Activities of Alejandro CERCAS related to 2010/0115(NLE)
Plenary speeches (1)
Guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States (debate)
Amendments (15)
Amendment 31 #
Proposal for a decision
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The Treaty on European Union stipulates in Article 3.3 that the Union shall combat social exclusion and discrimination, and shall promote social justice and protection and provides for the Union's initiatives to ensure coordination of Member States' social policies. Article 9 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provides that in defining and implementing its policies and activities, the Union shall take into account requirements linked to the promotion of full and decent employment, the guarantee of adequate social protection and the fight against social exclusion and all Member States should follow the principle of equal pay for equal work at the same workplace.
Amendment 58 #
Proposal for a decision
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) As part of comprehensive "exit strategies" for the economic crisis, Member States should carry out ambitious reforms to ensure macroeconomic stability, the promotion of more and better jobs, as promoted by the ILO in its Decent Work Agenda, and the sustainability of public finance, improve competitiveness, reduce macroeconomic imbalances and enhance labour market performance. The withdrawal of the fiscal stimulus should be implemented and coordinated within the framework of the Stability and Growth Pact.
Amendment 86 #
Proposal for a decision
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) Member States should also, through their reform programmes and based on decent jobs, aim at "sustainable growth". Sustainable growth means building a resource-efficient, sustainable and competitive economy, a fair distribution of the cost and benefits and exploiting Europe's leadership in the race to develop new processes and technologies, including green technologies. Member States should implement the necessary reforms to reduce greenhouse gases emissions and use resources efficiently. They should also improve the business environment, stimulate creation of green jobs and modernise their industrial base.
Amendment 95 #
Proposal for a decision
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) Member States" reform programmes should also aim at "inclusive growth". Inclusive growth means building a cohesive society in which people are empowered to anticipate and manage change, thus to actively participate in society and economy. Member States" reforms should therefore ensure access and opportunities for all throughout the lifecycle, thus reducing poverty and social exclusion, through removing barriers to labour market participation especially for women, older workers, young people, disabled and legal migrants whilst taking into account decent working conditions and those unable to participate in the labour market. They should also make sure that the benefits of economic growth reach all citizens and all regions. Ensuring effective functioning of the labour markets through investing in successful transitions, appropriate skills development, rising job quality and fighting segmentgender equality and fighting segmentation, by providing security for workers under all forms of employment, discrimination, structural unemployment and inactivity while ensuring adequate, sustainable social protection and active inclusion to reduce poverty should therefore be at the heart of Member States" reform programmes.
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a decision
Recital 11 a (new)
Recital 11 a (new)
(11 a) In the context of the 'inclusive growth' objective Member States should set an appropriate legislative framework for the new forms of work whilst paying attention both to ensuring adequate social security and flexible forms of employment for workers in order to guarantee the compatibility of family and work life.
Amendment 115 #
Proposal for a decision
Recital 13 a (new)
Recital 13 a (new)
(13 a) Member States should take into account the Europe 2020 strategy, and, in particular, its employment and social aspects, when programming and implementing EU funding, including that from the European Social Fund, the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund. The use of the European Funding has to reduce the number of bureaucratic hurdles and facilitate longer-term measures.
Amendment 138 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – Guideline 7 – title
Annex – Guideline 7 – title
Guideline 7: IncCreasting labour market participation andmore and better jobs, reducing structural unemployment and increasing labour market participation
Amendment 163 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – Guideline 7 – paragraph 1
Annex – Guideline 7 – paragraph 1
Amendment 190 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – Guideline 7 – paragraph 3
Annex – Guideline 7 – paragraph 3
In order to increase competitiveness and raise participation levels, particularly for the low-skilled, and in line with economic policy guideline 2, Member States should review tax and benefit systems and the capacity of public services to provide the necessary support. Member States should increase labour force participation through policies to promote active ageing, gender equality and equal pay and labour market integration of young people, disabled, legal migrants and other vulnerable groups. Work-life balance policies with the provision of affordable care and innovation in work organisation should be geared to raising employment rates, particularly among youth, older workers and women, in particular to retain highly-skilled women in scientific and technical fields. Member States should also refurthermovre barriers to labour market entry for newcomers, support self-employment and job creation in areas including green employment and care and promote social innovationoost both individual and collective forms of self- employment through social economy-type enterprises. Support should be given to social economy enterprises as an important source of job creation as they depend less on the business cycle and often provide services that are labour- intensive and socially useful.
