Activities of Maria-Manuel LEITÃO-MARQUES related to 2021/2253(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Common European action on care (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT towards a common European action on care
Amendments (73)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
— having regard to Article 8 of the TFEU enshrining the EU’s aim to eliminate by all its activities inequalities and promote equality between women and men which translates into gender mainstreaming,
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 a (new)
Citation 17 a (new)
— having regard to Directive 2000/43/EC of the Council of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin,
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 19 a (new)
Citation 19 a (new)
— having regard to the Commission’s Communication A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 (COM(2020) 152 final), of 5 March 2020,
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)
Citation 22 a (new)
— having regard to the Commission proposal of 28 October 2020 for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on adequate minimum wages in the European Union (COM(2020)682),
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 24 a (new)
Citation 24 a (new)
— having regard to the EPSCO Council conclusions ST/8884-21 of 14 June 2021 on the Socio-Economic Impact of Covid-19 on Gender Equality,
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 24 b (new)
Citation 24 b (new)
— having regard to the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) Opinion SOC/535- EESC- 2016 of 21 September 2012 The rights of live-in care workers,
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 34 a (new)
Citation 34 a (new)
— having regard to the ETUI/EPSU report on Pay transparency and role of gender-neutral job evaluation and job classification in the public services,
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas people are inherently interdependent as they all rely on care to different degrees depending on age, social status, physical endowment and personal background;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the large majority of care givers, formal and informal, are women; whereas caring for others, both paid and unpaid, heavily impacts women’s participation in all areas of life;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas thestereotypes surrounding women being better care givers as well as stigma surrounding interdependence and the need for care and support intersects with other grounds of discrimination;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the “male breadwinner – female carer“ model continues to shape access to social rights, including pensions, hence impacting negatively on women’s economic independence throughout the life-cycle;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas, in 2018, one-third of employed women were working part time in the EU, nearly four times the rate for men; whereas the unequal distribution of unpaid and invisible care responsibilities is a major factor contributing to this discrepancy;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas care migration can be defined as the movement of people to supply care services both in the formal and informal economy; whereas migrant workers in care, who are mostly women, are more vulnerable to exploitation and often lack access of their rights;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
Ce. whereas many care workers members of an ethnic minority or migrants work as live-in care workers with unlimited working hours, having to be available 24 hours a day; whereas these live-in workers are mostly women who do not have an official job contract;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas there is a lack of quality, accessible and affordable care services in nearly all Member States; whereas the monitoring of formal and informal care is hampered by the lack of data, including gender-disaggregated data, and the lack of quality indicators;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the crisis in the care sector precedes the Covid pandemic; whereas in the years 2019 to 2020, 421,000 workers left the residential care sector; whereas this increases the psychosocial risks faced by the care workers that remain in the sector, who are mostly women, as their workload increases;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas there is a lack of quality, accessible and affordable care in nearly all Member States; whereas the monitoring of care is hampered by the lack of disaggregated data and the lack of periodic quality indicators such as the European Time Use Survey (ETUS);
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic hasmade visible and exacerbated the pre- existing challenges in terms of access to both formal and informal care services;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions many carers were isolated from their family and broader community;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a double burden for many women, who had longer shifts at work and additional informal care at home;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the provision of quality care depends on the existence of a sufficiently large and, well- trained and motivated workforce, the creationestablishment of decent working conditions and, social dialogue and the right to collective bargaining, fair pay, integrated services, and adequate funding;
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas there is a lack of care services that are tailored to individual’s needs and preferences; whereas this requires structures of care need to be changed from centralised institutions to community- based care; whereas that shift has been too slow;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas the structures of care need to be changed from centralised institutions to community-based care taking into consideration both inequalities and average income in different communities; whereas that shift has been too slow;
