond 2020 in order to secure the full inclusion of persons with disabilities in the labour market, with a clear focus on combating in-work poverty; calls on the Commission to present a proposal to secure full accessibility to the labour market in European workplaces; strongly believes that the right to work and to earn a living must also apply to persons with disabilities;
Amendment 393 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 h (new)
Paragraph 19 h (new)
19h. Believes that internships should be seen by companies as an investment and not as free work; reminds that young people often do not have any other sources of income while working as interns; believes the contribution from interns are valuable and essential and deserves to be paid; calls on the Commission and Member States to end the practise of unpaid internships and secure internships of high quality with decent pay;
Amendment 395 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 j (new)
Paragraph 19 j (new)
19j. Underlines the importance of increasing funding for the most deprived under the new European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) as a key element of European solidarity and as a way of helping to combat the worst forms of poverty in the EU, such as food deprivation and child poverty;
Amendment 396 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 k (new)
Paragraph 19 k (new)
19k. Recalls that the COVID-19 crisis has exposed several cases of abusive subcontracting practises in Member States; calls on the Commission and Member States to tackle abusive subcontracting practices and safeguard seasonal and cross-border workers employed along the subcontracting and supply chain; firmly believes workers affected must be hired directly by the firms on local salary and working conditions as listed in the applicable sectorial collective agreement or national legislation; stresses the need to establish effective mechanisms to ensure liability throughout subcontracting chains and to secure compensation in case subcontractors are not complying with the statutory minimum wage or applicable collective agreements; reminds in this regard of the employer’s responsibilities to secure proper and affordable housing facilities for workers, without the costs thereof being deducted from the workers’ salaries;
Amendment 411 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Stresses that in the context of the Covid-19 crisis, an increasing number of restructuring processes are taking place; is concerned that companies do not respect workers’ information, consultation and participation rights in those restructuring processes and do not comply with existing regulations at European and at national level in this area; calls on the European Commission to undertake urgent and decisive actions towards Member States and European companies to make sure that workers’ information, consultation and participation rights are respected and that companies comply with legal requirements in restructuring processes;
Amendment 415 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. As short-time work schemes are not identical in all Member States and as differences in the level of short-time work allowances vary greatly in Europe, is concerned that employees with low level of short-time work allowances are particularly threatened by in-work poverty;
Amendment 424 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls on the Commission and Member States to mitigate the worst consequences of COVID-19 through European and national support, with the allocation of public money, e.g. through SURE, being linked to a ban on shedding existing jobs; believes that Member States must ensure that financial assistance is only provided to undertakings that respect the applicable collective agreements and that recipient undertakings refrain from making share buy backs or paying dividends to shareholders and bonuses to executives, as well to ensure that these undertakings are not registered in tax havens;
Amendment 443 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Stresses that low-income workers are in higher risk of being exposed to COVID-19 by working in sectors with significantly more human contact, such as the care sector, transportation sector or by taking up work through online platforms without any possibility to telework; strongly criticises the long implementation period of the classification of COVID-19 in the Biological Agents Directive (Directive 2000/54/EC); calls for an urgent revision of the Biological Agents Directive with the purpose to adapt it to global pandemics and other extraordinary circumstances in order to secure the full protection of workers against the risks of exposure as quickly as possible;
Amendment 444 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 b (new)
Paragraph 23 b (new)
23b. Highlights that low-income workers are often working in sectors with high risks of physical deterioration which potentially has long term impacts on physical and mental wellbeing and impacts the future ability to earn an income; believes the current Health and Safety legislation does not have a sufficient focus on prevention of occupational injuries; calls on the Commission as soon as possible to propose a new strategic framework for Health and Safety at Workpost-2020 and calls in this regard on the Commission to identify challenges and present instruments for workers in low income sectors to address these; stresses that the strategy must include a focus on platform- workers and workers in non-standard types of work; calls the Commission to amend the directive 2004/37/EC revising and expanding the scope of occupational exposure limit values for a number of cancer- or mutation-causing substances;
Amendment 445 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 c (new)
Paragraph 23 c (new)
23c. Highlights that work-related stress is highly present in low-income sectors; believes that work-related stress must be significantly prioritised in the European Health and Safety regulation; calls on the Commission and Member States in strong cooperation with national social partners to propose a directive on work-related stress and hereby set company guidelines to tackle work-related stress factors and require all companies to form a company- policy towards work-related stress;