42 Amendments of Milan BRGLEZ related to 2019/0000(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
– having regard to the Commission Social Investment Package of 2013,
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 13
Citation 13
– having regard to the draft Joint Employment Report from the Commission and the Council of 21 November 2018 accompanying the Commission communication on the Annual Growth Survey 2019 (COM(2017)0761)adopted on 15 March 2019,
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 48 c (new)
Citation 48 c (new)
– having regard to the Council recommendation of 9 April 2019 on the Economic Policy in the Euro Area (2019/C 136/01),
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 48 d (new)
Citation 48 d (new)
– having regard to the Commission’s 2019 Annual Review on Employment and Social Developments in Europe,
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 48 e (new)
Citation 48 e (new)
– having regard to the Commission report of 2019 on In-Work Poverty,
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 48 f (new)
Citation 48 f (new)
– having regard to the Council recommendation of 2018 on access to social protection for workers and the self- employed,
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 48 g (new)
Citation 48 g (new)
– having regard to Directive 2019/1152 on predictable and transparent working conditions,
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas labour market conditions in the EU keep improving; whereas the employment rate continued to increase and reached 73.5 % in the last quarter of 2018, with 240.7 million people in work, a new record level; whereas the employment rate in the euro area has increased from 66.5% in 2017 to 67.4% in 2018; whereas great disparities in employment rates persist between and within the Member States (SE 77.5%, DE 75.9%, IT 58.5%, EL 54.9%); whereas the pace of growth of the employment rate has slowed down and whereas this trend is expected to continue; whereas, if these dynamics continue, the employment rate will reach 74.3 % in 2020;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the employment rate has grown strongly among workers above 55 years of age; whereas in 2018 the employment rate of workers between 55 and 64 years in the euro area is with 58.8% still well below the average; whereas with 52.9% especially women in this age category have a lower employment rate; whereas demographics forecast a growing number of older workers; whereas demographic change has impact on pension, healthcare and long-term care systems;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the employment gender gap was 11.6 percentage points in 2018; whereas it has not improved substantially in recent years and it remained almost unchanged since 2013;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the total number of hours worked has been increasing steadily but slowly since 2013; whereas the rate of permanent and full-time employment continues to rise while the rate of part-time employment is in decline; whereas the number of involuntary part-time workers is still very high and concerns 1.3 million more people than in 2008;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
D b. whereas aggregate household incomes grew slower than the GDP, indicating that income gains from the recovery have reached households only to some extent and suggesting that recent growth is not inclusive; whereas average wages in real terms still lag behind pre- crisis levels in many Member States and their growth remained below productivity growth in 2017; whereas income inequality is often linked to unequal opportunities in access to education, training and social protection;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the unemployment rate in June 2019 fell to 6.3% in the EU respectively 7.5% in the euro area; whereas it fell for all age groups and for both men and women; whereas large differences in rates remain between Member States; whereas youth unemployment remains very high; whereas long-term unemployment, while in decline, remains high (2018: EL 19.3%, ES 15.3%, DE 3.4%, CZ 2.2%) and the dispersion of unemployment rates across national and subnational territories has continued to widen since 2007; whereas youth unemployment remains unacceptably high at 14.2% in April 2019 (15.2% average in the EU in 2018, 16.9% average in euro area in 2018), but is lower than the pre-crisis level in 2008; whereas the differences between Member States are very significant (EL 39.9%, ES 34.3%, IT 32.2%, contrasting with NL 7.2% , CZ 6.7%, DE 6.2%); whereas on average every second unemployed job seeker has been without work for more than 12 months and with 3.8% the long-term unemployment rate remains above the pre- crisis level of 2.9%;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas horizontal and vertical labour market segmentation persists and affects, in particular, women, low-skilled, young and older people, people with disabilities, national, linguistic, ethnic and sexual minorities and people with migrant backgrounds; whereas in 2016 the employment rate of people with disabilities was with 48.1% well below the average employment rate;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the job vacancy rate continues to rise; whereas structural skill mismatches and skills shortages exist; increase in many sectors, for example in the ICT sector where the gap between demand and supply of specialists in the EU is expected to grow to about 500,000 by 2020;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the social situation continumore than every fifth European is at risk of poverty and social exclusion, and gaps in coverage of social protection systems and access to services persist; whereas especially atypical workers often do not have full access to improve; whereas poverty and the risk of poverty, and gaps in coverage of social protection systems anthe social protection and many self- employed have no or only limited coverage; whereas bogus self-employment persists, causing uncertainty, precariousness and insecurity, and is affecting in particular vulnerable groups; whereas social transfers (other than pensions) have a significant impact on poverty reduction in many Member States, on average by 32.4% in 2017; whereas this impact has declined eaccess to services, persist; h year since 2010 (expect 2013) and differences between Member States are significant (56.9% FI, 15.8% EL);