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the undervaluation and invisibility of care work are closely linked with the fact that women dominate in the care sector; in terms of pay and working conditions as well as the invisibility of care work are closely linked with a vicious circle of “double devaluation”, where care is relegated to the most disempowered groups of society, mainly women, because of its lack of value and, in turn, the activity of care becomes devalued because it is carried out by the most disempowered groups;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas 6.3 million professionals work in long-term care, among whom women (81 %) are overrepresented and there are increasing numbers of platform workers, as well as migrant and mobile workers; whereas this happens as a result of global care chains replenishing the care deficits present in the EU; whereas this makes it impossible to think of care along national borders only;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas in all the Member States, pay in the care sector is well below the average pay and is connected with lower collective bargaining coverage in the care sector; whereas the EU and Member States should ensure quality and fair working conditions for carers;
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas an excessive market share of private care companies can lead to profit being put before the needs and wellbeing of care workers and care recipients as well as negatively impact universal access to care services;
Amendment 300 #
J. whereas in all the Member States, pay in the care sector is well below the average pay and is connected with a devaluation of female-dominated sectors, such as this, as well as factors such as lower collective bargaining coverage in the care sector;
Amendment 315 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas 80 % of all long-term care in Europe is provided by informal carers, the majority of which are women, which makes care an extremely gendered issue; whereas most informal carers lack rights, such as sick leave and holidays, which negatively impacts on their physical and mental health, well-being and social inclusion;
Amendment 337 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the high numbers of care recipients who arare made dependent on informal care are directly linked to thers as a direct consequence of the non- existence, inaccessibility and unaffordability of quality professional services;
Amendment 341 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)
Recital L a (new)
La. whereas the high numbers of care recipients who are dependent on informal care are directly linked to the inaccessibility and unaffordability of quality professional services; whereas elderly people have difficulties in accessing digital services and access to care services should be a right;
Amendment 347 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L c (new)
Recital L c (new)
Lc. whereas the high numbers of care recipients who are dependent on informal care are directly linked to the inaccessibility and unaffordability of quality professional services; whereas elderly digital literacy is a right;
Amendment 351 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas women in the EU carry out 13 hours more of unpaid care and housework per week than men; whereas 7.7 million women in the EU remain out of the labour market owing to their care responsibilities for children and dependents, compared to just 450,000 men;
Amendment 358 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
Ma. whereas public regulation on care is needed, especially to prevent cases of abuse in long term care elderly care institutions, such as those that occurred during the pandemic;
Amendment 361 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M b (new)
Recital M b (new)
Mb. whereas the gender pension gap averages at 29.4 % in 20191a as a result of the imbalances created by persistent lifelong inequalities; _________________ 1a https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/product s-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20210203-1
Amendment 387 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas access to quality care services, especially long-term care, is increasingly preconditioned on individual and family income as well as their place of residence;
Amendment 390 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P a (new)
Recital P a (new)
Pa. whereas a 2021 Eurocarers survey suggests that 78% of informal carers never used care-related technologies; whereas digital technologies have the potential to support both formal and informal carers and reduce the burden they face, for example, in transporting patients to consultations that could be held online;
Amendment 401 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P b (new)
Recital P b (new)
Pb. whereas demographic change and accompanying ageing of the population will increase the demand for care services; whereas care jobs are not likely to be replaced or reduced by automation; whereas this should motivate the EU and Member States to invest into the care economy as a promising job creating sector, in the framework of the digital transition, in order to increase the number of qualified staff and attract more people to this sector;
Amendment 406 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P b (new)
Recital P b (new)
Pb. whereas digitalisation should not substitute completely the human interaction related to care;
Amendment 410 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P c (new)
Recital P c (new)
Pc. whereas it is crucial to understand the interaction between formal and informal care; whereas formal care services can provide support to informal carers, for example, by making it possible for them to take time off as well as by giving them training; whereas the lack of official recognition of informal carers and related lack of data about them and their needs is a barrier to this interaction;
Amendment 411 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P c (new)
Recital P c (new)
