Activities of Renate WEBER related to 2015/0051(NLE)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the proposal for a Council decision on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States PDF (220 KB) DOC (353 KB)
Amendments (13)
Amendment 43 #
Recital 2
(2) The Union must combat social exclusion, poverty and discrimination, ensure equal access to fundamental rights, and promote social justice and protection. In defining and implementing its policies and activities, the Union should take into account requirements linked to the guarantee of adequate social protection and the, fight against social exclusion and poverty and ensure a high level of education and training.
Amendment 74 #
Recital 6
(6) The financial and economic crisis revealed and emphasised important weaknesses in the economy of the Union and its Member States. It has also underscored the close interdependence of the Member States' economies and labour markets. Moving the Union to a state of strong, sustainable and inclusive growth and job creation is the key challenge faced today. This requires coordinated and ambitious policy action both on Union and national level, in line with the provisions of the Treaty and the Union economic governance. Combining supply and demand side measures, these actions should encompass a boost to investment, a renewed commitment to structural reforms and exercising fiscal responsibility. Substantial differences in unemployment rates between Member States generated an increase in the number of persons wanting to move. In this context, intra- Union as well as intra-Member States mobility should be supported further as to reach the equilibrating role against the huge imbalance across Union labour markets.
Amendment 97 #
Recital 10
(10) The broad guidelines for economic policies give guidance to the Member States on implementing reforms, reflecting interdependence. They are in line with the Stability and Growth Pact. The guidelines should form the basis for country-specific recommendations that the Council may address to the Member States. Given the close interdependence of Member States' economies and labour markets, when issuing Country-Specific Recommendation the Council should take into consideration the state of affairs in the neighbouring countries as well as countries with which the respective Member State has clear connections following a trend in workers' migration or any other relevant indicator. In this respect, the Commission should have accurate and updated statistics and data available in case the Country- Specific Recommendations need to be adjusted.
Amendment 105 #
Annex 1 – section 1 – paragraph 1
Member States should facilitate sustainable job creation, reduce barriers for business to hire people, including by cutting red tape, promote entrepreneurship and in particular support the creation and growth of small enterprise, due to its significant employment impact, support the creation and growth of business start-ups, small and medium sized enterprises and green jobs in order to increase the employment rate of women and men. Member States should also actively promote the social economy and foster social innovation.
Amendment 118 #
Annex 1 – section 1 – paragraph 2
The tax burden should be shifted away from labour to other sources of taxation, including a shift from labour to environmental taxation and the phasing out of counterproductive subsidies by 2020, that are less detrimental to employment and growth while protecting revenue for adequate social protection and growth enhancing expenditures. Reductions in labour taxation should be aimed at the relevant components of the tax burden and at removing barriers and disincentives to labour market participation, in particular for those furthest away from the labour market.
Amendment 132 #
Annex 1 – section 2 – paragraph 1
Member States should promote productivity and employability through an appropriate supply of relevant knowledge and skills. Special attention should be given to health care, social services and transport services which are facing or will face on the medium term shortages of staff. Member States should make the necessary investments in educationquality and inclusive education from an early age and vocational training systems while improving their effectiveness and efficiency to raise the skill level of the workforce and increase the diversity of skills, allowing it to better anticipate and meet the rapidly changing needs of dynamic labour markets in an increasingly digital economy and of society at large. To this end, it should be taken into account that ICT-related skills and "soft skills" such as communication skills are becoming more important for a large number of occupations. Member States should step up efforts to improve access to quality adult learning for all and implement active ageing strategies to enable longer working lives.
Amendment 141 #
Annex 1 – section 2 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 (new)
While ensuring the necessary skills level requested by a continuously changing labour market and supporting education and training alongside programmes for adult learning, Member States should not forget that low-skills jobs are also needed and that employment opportunities are better for the high-skilled than for the medium- and low-skilled.
Amendment 142 #
Annex 1 – section 2 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Access to affordable, quality, early childhood education and care should be a priority for comprehensive policies and investment coupled with family and parenting support and reconciliation measures helping parents to balance work and family life, as a contribution to preventing early school-leaving and increasing young people's chances on the labour market.
Amendment 160 #
Annex 1 – section 2 – paragraph 4
Barriers to labour market participation should be reduced, especially for women, older workers, young people, the disabled and legal migrants, migrants and other people that face discrimination or exclusion. Gender equality including equal pay must be ensured in the labour market as well as access to affordable quality early childhood education and care. In this sense, the Women on Board Directive and Maternity Leave Directive should be unblocked by the Member States.
Amendment 170 #
Annex 1 – section 2 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 (new)
In this respect it should be taken into account the fact that the NEET rates are higher for females than for males and that the NEET phenomenon is primarily due to an increase in youth unemployment but also to non-education linked inactivity.
Amendment 203 #
Annex 1 – section 3 – paragraph 4
Mobility of workers should be ensured with an aim of exploiting the full potential of the European labour market, including by enhancing the portability of pensions and the recognition of qualifications. Member States should at the same time guard against abuses of the existing rules.
Amendment 227 #
Annex 1 – section 4 – paragraph 2
For that purpose a variety of instruments should be used in a complementary manner, including labour activation enabling services and income support, targeted at individual needs. Social protection systems should be designed in a way that facilitate take up of all persons entitled, support investment in human capital, and help prevent, reduce and protect against poverty. Special attention should be paid to children at risk of poverty due to their parents' long term unemployment.
Amendment 239 #
Annex 1 – section 4 – paragraph 3
The pension systems should be reformed in order to secure their sustainability, portability and adequacy for women and men in a context of increasing longevity and demographic change, including by linking statutory retirement ages to life expectancy, by increasing effective retirement ages, and by developing complementary retirement savings.