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas in 2017 the per capita gross disposable household income exceeded the 2008 pre-crisis level in the euro area; whereas this was not the case in all Member States; (whereas this was already the case in 2015 for the EU); whereas this was not the case in eight Member States (notably in Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Spain) and many regions; whereas the income of the poorest in the southern Member States deteriorated;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
I a. whereas according to the 2018 Eurobarometer socioeconomic situation and environmental issues are the most important personal concerns of EU citizens;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
I b. whereas global developments such as digitalisation and the environmental transition underline the urgency for a common EU approach; whereas these global challenges affect regions and territories in different ways; whereas the role of social dialogue, social partners and civil society is crucial for an inclusive transition; whereas the involvement of social partners in policy making is still low in many Member States;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I c (new)
Recital I c (new)
I c. whereas the economic sectors which are responsible for close to 90% of total CO2 emissions employ about 25% of the workforce in the EU; whereas the re- skilling of this workforce is an important part in the transition towards a sustainable economy;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I d (new)
Recital I d (new)
Id. whereas ambitious climate policies generate jobs and growth, and have positive effects on well-being; whereas according to projections the full implementation of the Paris agreement creates an additional 1.2 million jobs in the EU by 2030, on top of the 12 million new jobs already expected;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I e (new)
Recital I e (new)
Ie. whereas only 9% of the 2011-2018 Country Specific Recommendations were fully implemented, 17% made substantial progress, 44% made some progress, 25% only saw limited progress and 5% had no progress at all;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I f (new)
Recital I f (new)
If. whereas in 2019 the Commission has issued recommendations to improve effectiveness, accessibility and sustainability of health care to 15 Member States;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I g (new)
Recital I g (new)
Ig. whereas average housing costs and financial overburden have declined in the EU, but scarcity of adequate and affordable housing is still a growing problem in many Member States and in 2017 one in ten Europeans spent 40% or more of household income on housing costs;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that while the economic conditions in the EU are currently favourable and overall employment is steadily growing, there is still an urgent need for improvement in terms of youth unemployment, long-term unemployment, labour market segmentation and inequalities, in-work poverty and productivity; strongly regrets that real wage growth remains below what could be expected given the positive labour market and economic performance; calls for a new financial instrument to tackle long- term unemployment, which provides financial support for measures and projects in regions with above-average long-term unemployment;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Notes with great concern the unacceptably high level of youth unemployment in a number of Member States; emphasises that the detachment of young people from the labour market also has significant negative consequences for social cohesion and must urgently be addressed; stresses the importance of the Youth Guarantee to reduce the number of NEETs and youth unemployment; calls on the Commission to make the Youth Guarantee a permanent instrument and to further strengthen it;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Takes note of the Commission’s 2019 country-specific recommendations (CSRs) and welcomes the stronger focus on investment; notes that almost one third of the CSRs issued until 2018 have not been implemented; welcomes the fact that considerable progress has been achieved seen no or only limited progress in regards to their implementation; notes that the implementation of CSRs concerning legislation governing labour relations and employment protection was considerable; regrets that progress on broadening the tax base, as well as health and long-term care have been particularly slow; is concerned that progress on the 2018 CSRs is worse than performance in previous years and urges the Commission to put the necessary pressure on Member States to implement the recommendations; believes that strong reformthe implementation of progressive reforms is crucial to strengthen the growth potential of the EU economiesy;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Calls on Member States to follow recommendations to shift taxation away from labour to other factors that are less detrimental to sustainable growth;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that considerable divergences in employment persist between countries, regions and population groups; considers it necessary to increase employment rates and promote decent job creation in order to achieve the Europe 2020 goal of an employment rate of at least 75 %; calls on the Commission to propose a European unemployment re-insurance scheme that plays a stabilising role when Member States face economic crises;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 e (new)