Pc. whereas formal and informal carers mental health have been disproportionately affected during coronavirus pandemics: whereas women's informal care role also had considerable effects on their mental health; whereas mental problems have increased during the pandemic increasing the care burden;
Amendment 413 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P d (new)
Recital P d (new)
Amendment 435 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that it is vital to ensure quality care across the life course; underlines the importance of the quality, accessibility, availability and affordability of care, and that all users and their carers should have a genuine choice when it comes to care services;
Amendment 448 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses the importance of an integrated approach to common European action on care thatCalls for an integrated, holistic, gender-sensitive and life-long approach to common European action on care that ensures a transition towards a care economy, which acknowledges the social and economic contribution of care to our society and pays equal attention to people’s physical, psychological and social needs and rights;
Amendment 458 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses that promoting an equal- earner/equal carer model, where men and women engage equally in paid work in the labour market and unpaid work in domestic and care responsibilities, should be a goal of all EU actions in the field of care, labour markets and social services; reminds of the importance of applying gender mainstreaming to all policies;
Amendment 459 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses that promoting an equal- earner/equal carer model, where men and women engage equally in paid work in the labour market and unpaid work in domestic and care responsibilities, should be a goal of all EU actions in the field of care; reminds of the importance of applying gender mainstreaming to all policies;
Amendment 462 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Notes that tackling entrenched gender norms and stereotypes is a first step in redistributing responsibilities for unpaid care and domestic work between men and women;
Amendment 463 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Stresses the importance of educational programmes and awareness raising campaigns that aim to bring more men into care by tackling gender stereotypes about the role of women and men in this sector;
Amendment 476 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights the need to increase public funding for both formal and informal care across the EU to guarantee equal access for dependants to affordable, adequately staffed, quality care services, as well as an active professional life for carers, and therefore calls on the Member States to make the best use of the European structural and investment funds, including the ESF+, as well as the Recovery and Resilience Facility, for investing in care;
Amendment 508 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Member States to exchange information and best practices with a view to developing a common European quality framework for formal and informal care, encompassing all care settings, encouraging upward social convergence and guaranteeing equal rights for all citizens; calls for the Commission to support Member States in improving their data collection infrastructures in line with this quality framework;
Amendment 526 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the Commission to put forward a Care Deal for Europe, which should ensure a transition towards a caring economy that takes an integrated, holistic, gender-sensitive and life-long approach to care; stresses that this should include legislative measures and investment at EU level in order to promote decent working conditions and fair wages, increase the attractiveness of work in the care sector as well as tackle discrimination and poverty;
Amendment 529 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Stresses the importance of highlighting the need for an European approach to care in the debates and final report of the Conference on the Future of Europe, as care is a key sector for Europe’s future;
Amendment 534 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to present an ambitious European care strategy that builds on everyone’s right to affordable, accessible and, high-quality care, as well as on other principles set out in the EPSR and EU strategic documents, and the individual rights and needs of both care recipients and carers, and that encompasses the entire life course, is based on reliable and comparable data, and includes concrete and progressive goals with a timetable and indicators to evaluate progress; stresses that, between other aspects, the Commission should aim to tackle gender inequalities in care, improve data collection, promote active ageing as well as improve the working conditions, pay and support given to care givers and care receivers;
Amendment 562 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2
Subheading 2
Quality childcare for every childthe benefit of all
Amendment 595 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Member States to provide continuous holistic support to parents, including parental entitlements and measures that encourage a more substantial and equal role for men in the sharing of care responsibilities, including for very young children;
Amendment 614 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Member States to reform and integrate their social services and protection systems in such a way as to provide effective and equal access to care services throughout the life course, taking a personalised approach, in order to enhance access to care, the continuity of care, preventive healthcare, rehabilitation and, whenever possible, independent living;
Amendment 656 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop the tools required for the regular assessment of the accessibility of care services and a comprehensive benchmark for monitoring the quality and adequate staffing levels of both formal and informal care services;
