21 Amendments of Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ related to 2016/2061(INI)
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas equality between women and men is one of the common and fundamental principles enshrined in Articles 2 and 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union, Article 8 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; whereas gender equality should likewise be mainstreamed in all EU policies, initiatives, programmes and actions;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas respect for equal pay for equal work and work of equal value for men and women has been guaranteed by the Treaty1 a since the founding of the European Economic Community; __________________ 1aFormer Article 119 TEU, current Article 157 TFEU
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the difference in pay and pensions is even more pronounced among women with multiple disadvantages, such as women with disabilities, women caring for dependents, women from minority groups, women refugees and asylum seekers, women with little or no training, etc.;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas the pension gap differs from one woman pensioner to another according to personal, social, marital and/or family status; whereas, in view of this, a one-size- fits-all approach will not necessarily produce the best results;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that a multi-faceted approach is required in order to make a success of the strategy, which must address disparities between men and women in terms of their careers and ability to make pension contributions as well as those resulting from the way in which pension systems are organised; stresses that what is required therefore is a combination of actions under different policies that aim at improving gender equality, instituting measures to: raise the employment rate for women; cut the number of women employed part-time; close the gender pay gap; tackle gender segregation in education and employment, motivating women to choose careers and professions in which they are less represented; break through the glass ceiling preventing many women from reaching top positions of responsibility and pay; combat gender stereotypes; improve the balance between work, family and private life; encourage men towards a fairer sharing of family and household responsibilities; improve old age pension rights by mitigating the effect of career breaks to care for children and other dependents; and address gender equality in social inclusion, at the same time bearing in mind the impact of an ageing population and migration flows;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses that promoting equal financial independence for men and women, which cannot be achieved without closing the gender gap in pay and pensions, is fundamental to ensuring equality between men and women; emphasises that a comprehensive set of measures needs to be adopted to ensure gender equality in terms of lifelong access to financial resources;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Is critical of the fact that there is an ‘inexplicable’ component in the pay gap which stems above all from discrimination affecting many women who are not paid the same salary as men even though they hold the same post or a post of equal value; points out that in other cases differences in pay stem from the fact that women do not hold the same jobs, which is the result of: the continued horizontal segregation or gender-specific division of labour, according to which jobs that are considered to be ‘women’s work’ are valued less highly; the continued vertical segregation, related to the so-called glass ceiling that prevents women from reaching the top, highest paid jobs; the continued use of different categories for the same work (e.g. in cleaning services, where men are hired in a higher category as maintenance technicians, while women are in a lower category such as cleaners); and the over- representation of women in part-time work which is, in addition, more poorly paid than full-time work; emphasises that the vast majority of low salaries and almost all very low salaries are paid for part-time work and points out that about 80 % of the working poor are women; stresses that all these factors also result in women having lower pensions than men;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Reiterates and supports the Council’s call for a new Commission initiative setting out a strategy for equality between women and men for 2016-2020, for this to take the form of a Communication as has happened with previous strategies, and for the EU’s strategic engagement on gender equality to be enhanced, linking it closely to the Europe 2020 Strategy;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. ECalls on the Commission and the Member States to spread and raise public awareness relating to equal pay and the pension gap, and to direct and indirect discrimination against women at work at European, national, regional and local level; encourages the Member States to promote action to close the gap through their social policies, to raise awareness among decision-makers in this area and to develop programmes that will provide women with more information on the gap’s implications for them, as well as with the tools they require in order to devise sustainable pension funding strategies that are tailored to their specific needs;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Reiterates the need for clear harmonised definitions, to facilitate comparison at EU level, of terms such as gender pay gap, gender pension gap, remuneration, direct and indirect pay discrimination, work treated as ‘equal’ and work of the same value; points out that due to the various types of work contracts that exist, both statutory and contractual, the current calculation of the gender pay gap can lead to a distorted understanding of the problem of equal pay, which will also be reflected