Activities of Kostadinka KUNEVA related to 2018/2077(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Care services in the EU for improved gender equality (debate) EL
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on care services in the EU for improved gender equality PDF (361 KB) DOC (87 KB)
Amendments (65)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
- having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular Articles 1, 3, 5, 27, 31, 32, 33 and 47 thereof,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 b (new)
Citation 3 b (new)
- having regard to the UN Convention of 18 December 1979 on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW),
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
- having regard to the Commission communication of 6 June 2014 on an EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2014-2020 1a _________________ 1aeur- lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smart api!celexplus!prod!DocNumber≶ =EN&ty pe_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2014ν_doc= 0332
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 19 a (new)
Citation 19 a (new)
- having regard to the report of 2011 of Eurofound entitled ‘Company initiatives for workers with care responsibilities for disabled children or adults’,
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 19 b (new)
Citation 19 b (new)
- having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 16 October 2014 on developing services to the family to increase employment rates and promote gender equality at work,
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 19 c (new)
Citation 19 c (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 14 June 2017 on the need for an EU strategy to end and prevent the gender pension gap,
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 a (new)
Citation 20 a (new)
- having regard to the joint report of 10 October 2014 by the Social Protection Committee and the European Commission on ‘Adequate social protection for long-term care needs in an ageing society’,
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 b (new)
Citation 20 b (new)
- having regard to the report of 2014 of Eurofound entitled ‘Residential care sector: Working conditions and job quality’
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 c (new)
Citation 20 c (new)
- having regard to the report of 2015 of Eurofound entitled ‘Working and caring: Reconciliation measures in times of demographic change’,
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 d (new)
Citation 20 d (new)
- having regard to the European Economic and Social Committee opinion of 21 September 2016 on the rights of live-in care workers,
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 21 a (new)
Citation 21 a (new)
- having regard to the opinion of 26 May 2010 of the Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship of the European Economic and Social Committee on “The professionalisation of domestic work” 3a _________________ 3a http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getD oc.do?type=TA&reference=P8-TA-2016- 0203⟨ uage=EN˚=A8-2016- 0053#def_1_11
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)
Citation 22 a (new)
- having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by the Council Decision of 26 November 2009;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the achievement of gender equality has been slow and across the European Union women remain underrepresented in the labour market and continue to suffer inequality as regards pay, opportunities to improve their skills and career opportunities; whereas the evidence suggests that one of the main causes of this is caring responsibilities which are borne disproportionately, and often almost exclusively, by women;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas ‘care’ means work carried out in public or private institutions or in a private household or households in order to provide personal care for children, elderly, ill or people with disabilities; whereas care work is to be performed by professional carers who may be employed by public or private entities or families or be self-employed, yet it is also informally and unpaid performed by non-professional carers, who are usually family members;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas the domestic work and care sector employed some 52 million people around the world in 2010, according to ILO figures, and a further 7,4 million domestic workers under the age of 15, accounting for between 5 % and 9 % of all employment in industrialised countries;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas the financial crisis and the imposed austerity measures have severely affected the citizens and residents of the EU, while aggravating job precariousness, poverty, unemployment and social exclusion, and leading to limited or no access to public and social services;
Amendment 59 #
Ad. whereas many family members that are in need of care live in areas where lack of public services persists, and isolation or other circumstances make it difficult for them to have access to professional caring services, and whereas these dependants may be looked after only by non-professional carers who, very often are women family members;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas Europe is facing an ageing population, which leads to increasing care needs;demographic changes that lead to a growing incidence of age-related diseases and ageing population, accordingly increasing care needs; whereas there is a growing demand for care and a disproportionate distribution of care responsibilities between genders, with the women having to carry most of the caring burden due to stereotyping roles that still prevail in the European society. whereas the growing number of the elderly, the declining number of working age people and budget restrictions imposed due to austerity measures are having a significant impact on social services, and whereas this will also have an impact on people having to combine work and care responsibilities, often in challenging circumstances
