28 Amendments of José GUSMÃO related to 2023/2586(RSP)
Amendment 2 #
Citation 3 a (new)
— having regard to the Commission communication of 7 September 2022 entitled ‘European Care Strategy’ (COM(2022)440),
Amendment 3 #
Citation 3 b (new)
— having regard to the Council recommendation of 8 December on access to affordable high-quality long-term care,
Amendment 4 #
Citation 3 c (new)
— having regard to the Council recommendation of 30 January 2023 on adequate minimum income ensuring active inclusion,
Amendment 5 #
Citation 3 d (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 15 March 2023 on Adequate minimum income ensuring active inclusion,
Amendment 12 #
Recital A
A. whereas sustainable development is a fundamental objective of the EU; whereas the three interlinked pillars of sustainable development are the economic, the social and the environmental; whereas sustainable development is based, among other things, on full employment, social progress and fairness; whereas this is a fundamental objective of the EU, as laid down in Article 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union; whereas the emphasis currently lies on economic and environmental sustainability;
Amendment 15 #
Recital B
B. whereas the EPSR was proclaimed in 2017 in Goteborg, setting out 20 principles and establishing a social rulebook towards a strong social Europe that is fair, inclusive and full of opportunity in the 21st century; whereas at the Porto Social Summit in May 2021, the Council committed to three headline targets for 2030 on employment, training and poverty; whereas at least 78 % of the population between 20 and 64 years old should be in employment by 2030; whereas the quality and working conditions remain outside of the scope of this target; whereas at least 60 % of all adults should participate in training every year; whereas the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion should be reduced by at least 15 million by 2030, including 5 million of children; whereas the three headline targets do not cover the full implementation of the EPSR;
Amendment 22 #
Recital C
C. whereas the target falls short after the Commission failed to reach the 20 millions of people out of poverty by 2020; whereas the new target of reduction of poverty remains lower that the target sets by the sustainable goal development; whereas the headline targets set out by the Commission have only been implemented by the Member States for a year; whereas the additional crises since the targets were decided have put additional pressure on reaching these targets; whereas five Member States have reached their national targets on employment, and half of the Member States have surpassed the 78 % target on employment, however projections show that not all Member States will reach the employment target by 20301 ; whereas countries with the lowest GDP per capita are aiming to contribute the most to the poverty reduction target, there was a strong potential to have a more equitable distribution of the target, with solidarity measures among Member States, reflecting the lack of comprehensive anti- poverty strategy, whereas the target left to Member States, is leading to an unfair distribution of the EU poverty reduction target; __________________ 1 European Commission, ‘Commission welcomes Member States’ targets for a more social Europe by 2030’, 16 June 2022.
Amendment 26 #
Recital D
D. whereas inflation at the EU level has increased the cost of living of median households by around 10 %, the incidence of material and social deprivation by around 2 % and the rate of energy poverty and absolute monetary poverty by around 5 %; whereas in selected Member States and among vulnerable groups, the corresponding welfare effects are expected to be several times higher; whereas this is likely to widen existing gaps in poverty and social exclusion across the EU2 ; whereas old-age poverty and social exclusion has been on the rise since 2015 and particularly poverty and social exclusion - rates of women 75+ surpass the AROPE rate for the total population; __________________ 2 Menyhert, B., ‘The effect of rising energy and consumer prices on household finances, poverty and social exclusion in the EU’, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2022.
Amendment 33 #
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the Commission has presented an EU Care Strategy in September 2022 and the Council adopted a Council recommendation on long-term care in December 2022 to implement principle 18 of the European Pillar of Social Rights; whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has unveiled and accentuated the unsustainable working conditions of professional carers, the high burden of informal carers in the absence of formal care services and the high exposure of persons in need for care to infection, severe disease and fatalities; whereas community-based care and home care have been shown to reduce the exposure of persons in need for care to infections; whereas the SPC in its 2021 Report on Long-Term Care has shown that long- term care needs increases risk of poverty and social exclusion; whereas, in the light of demographic developments, long-term care should be made more accessible, ensure independence and quality of care, provide for sustainable working conditions and support informal carers;
Amendment 40 #
Paragraph 1
1. Reiterates the importance of the conclusions of the 2021 Porto Social Summit, which underline that we are still living in unprecedented times; notes that COVID-19 and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine on our doorstep resulted inexacerbated the cost of living and energy crises, which are hitting the most vulnerable groups in our society the hardest, leading to increasing inequalities; reiterates the importance of the EPSR as a guiding compass to a more social Europe; stresses, however, that the resulting headline targets for 2030 set out by the Commission and endorsed by the Council on employment, skills and poverty are insufficient to ensure its full implementation; stresses that the EPSR is a powerful toolbaseline to ensure that the European project can act as a powerful shield protecting the health, safety and living conditions of its people;
Amendment 45 #
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission and the Council to take measures to mitigate the impact of the crises on Member State labour markets in order to keep employment rates highworking people, pensioners and vulnerable people and on Member State labour markets in order to protect income, ensure decent living standards and to keep employment rates high; calls the Commission, the Council and Member States to take urgent measures to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, including solidarity measures at EU level, in order to protect jobs and incomes, ensure quality jobs and – also in the framework of the transposition of the Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages in the EU – to increase statutory minimum wages and promote collective bargaining; calls therefore on the Commission, the Member States and EU social partners to commit to reaching collective bargaining coverage of at least 80 % by 2030, with a view to improving living and working conditions in the EU, which will contribute to upward social convergence and reduce in-work poverty, social exclusion and wage inequality;
