Activities of Ilda FIGUEIREDO related to 2011/2067(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Agenda for new skills and jobs (debate)
Amendments (26)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas women are in a disadvantaged position in the labour market and are disproportionately represented in part-time work and in new, often precarious forms of working arrangements, facing obstacles in seeking access to full social rights, social protection and benefits,
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas the increase in atypical forms of employment caused by increased flexibility disqualifies a growing number of female employees from social benefits, as eligibility for social benefits depends on an employee's employment status; whereas increased flexibility thus also endangers the financial sustainability of social security systems,
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Considers gender gaps still remain in EU labour markets, including gender pay gap, gaps in part-time versus full time rates, gaps in employment rates, gap in the effect on employment rates due to parenthood, gender pension gaps; considers gender roles and labour market segregation in employment are a major obstacle to the functioning of EU labour market;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3b. Considers that Member States should take adequate measures to phase out precarious and atypical employment, which mainly affects women; considers that one instrument could be to establish a system of progressively rising social security contributions from employers, according to the principle ‘the lower the employment status (short period, weak perspectives, high risks), the higher the contributions to social security’; considers that progressive contributions could motivate employers e.g. to issue a permanent contract rather than to prolong a temporary one and thus encourage them to hire employees under more favourable conditions;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Encourages a fair share of unpaid work between women and men by ensuring paid parental leave measures and the development of paid leave for care responsibilities; calls on the Commission to complement the existing legal framework on work/life balance, including provisions on paternity leave and leave for dependants other than children; calls on the Council to approve the draft legislative proposal regarding pregnant workers (Maternity directive);
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Notes that recent research demonstrates that increased flexibility has the effect of generally reducing the status of employees, especially women, who are more often not employed permanently but temporarily, not employed full-time but part-time, and more frequently turn to involuntary self-employment; whereas new research based on OECD data shows that the more flexible employment is, the more it is precarious and that employment flexibility has the strongest negative effect on ‘employability’ (improving the skills and qualifications of employees);
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls for the development of care economy to meet real needs and to ensure high quality accessible care services for all, good working and pay conditions to avoid resorting to undeclared work;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas recent research demonstrates that increased flexibility has the effect of generally reducing the status of employees, who are more often not employed permanently but temporarily, not employed full-time but part-time, and more frequently turn to involuntary self- employment; whereas new research based on OECD data shows that the more flexible employment is, the more it is precarious and that employment flexibility has the strongest negative effect on ‘employability’ (improving the skills and qualifications of employees),
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)
Recital J b (new)
Jb. whereas the increase in atypical forms of employment caused by increased flexibility disqualifies an increasing number of employees from social benefits, as eligibility for social benefits depends on an employee's employment status; whereas increased flexibility thus also endangers the financial sustainability of social security systems,
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J c (new)
Recital J c (new)
Jc. whereas numerous studies on working conditions by the Dublin Foundation demonstrate that flexible working time schemes are accompanied by an increase in irregular and unpredictable working hours, resulting in ongoing classic workplace-related health problems in combination with new ones related to greater stress at work resulting from a new work organisation designed to meet short-term market fluctuations; whereas recent research also shows that most flexible working time schemes in place in Europe do not enable employees better to reconcile employment and their private life,
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J d (new)
Recital J d (new)
Jd. whereas women are in a disadvantaged position in the labour market and are disproportionately represented in part-time work and in new, often precarious, forms of working arrangements, facing obstacles in seeking access to full social rights, social protection and benefits,
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J e (new)
Recital J e (new)
Je. whereas high unemployment and labour market segmentation need to be overcome by giving all workers equal rights, phasing out all forms of precarious employment, and investing in the creation of permanent jobs and lifelong learning,
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J f (new)
Recital J f (new)
Jf. whereas the flexicurity approach adopted by the Commission is to be rejected as totally unbalanced, because flexibility is not matched by increased social security; whereas the Commission simply promotes the deregulation of job protection and more flexible employment contracts and proposes no effective measures to combat precarious employment, while maintaining policies that reduce the social security and the rights of workers and the unemployed (less ‘generous’ unemployment and social benefits to ‘activate the unemployed’, a ‘balance of rights and obligations’, reducing rights, and strengthening obligations),
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas gender gaps still remain in EU labour markets, including gender pay gap, gaps in part-time versus full time rates, gaps in employment rates, gap in the effect on employment rates due to parenthood, gender pension gaps; whereas gender roles and labour market segregation in employment are a major obstacle to the functioning of EU labour market,