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas, according to estimations, care in the EU is currently being provided by informal, unpaid carers who have to respond to increasing pressures to provide more sophisticated and technical levels of care; whereas 80 % of all caregivers are women, and that this affects employment levels among women, work-life balance, gender equality and healthy ageing; whereas the unequal distribution of child and informal long-term care between parents has a significant impact on the gender pension gap, standing at 37%;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas the growing demand for care services, for the children, the people with disabilities and the elderly has contributed to the rising of feminisation of migration inside and to Europe;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Bc. whereas the burden of care and family responsibilities is much greater for women than it is for men and is not evaluated in monetary terms or in terms of a recognition of its value; whereas there is a correlation between the rate of female employment and women’s family responsibilities; whereas over 20 million Europeans (two-thirds of whom are women) care for adult dependent persons, which prevents them from having a full- time job and therefore increases the gender pay gap and leads to a higher risk of poverty in old age for women who are approaching retirement;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B d (new)
Recital B d (new)
Bd. whereas care related jobs are poorly paid in many Member States, often not offering formal contracts or other basic labour rights and have low attractiveness because of the high risk of physical and emotional stress, the threat of burnout, and a lack of career development opportunities; whereas the sector offers few training opportunities and, moreover, its employees are predominantly ageing people, women and migrant workers;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B e (new)
Recital B e (new)
Be. whereas the majority of current national policy models for care services are not suitable for meeting the needs of the Union´s ageing society, and whereas most Member States have not addressed demographic challenges in their respected policy and social care initiatives and systems up to now;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Δ
Recital Δ
D. whereas the Barcelona targets of providing childcare to at least 33 % of children under 3 years of age (target 1) and to at least 90 % of children between the age of 3 and the mandatory school age (target 2) have been met in just 12 Member States since 2002, with achievement rates in some Member States worryingly low, which represents a failure by the EU to achieve the Barcelona targets;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas although the number of care homes for the elderly has increased over the last 10 years in nearly all Member States, the demand is still outstripping the availability of care; whereas a lack of disaggregated information at a national level, including on financial investments, and a lack of quality indicators makes this important part of care infrastructure difficult to monitor; whereas in many Member States there has been a reduction in the number of public care homes for the elderly and a large increase in the number of private/for profit care homes;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas although the number of care homes for the elderly has increased over the last 10 years in nearly all Member States, the demand is still outstripping the availability of care and there is urgent need for further investment in community-based, or home-based long- term care services; whereas a lack of disaggregated information at a national level, including on financial investments, and a lack of quality indicators makes this important part of care infrastructure difficult to monitor;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas although the number of care homes for the elderlyose with age impairments has increased over the last 10 years in nearly all Member States, the demand is still outstripping the availability of care; whereas a lack of disaggregated information at a national level, including on financial investments, and a lack of quality indicators makes this important part of care infrastructure difficult to monitor;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the reduction of public care facilities for children, the elderly and persons with disabilities is the result of drastic cuts in Member States’ social budgets that have been imposed in a coordinated manner on the basis of the EU’s fiscal austerity rules and guidelines, especially since the financial crisis; whereas the degradation of public care is a key symptom of the shrinking social welfare state;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas supporting measures, such as the Swedish tax deduction system for domestic services, the French ”service employment voucher” or the Belgian “service voucher”, have proven their effectiveness in reducing undeclared work, improving working conditions and granting regular labour rights to domestic and care workers;
Amendment 103 #
Eb. whereas in a number of EU Member States there is lack of quality professional care services that are available to all regardless of income;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas a shift from institutional to community-based care for persons with disabilities has beento continue to takinge place in recent timeline with the legal provisions of the Convention; whereas the needs of older persons and persons with disabilities should be met in community-based care settings;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital ΣΤ
Recital ΣΤ
F. whereas a shift from institutional to community-based care for persons with disabilities has been taking place in recent times; whereas this positive trend complements but does not replace the Member States’ obligations to provide public care services;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal for a directive on work-life balance for workers and carers and emphasises, in this context, the importance of the individual rights of leave and flexible working arrangements for helping working individuals to manage their private and professional lives, with appropriate safeguards to prevent the abuse of flexibility by employers; believes that for the purposes of future development, the aim should be to progressively extend parental and care leave9, and to ensure non- transferable parental leave, guarantees in relation to dismissal, return on the same or equivalent post and protection from discrimination carried out on the basis of leave-taking decisions, and the extension of rights to those who need to take leave in order to care for dependents other than children; _________________ 9 As called for in www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do? pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P7-TA-2010- 0373+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls the European Commission to come forward with an initiative on regularizing the caring sector, introducing a general framework for the professionalization of care, leading to the recognition and standardisation of the relevant professions