Amendment 217 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – Guideline 8 – title
Annex – Guideline 8 – title
Guideline 8: Developing a skilled workforce responding to labour market needs, pPromoting job quality and lifelong learning, developing a skilled workforce
Amendment 226 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – Guideline 8 – paragraph 1
Annex – Guideline 8 – paragraph 1
Member States should promote productivity and employability through an adequate supply of knowledge and skills to match current and future demand in the labour market. Quality initial education and attractive vocational training must be complemented with effective incentives for lifelong learning, and second-chance opportunities. Member States should offer a "second chance" for young people aged between 25 and 35 which include an obligatory offer of educational and vocational training. Further, ensuring every adult the chance to move one step up in their qualification, and by targeted migration and integration policies. Member States should develop systems for recognising acquired competencies, remove barriers to occupational and geographical mobility of workers, promote the acquisition of transversal competences and creativity, and focus their efforts particularly on supporting those with low skills and increasing the employability of older workers, while at the same time enhance the training, skills and experience of highly skilled workers, including researchers.
Amendment 229 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – Guideline 8 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Annex – Guideline 8 – paragraph 1 a (new)
The geographic and cross-border mobility which is wanted by employers must not lead to a deterioration of working conditions and a reduction of pensions and unemployment benefits. Geographic mobility should never lead to lowering of social standards.
Amendment 253 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – Guideline 8 a (new)
Annex – Guideline 8 a (new)
Guideline 8a: Reforming and strengthening cohesion policy in support of employment Member States commit themselves to arrange, complement, coordinate and adjust their national targets, within and among each other, in a way that imbalances of economic development between regions will be reduced. The Member States are aware that cohesion policy represents an effective and supportive, but not subordinated, instrument to the guidelines by accommodating regional specificities, supporting regions to overcome their socio-economical difficulties and reducing disparities. An integrated approach, multilevel governance and partnership principles should be the core of governance and deliverer of the strategy, whereas the regional and local level in particular have to play a crucial role as vehicles to reach the countless economic and social actors living and producing in the Union, in particular the SMEs, especially from the social economy. Therefore, cohesion policy is not just the source of stable financial allocations, but also a powerful instrument for the economic development and so an employment instrument for all Union regions. The Member States should invest more in transport, energy, telecommunication and IT infrastructure and make full use of the European Structural Funds, the rules and procedures of which should be harmonised in order to simplify delivery systems and encourage the participation of potential beneficiaries in Union co- founded programmes. To achieve this, Member States should create synergies between their cohesion policies and other existing sectoral policies, in accordance with an integrated approach, since cohesion is not a cost, but gives strength, taps unused potential, reduces structural differences between countries and regions, expands growth and improves the competitiveness of Union regions in a globalised world, counterbalances the effects of the global economic crisis and generates Union social capital.
Amendment 269 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – Guideline 10 – title
Annex – Guideline 10 – title
Guideline 10: PCombating Poverty and promoting social inclusion and combating povertyprotection
Amendment 275 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – Guideline 10 – paragraph 1
Annex – Guideline 10 – paragraph 1
Member States’ efforts to reduce poverty should be aimed at promoting full participation in society and economy and extending employment opportunities, making full use of the European Social Fund. Efforts should also concentrate on ensuring equal opportunities, including through access to affordable, sustainable and high quality services and public services (including online services, in line with guideline 4) and in particular health care. Member States should put in place effective anti-discrimination measures. Equally, to fight social exclusion, empower people and promote labour market participation, social protection systems, lifelong learning and active inclusion policies should be enhanced to create opportunities at different stages of people’s lives and shield them from the risk of exclusion. Social security and pension systems must be modernised to ensure that they can be fully deployed to ensure adequate income support and access to healthcare — thus providing social cohesion — whilst at the same time remaining financially sustainable. Benefit systems should focus on ensuring income security during transitions and reducing poverty, in particular among groups most at risk from social exclusion, such as one- parent families, minorities, people with disabilities, children and young people, elderly women and men, legal migrants and the homeless. In order to strengthen income security at various stages of life, the Member States should ensure adequate minimum incomes that should at least be above the poverty line, in accordance with the various practices, collective agreements and legislation in the Member States. Member States should also actively promote the social economy and social innovation in support of the most vulnerable.