in the pension gap; calls on the Commission to analyse these possible distortions and to propose suitable solutions, including the introduction of mandatory pay audits for companies listed on stock exchanges in the EU Member States, and the possibility of sanctions in cases of non-compliance;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Urges Member States, employers and trade unions to draft and implement serviceable, specific job evaluation tools to help determine work of equal value and thus to ensure men and women receive equal pay and hence, in the future, equal pensions; encourages firms to carry out annual equal pay audits, to publish the data with the utmost transparency and to narrow the gender pay gap;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Stresses that women belonging to more vulnerable groups (women with disabilities, women caring for dependents, women from minority groups, women refugees and asylum seekers, women with little or no training, etc.) are even more affected by pay and pension inequality, given that they are often in jobs requiring fewer skills, with less responsibility and lower pay, they suffer considerable social isolation and are financially more heavily dependent on their spouse or other family members;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Points to the importance, in a context in which the burden of responsibility for pensions is shifting from state pension systems to self-funded schemes, of ensuring that access to the financial services covered by Directive 2004/113/EC is non-discriminatory; stresses the importance of existing EU legislation being strengthened by including gender-neutral job classification and evaluation systems and measures to promote pay transparency, and by making it possible to apply sanctions such as fines, sentences and disqualification from receiving state aid in the event of equal pay rules not being complied with;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Points out that the female unemployment rate is underestimated given the fact that many women are not registered as unemployed, particularly those who live in rural or remote areas or help out in family firms, along with many of those who devote themselves exclusively to household tasks and childcare; regrets that while this situation increases the pension gap it also, in many cases, prevents access to public services such as social security, benefits, maternity leave, sick leave, childcare facilities, etc.;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Calls attention to the fact that only two Member States have transposed, clearly and sufficiently, Directive 2006/54/EC; calls on the Commission to continue monitoring the transposition and implementation of this Directive in the Member States to ensure that rights laid down in EU legislation are fully implemented and observed, including, if necessary, through the commencement of infringement procedures;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls on the Commission to present an ambitious and comprehensive package of legislative and non-legislative measures on work-life balance as part of its 2017 work programme, including revision of the directives on maternity and parental leave and proposing directives on paternity and carers’ leave;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Emphasises that the gender gap in pensions reflects the fact that the working life of women is a great deal more affected by responsibilities caring for dependent family members that that of men, and that for this reason women have more breaks in their career, fewer promotions and pay rises, and greater recourse to part-time work than men; stresses that as a result women are at a clear disadvantage compared to men if employment-related contributions are the main factor determining pension rights, especially if there are no means of compensating for career breaks and mitigating the effects on pensions of a shorter contribution period;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take steps to encourage men to share equally in domestic responsibilities and in caring for children and other dependants, in particular, through incentives for men to take parental and paternity leave, which will strengthen their rights as parents, ensure a greater degree of equality between women and men and more appropriate sharing of family and housekeeping responsibilities, and enhance women’s opportunities to participate fully in the labour market, which will help lessen the gender gap in pay and pensions;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Draws attention to the increasing prevalence of mandatory flexible working hours: weekend work, more irregular, unpredictable and extended working hours, etc.; points out that the demand for flexibility is greatest amongst part-time workers, who are mostly women, and that this means that more women than men have their working hours changed from week to week, making it even harder, especially for single mothers and women caring for dependent family members, to strike a balance between work and family life;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Points out that a proper work-life balance cannot be achieved unless decent childcare facilities are available for children, the elderly and other dependents; calls on Member States to meet the Barcelona targets at the earliest opportunity, and no later than by 2020;
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls on the Member States and the European Union institutions to promote studies on the effects of the gender gap on the pensions and financial independence of women, taking account of issues such as the ageing population, gender differences in health conditions and life expectancy, how family structures have changed and the number of single- occupancy homes have risen, and differences in women’s personal situations; calls too for them to draw up possible strategies to put an end to the gender gap in pensions.