and skills; Furthermore, calls for a set of measures to be introduced in European level in order to reassure that those who act as informal carers, are not deprived from social protection and services. Examples of measures to be introduced shall address the challenges of informal carers that go beyond employment legislation, such as continuing income support, access to health care, the recognition of time spent in informal care in pension credits, and access to services such as peer counselling, psychological support, day-care and respite care facilities;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Expresses its concern at the unfavourable developments in the field of parental leave and rights related to parenting, such as the withdrawal of the draft Directive on the prolongation of maternity leave and the recent ruling by the European Court of Justice, which considers lawful the dismissal of a pregnant worker as part of collective redundancies, and calls on the Commission very rapidly to fill the gaps appearing in EU legislation;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Emphasises, however, that the availability of diverse, quality, accessible and affordable care infrastructure, and support for childcare and care for other dependants either at home or in home-like situations, has proved to be a crucial aspect of work- life balance policies that help women make a swift return to and remain in the labour market; considers, however, that public investment in quality public care facilities is an absolute priority, with private or other kinds of facilities complementing the former rather than competing with them;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Emphasises, however, that the availability of diverse, quality, accessible and affordable care infrastructure and services, and support for childcare and care for other dependants either at home or in home-like situationthe community in home-type settings, has proved to be a crucial aspect of work-life balance policies that help women make a swift return to and remain in the labour market;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Believes that every person should have the right to choose quality care services that are suitable for them and their family; reiterates, however, that the right to choose does not relieve the welfare state of its obligation to develop a reliable and scientifically sound network of public care services which is as comprehensive as possible;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Believes that every person with support needs should have the right to choose quality care services that are suitable for them and their family;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes a variety of care services, such as early childhood care and education, care services for the elderly and care or support for persons with disabilities, and that differing policy approaches have therefore been developed;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is of the opinion that regardless of the differences between the users to which they cater, care services should be developed in a comprehensive fashion in order to meet women and men’srkers´ needs for a work- life balance and bring about equal representation and access in the labour market;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Believes that the approach to the development of care services should take into account all categories of users and their differences and diverse preferenceneeds for the types of care services they require;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Considers that quality care is above all about the quality of services and their ability to respect the dignity and human rights of those using them, including by ensuring their inclusion in the community. The transition towards community-based services is, in this regard, a welcome development, that should involve monitoring in terms of the quality of the services being developed; such a transition should not increase the burden of informal carers;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Believes that accessibility derives from a combination of cost and flexibility and that there should therefore be a range of care service provisions, bothprimarily public and in a secondary capacity private, and for care at home and in home- like settings; considers, furthermore, that family members should either be able to voluntarily provide care or be subsidised to procure care services; underlines, however, that neither voluntary nor non- formal nor subsidised care services should act as a substitute for the social welfare state;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Considers that the development of quality care services for children, the elderly and persons with disabilities is linked to quality employment relationships and decent pay for the workers who provide these services; deplores the phenomena of precariousness and law of the jungle as regards employment that are spreading in this sector and supports the legislative initiatives for the certification and recognition of professional carers; considers that good employment relationships for professional carers of children, the elderly and persons with disabilities have a beneficial effect on the ability of the women who are mainly responsible for such care to balance work and personal life;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Underlines the fact that the prohibitive costs of childcare have a negative impact on children from low income families, putting them at a disadvantage from an early age and therefore reiterates that the priority of states must be the development of quality public care networks for all children, without distinctions that reproduce the stereotypes of the class hierarchy; emphasises that every child has the right to good-quality care and to early childhood development, including a full range of social stimuli;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Believes that those planning, programming and providing care services have a responsibility to take cognisance of users’ needs and that care services for the elderly and persons with disabilities must be planned and developed with the participation of the users; underlines the irreplaceable supervisory role of the public authorities in this planning;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Is concerned about the working conditions in many care services, such as long working hours, inadequate pay, lack of training and weak occupational health and safety policies; is concerned that care work is seen as an unattractive sector for employment, attracting mainly women and migrant workers; highlights