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that national flexicurity arrangements must be strengthened and adapted to the new socio-economic contexts of each individual Member State, in accordance with its specific needs, in order to ensure a flexible and active labour market, efficient training and secure social security systems; warns against one-size-fits-all solutionsTakes the view that flexicurity strategies are not an appropriate means by which to combat precarious employment and reduce unemployment; emphasises that high levels of employment protection and job protection are based on the fundamental right of workers to be protected against unfair dismissal; stresses that job protection and employment protection must also be maintained as useful tools for an overall policy of anticipating change and promoting stability and continuity of employment;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Regrets that for many workers the reconciliation of work and family life remains a difficult task; calls on the Member States to give all parents, especially single-parent families, opportunities for integration not only into working life but also into lifelong learning processes; encourages a fair share of unpaid work between women and men by ensuring paid parental leave measures and the development of paid leave for care responsibilities; calls on the Commission to complement the existing legal framework on work/life balance, including provisions on paternity leave and leave for dependants other than children, calls on the Council to approve the draft legislative proposal regarding pregnant workers (Maternity directive);
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Believes that the biggest problems in the EU concern the remaining high level of unemployment, the growth of precarious forms of employment, the erosion of workers' rights and social protection and the supply of skilled and competent workers; stresses that priority should be given to the creation of an inclusive labour market by promoting the quality of jobs and the 'Decent Work Agenda', raising educational levels and expanding training and retraining programmes, ensuring greater equality between men and women and improving the integration into the labour market of women, migrants, older or younger workers and other disadvantaged groups;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Considers that a barrier-free and competitivpriority has to be given to an increase single market has to be completed in order to facilitate free movement of workers production, high-quality public services, the creation of high- quality jobs with rights and the fight to eradicate poverty; in this regard, calls on the Commission and Member States to work closely with social partners and to encourage sharing of best practice and experience in this area;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Strongly condemns undeclared work which endangers both society and workers; calls on the Member States to carry out regular checks and to initiate information campaigns in order to raise awareness of long-term disadvantages for workers employed in the black economy; calls for the development of care economy to meet real needs and to ensure high quality accessible care services for all, good working and pay conditions to avoid resorting to undeclared work;
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Notes that flexicurity policies are put at the centre of the Agenda, and shares the Commission’s assessment that the crisis has put nationalrecent research demonstrates that increased flexibility has the effect of generally reducing the status of employees, who are more often not employed permanently but temporarily, not employed full-time but part-time, and more frequently turn to involuntary self- employment; whereas new research based on OECD data shows that the more flexible employment is, the more it is precarious and that employment flexicurbility arrangements to a serhas the strongest negative effect on ‘employability’ (improving the skills and qualificatiouns tof employeest);
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Stresses, however, that flexicurity alone cannot remedy the crisis and calls on the Commission, Member States and the social partners to pay special attention to workers from disadvantaged groups, such as young people, low-skilled workers and workers with disabilTakes the view that Member States should take adequate measures to phase out precarious and atypical employment; considers that one instrument could be to establish a system of progressively raising the social security contributions paid by employers, according to the principle ‘the lower the employment status (short period, weak perspectives, high risks), the higher the contributions to social security’; considers that progressive contributions could motivate employers e.g. to issue a permanent contract rather than to prolong a temporary one and thus encourage them to hire employees under more favourable conditieons;
Amendment 299 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. BelievNotes that, under the new momentum of social and economic changes, the four components of flexicurity – flexible and reliable contractual arrangements, active labour market policies, lifelong learning, and modern social security systems – and the balance between them should be reviewed and reinforced the increase in atypical forms of employment caused by increased flexibility disqualifies an increasing number of employees from social benefits, as eligibility for social benefits depends on an employee's employment status; takes the view that increased flexibility thus also endangers the financial sustainability of social security systems;
Amendment 313 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Underlines that, in order to emerge stronger from the economic crisis, to become more competitive and convergent, with higher levels of growth, and to secure our welfare systems in the long term, Europe needs to promote high-quality public services, make full use of its labour force potential, guarantee workers' rights, and promote collective bargaining and public and universal social security;
Amendment 352 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Considers that job quality has to be promoted as a multidimensional concept, covering both employment relations and work itself; calls on the Commission to step up efforts to review the EU definition and common indicators of job quality, to make them more operational for the evaluation and benchmarking of Member States’ policies; stresses that high-quality employment presupposes permanent work, with decent wages and adequate social protection;