Activities of Kostadinka KUNEVA related to 2015/2094(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Women domestic workers and carers in the EU (short presentation) EL
Reports (1)
REPORT on women domestic workers and carers in the EU PDF (526 KB) DOC (210 KB)
Amendments (35)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
– having regard to Council of Europe's Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 12 May 2011 on the proposed ILO Convention supplemented by a recommendation on domestic workers,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
– having regard to Fundamental Rights Agency 2015 report on 'Severe labour exploitation: workers moving within or into the European Union. States' obligations and victims' rights',
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
– having regard to Fundamental Rights Agency 2011 report 'Migrants in an irregular situation employed in domestic work: fundamental rights challenges for the European Union and its Member States',
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
– having regard to the Council Decision authorising Member States to ratify, in the interests of the European Union, the Convention concerning decent work for domestic workers, 2011, of the International Labour Organization Convention No 189, COM (2013) 152 of 21 March 2013,
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
– having regard to United Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 b (new)
Citation 16 b (new)
– having regard to the Joint report by the Social Protection Committee and the European Commission on "Adequate social protection for long-term care needs in an ageing society,
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 c (new)
Citation 16 c (new)
– having regard to the 2014 report by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions entitled 'Residential care sector: Working conditions and job quality',
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 d (new)
Citation 16 d (new)
– having regard to the 2013 report by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions entitled 'Women, men and working conditions in Europe',
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 e (new)
Citation 16 e (new)
– having regard to the 2011 report by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions entitled "Company initiatives for workers with care responsibilities for disabled children or adults",
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas domestic workers and carers who are excluded from labour laws cannot be guaranteed a safe and healthy work environment or avoid workplace discrimination; whereas, moreover, they have no right, or are unaware of how or experience difficulties, to participate in unions or other forms of collective bargaining, which makes them particularly vulnerable;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas some sectoral supporting measures, such as the Swedish tax deduction for domestic services, the French "service employment voucher" or the Belgian "service voucher", have proven their effectiveness in reducing undeclared work, improving working conditions and granting regular labour rights to domestic and care workers;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the growing demand for domestic help and care for children, disabled and the elderly has led to the rising feminisation of migration into Europe;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas the burden of responsibility for housework is much greater for women than it is for men and is not evaluated in monetary terms or in terms of a recognition of its value; whereas there is a correlation between the rate of female employment and women’s family responsibilities; whereas over 20 million Europeans (two- thirds of whom are women) care for adult dependent persons, which prevents them from having a full-time job increasing therefore the gender pay gap and leading women who are close to retirement to a higher risk of poverty in old age;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P a (new)
Recital P a (new)
Pa. whereas, despite the known trends that nearly 20% of the European population is over 65 years old and it is estimated that this rate will reach 25% in 2050, about 80% of time spent caring an elderly person or for a person with disability -meaning several days a week or every day- is still provided by informal and/or family carers and despite the growing number of carers, in the EU, informal care is mostly provided by women (usually spouses, middle-aged daughters or daughters-in-law) aged 45 to 75;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q
Recital Q
Q. whereas the financial and social crisis in the EU has severely affected its citizens and residents, aggravating job precariousness, poverty, unemployment and social exclusion, and leading to limited or no access to quality, affordable and accessible social care and household- related services;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital R
Recital R
R. whereas the habits, customs and forms of families have all considerably evolved, leading inevitably to new needs forand new forms of care and support within modern households, especially for women working outside the home and single-parent families;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital T
Recital T
T. whereas the most commona widespread, in some EU Member- States, practice for employing domestic workers and carers is through bilateral agreements between the worker and the household owner or the dependent person, rather than through formal means such as state structures or firms and enterprises;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital X
Recital X