Paragraph 3 e (new)
3 e. Deplores that in many Member States the per capita gross disposable household income is still below the 2008 pre-crisis level; urges the Member States to do more to reduce inequalities;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines the need for well- designed labour market policies and reforms that create quality employment, promote equal opportunities and the equal treatment of workers, facilitate equal access to the labour market and social protection for all, facilitate labour mobility, reintegrate the unemployed and tackle inequalities and gender imbalances; strongly regrets that many Europeans are involuntarily working part-time; notes that this has detrimental consequences for their social protection; calls on Member States to improve framework conditions in order to increase opportunities for permanent and full-time employment;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that participation of women in the labour market continues to grow but that gender inequalities in terms of employment and pay persist; takes the view that efforts should be strengthenednotes with concern that the gender gap in employment remains almost unchanged since 2013 and that gender inequalities in terms of employment and pay persist at a high level; strongly regrets that the Barcelona targets of childcare availability of 90% for children between 3 years and mandatory school age will not be met; notes that only few Member States have taken actions to tackle the gender pay gap; urges all Member States to strengthen their efforts to reduce the gender pay gap, the gender pension gap and disincentives to work, improve work- life balance and provide access to affordable childcare, early childcare and long-term care facilities; calls on Member States to improve training, working conditions and wages in these services (as well as in health services); calls on the Commission to issue a directive on pay transparency in order to quickly close the gender pay gap; calls on Member States to encourage more men to take up paid family-related leave; notes with concern that women are overrepresented in lower- paid sectors and work more frequently in jobs they are over-qualified for;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Points out the need to fight ageism in labour markets, including by raising awareness of Council Directive 2000/78/EC establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation, and by securing access to life-long learning opportunities; notes that older and low- skilled workers are much less likely to participate in life-long learning programmes; calls on Commission and Member States to step up efforts to change this trend;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. CWelcomes the progress made in the European Disability Strategy 2010- 2020 and especially the directive on accessibility; emphasises however that more needs to be done; strongly regrets that people with disabilities remain consistently disadvantaged in terms of employment, education and social inclusion; calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up efforts for the further inclusion of people with disabilities in the labour market, by removing legislative barriers to creating incentives for their employment and ensuring the accessibility of workplaces;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses that a transformation of the education and training systems is urgently necessary in order to make full use of the opportunities offered by information and communication technologies and the mediadigitalisation and to develop the skills and competences required to meet the demands of the labour market of the futurecurrent labour market and of the labour market of the future; emphasises that investment in people is key to strong social cohesion; considers that skills shortages and mismatches can be major investment obstacles; emphasises that in order to acquire adequate skills it is necessary to improve the quality, availability, inclusiveness, affordability and accessibility of education and training, including vocational training, and improve the mutual recognition of qualifications; calls on the Member States to prioritisestresses the importance of addressing the issue of early school leavers; calls on the Member States to step up and encourage investments in upskilling and reskilling as well as comprehensive training in digital and entrepreneurial skills, taking into account the shift towards the digital economy and to a greener economy; believunderlines that good working and employment conditions are a crucial factor to attract skilled workers; emphasises that the challenges of climate change and the transition to a greener economy demand decisive support to help workers to adapt, especially in