33 Amendments of Heléne FRITZON related to 2019/2212(INI)
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the employment rate of people aged 20-64 reached 73.9 % in the EU in the second quarter of 2019, and 72.7 % in the euro area; whereas the employment rate may come close to the Europe 2020 target but is unlikely to reach it; whereas the total hours worked have reached the 2008 level;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas the increase of the employment rate has been accompanied by an increase of atypical, precarious and non-formal forms of employment, including zero-hour contracts; whereas precarious workers are usually unable to enforce their rights, have little or no job security and social insurance protection, face higher health and safety risks and receive incomes which are insufficient for a decent living;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
B b. whereas unemployment fell to 6.3% in the third quarter of 2019 in the Union and to 7.5%in the euro area; whereas it remains high in some Member States and regions; whereas long-term unemployment remains high in half of the Member States;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
B c. whereas the employment rate of women increased slightly faster than that of men; whereas parenthood and caring responsibilities, limited access to childcare, elderly care and other care services still result in lower employment rates for women; whereas the gender employment gap, the wage gap and the pension gap remain substantial;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B d (new)
Recital B d (new)
B d. whereas the youth employment rate has increased, but is still below the pre-crisis level; whereas there are substantial differences with regard to youth unemployment between and within Member States;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas early school leaving and poor educational outcomes are obstacles to employment and economic growth and they are closely related to poverty, social exclusion and segregation; whereas education systems do not provide sufficient support for social mobility;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas the proportion of part- time workers remains still above the 2008 level; whereas the share of involuntary part-time workers remains substantial; whereas the share of temporary employees is still high;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas social dialogue is a central component of the European social model that requires strong and representative social partners; whereas social dialogue has been weakened and collective bargaining coverage has shrunk across Europe, with huge disparities between Member States; whereas the share of employees in Member States covered by any form of collective wage agreement ranged from 98% to 7.1% in 2016;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas income inequalities remain at a high level; whereas wage austerity as well as tax and labour cost competition are harmful for the single market and increase inequalities and the vulnerability of low wage earners; whereas intergenerational social mobility is limited in most Member States; whereas the OECD estimates that even in the best performing countries it would take from 2 to 3 generations for those born in low-income families to approach the mean income in their society;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas more than one European in five is at risk of poverty and social exclusion; whereas the Europe 2020 headline target to reduce the number of persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) by 20 million remains out of reach; whereas children continue to face a high risk of poverty or social exclusion and their average AROPE rate in 2018 was at 24.3% with several Member States registering an alarming rate above 30%; whereas in-work poverty and the risk of having a household income below the poverty threshold while working remains high;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
G a. whereas one European out of ten is overburdened by housing costs, especially the lowest income households and people living in cities; whereas fighting climate change may have further implications on housing costs; whereas homelessness has increased over the last decade in most Member States;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas adequate minimum wages, strong collective bargaining systems, democracy at work, wage transparency and predictable working hours are essential elements to reduce in-work poverty, decrease inequalities and generate demand;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
I a. whereas 80 million Europeans have disabilities; whereas the implementation of accessibility measures continues to be insufficient; whereas the employment rate of people with disabilities was 50.6% in 2017 versus a total employment rate of 74.8%; whereas persons with disabilities are more likely to face in-work poverty;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is concerned that rates of unemployment and long-term unemployment are still high in some Member States with strong regional disparities; stresses therefore the need for individually tailored measures to integrate the unemployed into the labour market and fight poverty and social exclusion; calls for a new financial instrument to tackle long-term unemployment by providing financial support for measures and projects in regions with above-average long-term unemployment;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Is concerned about the limited intergenerational social mobility and increased income inequality compared to pre-crisis levels; calls on the Commission and the Member States to tackle income inequalities including by promoting adequate minimum wages, a high collective bargaining coverage, equal opportunities in education and training, gender equality and universal access to quality services; stresses that tax and benefit systems must be designed in a way to reduce inequalities and promote fairness;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the Commission consultation on a European framework for minimum wages; calls for adequate minimum wage levels through collective agreements or through law, in line with national traditions; underlines that any EU-initiative on minimum wage must not undermine the autonomy of national social partners and well-functioning collective bargaining models; calls for a coordinated approach at EU level in order to achieve real wage growth, avoid the downward spiral of unhealthy labour cost competition and increase upward social convergence for all; calls on the Commission and the Member States to strengthen social dialogue, collective bargaining rights and coverage at sectorial level and the involvement of social partners in policy-making, including for the European Semester;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Highlights that well-functioning social dialogue is a key tool in shaping working conditions, involving a variety of actors at various levels, and it balances the interests of workers and employers and contributes to both economic competitiveness and social cohesion; calls on Member States to further strengthen social dialogue across Europe to balance industrial relations and where needed strengthening the opportunities for collective bargaining;
