18 Amendments of Chrysoula ZACHAROPOULOU related to 2020/0310(COD)
Amendment 37 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The European Social Charter establishes that all workers have the right to just conditions of work. It recognises the right of all workers to a fair remuneration sufficient for a decent standard of living for themselves and their families. Article 4 of the Charter recognises the role of freely concluded collective agreements as well asnd of statutory minimum wage setting mechanisms, to ensure the effective exercise of this right, as well as the right of men and women to equal pay for work of equal value.
Amendment 46 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) Better working and living conditions, including through adequate minimum wages, benefit both workers and businesses in the Union and are a prerequisite for achieving inclusive and sustainable growth. Addressing large differences in the coverage and adequacy of minimum wage protection, as well as combating undeclared work, which is mostly performed by women, through job recognition incentive schemes and simplified declaration tools, contributes to improving the fairness of the EU labour market and promoteing economic, and social progress and upward convergence. Competition in the Single Market should be based on high social standards, the creation of quality jobs, innovation and productivity improvements ensuring a level playing field.
Amendment 50 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) When set at adequate levels, minimum wages protect the income of disadvantaged workers, help ensure a decent living, and limit the fall in income during bad times, as recognised in Convention 131 of the International Labour Organisation on the establishment of a system of minimum wage fixing. Minimum wages contribute to sustaining domestic demand, strengthen incentives to work, reduce wage inequalities, and help prevent and combat in- work poverty.
Amendment 52 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) Women, migrant, young and low- skilled workers, single parents and persons with disabilities have a higher probability of being minimum wage or low wage earners, and face more intersectional and structural discrimination, than other groups. During economic downturns, such as the Covid-19 crisis, the role of minimum wages in protecting low-wage workers becomes increasingly important and is essential to support a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery, while there are chronic skills shortages in many sectors, including in highly feminised sectors. The COVID-19 crisis, during which some mostly female-dominated low-paid sectors have proved to be essential, prompts consideration of the need to reassess the adequacy of pay in certain sectors. Addressing minimum wage contributes to gender equality, closing the gender pay and pension gap as well as elevating wommpowering women economically and elevating women and children out of poverty.
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) The Covid-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on the services sector and small firms, which both have a high share of minimum wage earners. In addition, minimum wages are also important in view of the structural trends that are reshaping labour markets and which are increasingly characterised by high shares of non-standard and precarious work. These trends have led to an increased job polarisation resulting in an increasing share of low-paid and low- skilled occupations in most Member States, in particular in highly feminised sectors, as well as to higher wage inequality in some of them.
Amendment 83 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) TWith a view to improving working conditions, upward social convergence and gender equality in the Union, this Directive establishes minimum requirements at Union level to ensure both that minimum wages are set at adequate level and that workers have access to minimum wage protection, in the form of a statutory minimum wage or in the form of wages set under collective agreements as defined for the purpose of this Directive.
Amendment 113 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) To promote adequacy of minimum wages for all groups of workers, variations and deductions from statutory minimum wages should be limited to a minimum, while ensuring that social partners are duly consulted in their definition and ongoing evaluation. Some deductions to statutory minimum wages may be justified by a legitimate aim, including overstated amounts paid or deductions ordered by a judicial authority. Others, such as deductions related to the equipment necessary to perform a job or deductions of allowances in kind, such as accommodation, may be unjustified or disproportionate. There should be a focus on ensuring that variations in statutory minimum wages and deductions from such wages do not disproportionately affect the most vulnerable groups, especially women.
Amendment 118 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) An effective enforcement system, including stepped-up controls and field inspections, is necessary to ensure the functioning of, and compliance with, national statutory minimum wage frameworks, in particular in risk sectors, including in highly feminised sectors. To strengthen the effectiveness of enforcement authorities, a close cooperation with the social partners is also needed, including to address critical challenges such as those related to sub- contracting, bogus self- employment or non-recorded overtime. Moreover, workers should have easily access to appropriate information on applicable statutory minimum wages to ensure an adequate degree of transparency and predictability as regards their working conditions and enforcement of their rights.
Amendment 124 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) Reliable monitoring and data collection are key to ensure the effective protection of minimum wages. The Commission should report every year to the European Parliament and to the Council its assessment of developments in the adequacy and coverage of minimum wages on the basis of annual data and information to be provided by Member States. Member States will submit a breakdown of the data and information provided by gender, age, disability, business size and sector. In addition, progress should be monitored in the framework of the process of economic and employment policy coordination at Union level. In that context, the Employment Committee should examine every year the situation in the Member States on the basis of the reports produced by the Commission and European Union agencies such as the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), and other multilateral surveillance tools such as benchmarking.
Amendment 147 #
Proposal for a directive
Article premier – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article premier – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. With a view to improving working and living conditions in the Union, upward social convergence and gender equality, this Directive establishes a framework for:
Amendment 199 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 1
1. Member States with statutory minimum wages shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the setting and updating of statutory minimum wages are guided by criteria set to promote adequacy with the aim to achieve decent working and living conditions, social cohesion and upward convergence, as well as to prevent and combat in-work poverty. Member States shall define those criteria in accordance with their national practices, either in relevant national legislation, in decisions of the competent bodies or in tripartite agreements. The criteria shall be defined in a stable and clear way.
Amendment 220 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 5
Article 5 – paragraph 5
5. Member States shall establish consultative bodies to advise the competent authorities on issues related to statutory minimum wages, including the gender pay gap. The consultative bodies shall be sufficiently resourced.
Amendment 229 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
1. Member States may allow different rates of statutory minimum wage for specific groups of workers. Member States shall keep these variations to a minimum, and ensure that any variation is non- discriminatory, proportionate, limited in time if relevant, and objectively and reasonably justified by a legitimate aim, and does not disproportionately affect the most vulnerable groups, in particular women.
Amendment 233 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 2
Article 6 – paragraph 2
2. Member States may allow deductions by law that reduce the remuneration paid to workers to a level below that of the statutory minimum wage. Member States shall ensure that these deductions from statutory minimum wages are necessary, objectively justified and proportionate and do not disproportionately affect the most vulnerable groups, in particular women.
Amendment 240 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) the establishment and ongoing evaluation of variations and deductions in statutory minimum wages referred to in Article 6;
Amendment 243 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point 1
(1) strengthen the controls and field inspections conducted by labour inspectorates or the bodies responsible for the enforcement of statutory minimum wages, and ensure that they are sufficiently resourced. The controls and inspections shall be proportionate and non- discriminatory and shall have a focus on highly feminised sectors;
Amendment 256 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point a – point iii
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point a – point iii
(iii) the existing deductions and objective justifications provided;
Amendment 265 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1