Amendment 707 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on the Commission to establish a comprehensive set of indicators for long-term care, and corresponding targets and tools for monitoring the accessibility, affordability and quality of care services, similar to the Barcelona objectives for childcare; urges the Commission to set a target for all citizens to have access to high quality long-term care services;
Amendment 727 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Insists on the pivotal role of training for formal and informal carers to support the delivery of quality care;
Amendment 747 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Notes that between 40 and 50 million people in the EU provide informal care on a regular basis; notes that this work tends to be long term and can hinder or rule out formal labour market participation, resulting in a loss of income and aggravating the gender pay and pension gaps, which contributes to the feminisation of poverty, as the majority of informal carers are women;
Amendment 754 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Notes that the involvement of children in the provision of informal care can negatively impact their mental and physical health, educational attainment and social inclusion;
Amendment 777 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Urges the Commission to propose a common coherent package of actions at EU level on informal care, to identify and recognise the different types of informal care provided in Europe, and to guarantee carers financial support and other additional support services, including time off forincluding legislative and non-legislative proposals, as appropriate, and adequate investment, aiming to, between other aspects: - identify and recognise the different types of informal care provided in the EU, - set out annual reporting responsibilities for Member States, - ensure that informal carers have access to social protection, including financial support, sick leave, and time off, - promote training and skills validation schemes, - recognise unpaid care work in the calculation of carers' pension schemes, - create single points of contact in all Member States, where informal carers, cand a work-life balance and rehabilitation services for carers and care recipientccess the support they are entitled to, - promote interoperability between health and social security systems in order to make use of existing data and reduce the administrative burden faced by informal carers, - guarantee work-life balance for carers;
Amendment 798 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Urges the Commission and the Member States to support civil society organisations and social partners representing informal carers and to take their contributions into account in the design, implementation and evaluation of policies concerning informal care;
Amendment 808 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6
Subheading 6
Decent working conditions, fair pay for all workers in the care sector
Amendment 841 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls on the Member States to ensure decent working conditions for all workers in the care sector, both formal and informal, including respect for minimum wages, and to adopt high standards of occupational health and safety, in line with and beyond the ambition of the recently adopted EU strategic framework on health and safety at work 2021-2027;
Amendment 868 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls on the Member States to strengthen social dialogue and promote collective bargaining and collective agreements in the care sector, both profit and non-profit, as crucial mechanisms for the improvement of employment and working conditions of both formal and informal carers, and for tackling the gender pay gap, and as the most effective tools for securing an increase in the minimum wage and in wages in general; stresses that these agreements should also aim to avoid loss of pension rights for those that need to decrease paid employment or leave employment in order to care for dependants; highlights that special attention should be paid to assuring the rights of migrant workers, who often work as live-in carers and have to be available 24 hours a day;
Amendment 892 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Recalls that mobile and migrant workers play a significant role in the provision of both residential care and home care in the EUlive- in care in the EU; calls on the Member States to ratify the ILO Domestic Workers Convention (C189, 2011); highlights the need to make sure that migrants fleeing conflicts, such as the war in Ukraine, who are mostly women and children, are assured their rights and do not suffer from exploitation in the care sector;
Amendment 915 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls on the Member States to swiftly and fully transpose and implement the Work-Life Balance Directive; stresses that only an equal share of care responsibilities between men and women by means of non-transferable and adequately paid leave periods would enable women to increasingly engage in full-time employment and achieve a work-life balance; highlights that this not only requires but also will cause changes in stereotypes and gender norms, leading to a fairer and more gender equal society;
Amendment 937 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Amendment 944 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Calls for the Commission and Member States to promote the use of digital health applications, such as online medical consultations, where appropriate, in both formal and informal care contexts;
Amendment 946 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 c (new)
Paragraph 27 c (new)
Amendment 986 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Calls on the Commission and EIGE to help Member States to adopt approaches to measuring and valuing the social and economic contribution and outputs of care, in particular unpaid care and housework, including by considering the introduction of new indicators to the Social Scoreboard; calls on Eurostat and EIGE to publish yearly estimates on the economic contribution of informal carers to Member States’ economies;