X. whereas ILO Convention 189 concerning decent work for domestic workers, ratified by 6 EU Member States and 16 other states worldwide, aims to provide legal recognition for domestic work, extend rights to all domestic workers and prevent violations and abuses;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Believes that there is a need for a common EU recognition of domestic and care work as real work and not simply as an extension of unpaid household and care work;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Asks the Member States, in the meantime, to regulate and implement comprehensive legal frameworks establishing clear labour contracts that ensure workers´ rights, among others health and safety at work for domestic workers and carers directly employed by any labour relationship between householders – when acting as employers – and an employee/worker providing remunerated services within the employer’'s household or by a legal third party : cooperative, association or company;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Member States to include domestic workers and carers in all national labour and anti-discrimination laws; , healthcare, social care, insurance and anti-discrimination laws, recognising their contribution to the economy and society. Urges accordingly the European Commission to consider revising any European Directives that exclude domestic workers and carers from rights that other categories of workers enjoy;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Considers it essential to combat precarious and undeclared work, given that this phenomenon severely affects domestic workers and migrant women workers in particular, thus worsening their already vulnerable position; in this regard supports the integration of the situation of domestic workers and carers within the framework of the European Platform against undeclared work;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Asks the Member States to adopt measures reconciling work and family life, as this will have the benefit of supporting women to stay in paid employment and reduce their later pension gap;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Urges the European Commission and the Member States to reassure the availability of legal avenues to migrate to the EU and to introduce targeted legal migration programmes; stresses the need for the Member States to establish bilateral agreements with those states that the statistics show as the sending country of domestic workers and carers, in order to regularise the sending and receiving flow, helping by this way to combat trafficking and forced labour networks deterring nevertheless the phenomenon of social dumping; calls on the Member States to ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 1999;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Urges the Member States to undertake the necessary efforts, and to find innovative inspection methods, respecting privacy, especially regarding private homes where inspectors cannot enter without a court authorisation and to adequately brief and train inspectors in order to eliminate mistreatment, financial exploitation and acts of violence or sexual abuse against domestic workers;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Recommends that EU Member States establish a national, independent control, counselling and complaint service that can assist the domestic workers and carers in case of problems, especially high stress and depression; such institution should have the possibility to pay visits to the domes where workers and cares have been placed undertaking a follow-up visit and react in case of problems brought forward by the domestic workers and carers;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on trade unions to approach all those performing domestic work and care with appropriate attention, using methods adapted to the specific working environment of these workers and the precariousness of their jobs; stresses the important role that trade unions can play in organising and informing workers, especially migrants, on their rights and obligations; notes that this is a way for domestic workers to be represented with one voice, to be able to collectively bargain their contracts and to defend their rights and interests;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Strongly urges the Member States not to penalise undeclared domestic workers or carers, especially migrants who should not be threatened with expulsion, when they decide to come out of the vicious circle of ‘'hidden’' work, but instead to supportencourage and protect them to come forward and report;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Highlights the need for the Member States to ensure broader access to easily available and affordable high-quality childcare, disability care and elderly care facilities, thus minimising the reasons to undertake these duties on an informal or precarious basis and improving the recognition of the value of the work undertaken by professional care-givers; highlights the need for the Member States to develop services that support family, formal and informal carers, aiming to avoid exposing them to situations of excessive stress that impacts their mental and physical health;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Urges the Member States to invest on creating stable, high-quality jobs in the sector of domestic work and care, also by means of EU Funds, such as the European Social Fund (ESF) and the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI);
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Notes that good practices such as job-sharing and incentivise special leaves could be applied, especially for the cases of migrant domestic workers and carers who live in a transnational family, in order to allow them to properly rest and to keep their ties with their family;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Notes that private household employers have a primordial role to play in observing fair labour standards and rights realizing that they are simultaneously an employee and an employer themselves; calls on the Member States to ensure that relevant information on the regularization of domestic work and care must be available to employers and employees;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Calls on the Member States to organise campaigns stressing the importance and the benefits of regularized domestic work and care and increase awareness among the general public of the existence of severe exploitation in private households setting the goal of zero tolerance of exploitation of such workers;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Asks the Member States to consider incentives for employershousehold employers, especially those in weak financial situation, such as subsidies or tax deductions, to encourage the use of declared domestic workers and carers;