the most affected regions; cope with these crucial transformations; agrees with the Commission that timely efforts are needed to address digitalisation, that the EU as a whole must speed up the process and that a better alignment of Union, Member States and regional policies, pooling of public and private resources to increase investment and develop stronger synergies in the digital economy and society are needed;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Notes that the involvement of social partners strengthens ownership and social cohesion; notes that especially with the upcoming shift towards a digitalised and sustainable economy a well- functioning social dialogue is crucial for a successful transition; calls on Member States to improve the capacity of social partners to actively participate in the policy debate by providing them with an adequate framework;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission and Member States to provide incentives and technical assistance to young people to set up their businesses and to propose measures to promote entrepreneurship, including through school curriculums in the Member States;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Emphasises that the Union’s social and economic goals should have equal priority; calls on the Commission and the Member States to reinforce social rights by delivering the European Pillar of Social Rights and implementing the social aspectspoints out that social, environmental and economic Country Specific Recommendations have to be coherent; believes that an adaptation of the Stability and Growth Pact is needed to ensure coherence between social, environmental and economic objectives; calls on the Commission and the Member States to reinforce social rights by proposing legislation, including appropriate financial instruments, to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights and to further strengthen the social and sustainability dimension of the Country Specific Recommendations and the European Semester;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Notes that the social situation continues to improve and that poverty is in decline, but that itDeplores that poverty still remains unacceptably high; stresses that while the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) in the EU continued to decrease in 2017, some 113 million people in the EU and 74 million in the euro area were AROPE in 2017; urges the Commission and the Member States to take the necessary steps to reduce poverty, including child and in-work poverty, in order to achieve the Europe 2020 goal; emphasises that decent job creationas well as poverty among old ages; regrets that the Europe 2020 goal of reduction of poverty will most probably be missed; emphasises that especially certain groups are at risk of poverty, namely children, people with disabilities and people with a migrant background; underlines the need to eradicate child poverty and calls on the Commission to propose legislation for the implementation of a European Child Guarantee; emphasises that decent jobs, access to social protection regardless of employment relationship or contract type, wage growth and well-resourced, quality public education systems and accessible life-long learning offers have a significant impact on reducing inequalities, the risk of poverty and social exclusion; welcomes the significant impact that social transfers have on poverty reduction; regrets however that this is not reflected in national policies of all Member States; notes that in 2017 9.4% of all employed people in the EU were at risk of poverty and that according to a study by the Commission on in-work poverty in Europe from 2019, in-work poverty is increasing in many Member States; emphasises that in-work poverty is a fundamental sign of social unfairness and urges Member States to take decisive action to ensure that people can afford themselves and their families a decent life from their wages; calls on the Commission to propose legislation on EU- wide minimum social protection floor and minimum income schemes;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 f (new)
Paragraph 11 f (new)
11 f. Notes the worrying developments of overstretched housing markets in several Member States and its detrimental consequences especially on people with low income and in certain regions; calls on Member States to step up efforts to follow the recommendations by the Commission (to reduce bottlenecks of supply, to remove distortions and to reduce biases created by the tax system) and take action in line with recommendation 19 of the Pillar of Social Rights;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 g (new)
Paragraph 11 g (new)
11 g. Notes with concern that a majority of Member States have received CSRs to improve the effectiveness, accessibility and sustainability of their public health care systems; calls on Member States to step up efforts to ensure the accessibility of public health care for all;
Amendment 203 #
11 h. Notes with concern the insufficiency or lack of access to social protection systems by atypical workers and many self-employed; emphasises that the trends in the labour market sees these groups of workers increasing and especially bogus self-employment is a persisting problem; calls on Member States to implement measures to address these issues notably following the Council recommendation on access to social protection for workers and the self- employed agreed on 6th December 2018; welcomes this recommendation as a first step, but stresses that more needs to be done to ensure access to social protection for all;