that these conditions have also an impact on the quality of care delivered; therefore calls on the Member States for a revalorisation of care as a career choice and on the Commission to establish a legal framework for minimum standards for workers in the sector, in collaboration with the Social Partners and launch an initiative on quality in long-term care, taking inspiration in available civil society-led voluntary tools and initiatives such as the European Quality Framework for long-term care services and the recent proposal for a Recommendation on Quality in Early Childhood Education and Care;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to develop guidance for Member States, in line with the proposals made in this report, on developing comprehensive employment- friendly and accessible care services which include childcare, care services for the elderly and care for persons with disabilities, and which are based on the participation of and consultation with the intended users of the services to ensure their accessibility;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to develop guidance for Member States on developing comprehensive employment- friendly person-centred, community-based and accessible care services which include childcare, care services for the elderly and care for persons with disabilities, and which are based on the participation of and consultation with the intended users of the services to ensure their accessibility;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Further calls on the Commission to collect gender disaggregated data and to develop harmonised definitions and indicators to assess the gender dimension, accessibility, quality and efficiency of care services for children, persons with disabilities and the elderly at an EU level while finding ways to avoid increasing the monitoring burden on care professionals; calls on the Commission to monitor their implementation and promote corrective action where and when may be needed;
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on the Commission to monitor rigorously the spending of EU Funding, especially under the European Structural and Investment Funds in the area of social care services and long-term care and ensure that investments are in line with the human rights obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the EU Charter for Fundamental Rights.
Amendment 256 #
17. Invites the Commission to revise the Barcelona targets and targets on early childhood education; calls on the Commission to ensure that these targets are ambitious and rapidly make up for the enormous delay in the years since they were first set and are accompanied by recommendations for a generous increase in resources to help attain them;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Invites the Commission to revise the Barcelona targets and targets on early childhood education especially for children below three years of age, to avoid a gap between the end of well-paid leaves and the effective entitlement to childcare. Closing this gap is crucial to enable parents, especially mothers, to return into paid employment;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on the Commission to set up corresponding targets on care services for the elderly and for persons with disabilities, in consultation with the Member States;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commission to include care for the elderly and for persons with disabilities in its monitoring and review of data in the European Semester and in the annual report on gender equality; calls on the Member States to consider includCommission to include data on this care ing as sessments of care services for the elderly and persons with disabilities in their country reportt of social progress indicators to be monitored in the context of the European Semester; calls on the Commission and the Council to include these social indicators among the Semester rules; encourages the Member States to adopt and use corrective measures should progress prove to be slow;
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commission to include care for the children, the elderly and for persons with disabilities in its monitoring and review of data in the European Semester and in the annual report on gender equality; calls on the Member States to consider including assessments of care services for the children, the elderly and persons with disabilities in their country reports; encourages the Member States to adopt and use corrective measures should progress prove to be slow;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Believes that, in line with the right to long-term care proclaimed in the European Pillar of Social Rights, long- term care should be regarded as a branch of social protection and that access to quality and person-centred long-term care should not depend on a beneficiary’s or their family’s income;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Member States to increase investment in care services and improve the quality of care, and to increase investment in special measures that enable carers to maintain an active professional life; calls, to that end, on the Member States to reverse the policies to reduce public spending on the social welfare state which they have implemented particularly over the past decade;
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Member States to increase public investment in care services and improve the quality of care, and to increase investment in special measures that enable carers to maintain an active professional life;
Amendment 290 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Calls on the Commission to make sure the European Semester process and the application of the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact contribute to the realisation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, leaving effective room for Member States to fund and sustain their funding for care services;
Amendment 298 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Commission to strengthen the provision of funding for all types of care services through the European Social Fund+ and other financial instruments whose purpose is to fund social infrastructure; calls on the Commission’s proposals for the new post- 2020 Multiannual Financial Framework to reflect this support;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Commission to strengthen the provision of funding for all types of care services, with special regard to the transition from institutional to community-based care services, through the European Social Fund+ and other financial instruments whose purpose is to fund social infrastructure;