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to come up with specific proposals to ensure a just transition in relation to the energy efficiency-related upgrading of housing stock in the context of the Green Deal, without placing an excessive burden on vulnerable groups, especially those at the risk of poverty and social exclusion;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Is concerned about the stagnating share of early school leavers and the increasing share of underperforming pupils; calls on the Member States to improve their education systems and support life-long learning; stresses that educational outcomes are also negatively affected by social exclusion, poverty and segregation, which equally must be addressed;
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to maximise their efforts in investing in affordable, accessible and high-quality education and training, including digital and transferable skills and to promote lifelong learning and skills development to prepare workers for future needs of the labour market affected by the green and digital transformations; calls on Member States to strengthen vocational education and training systems and increase their alignment with labour market needs; highlights the importance of apprenticeships and other forms of work-based learning; takes the view that mutual recognition of qualifications will be beneficial for overcoming skills shortages and skills mismatches;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Calls on the Commissions to present a new EU strategy on occupational safety and health, including a vision zero on fatal accidents at work and work-related cancer with further binding occupational exposure limit values, a stronger asbestos directive and a new directive on psychosocial health risks;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10 b. Notes the importance of skills and competences acquired in non-formal learning environments; stresses, therefore, the importance of creating a validation system for non-formal forms of knowledge, especially those acquired via voluntary activities;
Amendment 276 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission and Member States to strengthen the regulation of new forms of work and improve the working conditions of platform workers;
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Considers the demographic decline a serious obstacle to economic growth; calls on the Commission and the Member States to introduce measures designed to address this challenge; calls on the Commission and the Member States to pursue policies of active ageing, social inclusion of elderly people and solidarity between generations; calls on the Commission to take action and follow-up on its evaluation report regarding the 2012 European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between generations;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to take action to prevent hidden cost of work; stresses that the employer bears the full responsibility of expenses regarding equipment necessary to fulfil the responsibilities at the workplace;
Amendment 284 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12 b. Highlights that universal access to public, solidarity-based and adequate retirement and old age pension systems must be granted to all; underlines that public pension systems alone or in combination with occupational pension systems must provide an adequate retirement income well above the poverty threshold;
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 c (new)
Paragraph 12 c (new)
12 c. Believes that the best way to ensure sustainable, safe and adequate pensions is to increase the overall employment, pay and participation rate and to improve working and employment conditions;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Rejects any reduction in the level ofEmphasises the importance of social and territorial cohesion policy and funding; opposes, in this context, the proposal to reduccalls to secure adequate funding for the European Social Fund Plus despitand acknowledge its enlarged scope; stresses the need for greater alignment of the European Semester with social and cohesion funding and the policy objectives of the Union;
Amendment 303 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Urges the Commission and Member States to ensure that EU cohesion policy programmes for the period 2021-2027 adequately address regional differences in employment, providing a meaningful response to the concentration of employment-related, social and demographic problems and ensuring that all European regions can participate in and benefit from the Union’s economic and social reform agenda in the context of the Green Deal;
Amendment 307 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14 b. Highlights the importance of the automatic stabilisation dimension of welfare systems to absorb economic shocks; calls on the Member States to strengthen their investment in social protection systems in order to enhance their performance in tackling and preventing poverty and inequalities;
Amendment 313 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Stresses that macroeconomic imbalances need to be tackled in a symmetrical way; calls on the Commission to present a European unemployment benefit reinsurance scheme for EMU countries, with the possibility for other Member States to join voluntary, in order to better protect workers and reduce pressure from external shocks on public finances;
Amendment 320 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Notes that the Union continues to suffer from structural problems which austerity imposed; underlines the need to put an end to short-sighted austerity policies, to boost domestic demand by future-oriented public and private investment, and to promote socially and economically balanced structural reforms in order to reduce inequalities and generate quality jobs, sustainable growth and social investment; highlights that socially responsible reforms must be based on solidarity, integration, social justice and a fair wealth distribution to improve the living standards for all; asks for a social imbalance procedure through a revisited Social Scoreboard;
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Stresses that decisive support is needed for society, workers and businesses to face the challenges of climate change and the transition to carbon neutrality; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure adequate social and environmental investment for a true ‘just transition’, the implementation of the EPSR and the achievement of the SDGs, by exempting social spending from the euro area fiscal rules and thereby allowing more investment in human capital, skills and health; calls for adaptation strategies and adequate support for those worst affected by the transition, especially vulnerable people;