Amendment 56 #
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the above-mentioned conclusions of the 2021 Porto Social Summit; welcomes the adoption of the Directive on adequate minimum wages in the EU3 and the soon-to-be adopted directive on pay transparency4 ; urges the Council to promptly agree on a general approach concerning the directive for platform work5 in order to improve worker protection in theend the system of false self-employment used by platform economy and to create fair competmpanies to cut costs at the detriment of workers’ pay and working conditions; welcomes the Commission’s commitment to occupational health and safety in the workplace, and highlights the need of further actions to ensure the achievement of the target of zero deaths at work and because of work; welcomes the Commission’s commitment to follow up with a legislative proposal after the adoption of Parliament’s resolution of 2 February 20236 ; welcomes the launch of a two-stage consultation of EU social partners; welcomes the launch of the EU Platform for Combatting Homelessness, but calls upon the EU Commission to increase future structural funding for the activities and governance of the Platform, and develop an ambitious work programme for the period 2024–2029; __________________ 3 Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union, OJ L 275, 25.10.2022, p. 33. 4 Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 March 2021 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (COM(2021)0093). 5 Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 December 2021 on improving working conditions in platform work (COM(2021)0762). 6 European Parliament resolution of 2 February 2023 with recommendations to the Commission on Revision of European Works Councils Directive, Texts adopted, P9_TA(2023)0028.
Amendment 65 #
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that, even with the Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) instrument as part of the European unemployment reinsurance scheme, the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis has lasted longer than anticipated; highlights, however, that thousands of jobs were saved thanks to this instrument and that the shock to the labour market was less severe than expected; notes, in this regard, that this instrument should remain in use for the duration of the current exceptional situation and continue to be based on loans and quickly activated only in the event of external financial or economic shocks; notes, in this regard, that this instrument should be made permanent;
Amendment 81 #
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to put forward a legal framework for an effective and enforceable ban on unpaid internships, traineeships and apprenticeships; welcomes the European Year of Skills and highlights the importance of access to training and reskilling for workers, in particular in industries and sectors that need to undergo fundamental changes in order to achieve the green and digital transitions, ensuring no one is left behind; calls on the Commission to consider a directive on adequate minimum income in order to ensure the reintegration of people absent from the labour market, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity, the specificities of national social protection systems and the competences of the Member States; welcomes the Commission’s commitment to presenting a proposal, by the end of 2023, on the creation of an EU disability card to be recognised in all Member States; welcomes the ongoing negotiations of the social partners on telework and the right to disconnect, with a view to putting forward a legally binding agreement implemented via a directive; calls on the Commission to put forward a legislative proposal for a European social security pass to provide national authorities, such as labour and social security inspectorates, and social partners involved in labour and social security inspections with a real-time instrument to effectively enforce national and EU law;
Amendment 87 #
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that, although many legislative and non-legislative initiatives have been initiated by the Commission, so far the EU has fallen short on fully implementing the EPSR; stresses the need for further legislative action by the Commission and the Member States to ensure its full implementation, with a specific focus on implementing principlesto make sure that Action Plan for the implementation of the Pillar – which should include legislative and non- legislative measures – is reviewed regularly to ensure that the EU continue to progress to improve working and living conditions; stresses the need for further legislative action by the Commission and the Member States to ensure its full implementation, with a specific focus on the improvement of living and working conditions, including – amongst others – implementing principles 1 (Education, training and life-long learning), 5 (Secure and adaptable employment), 8 (Social dialogue and involvement of workers), 10 (Healthy, safe and well-adapted work environment and data protection), 11 (childcare), 12 (social protection), 14 (Minimum Income), 19 (housing) and 20 (essential services); due to the emergency on reducing and fighting poverty a reinforced commitment towards the poverty target is needed, namely by proposing an EU integrated anti-poverty strategy and a EU anti-poverty programme to facilitate the achievement of the target and beyond;
Amendment 94 #
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls for actions to ensure the respect of the right to education and training for all, by guaranteeing for all workers high-quality training and paid educational leave;
Amendment 96 #
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Calls for the introduction of a social dialogue impact assessment that would evaluate the impact of EU legislation on social dialogue and oblige EU legislators to state how social dialogue is supported by their initiatives;
Amendment 98 #
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Reiterates its call for the adoption of the horizontal non-discrimination directive1 by the Council, pending since 2008, to fully implement EPSR Principle 1 and the promises of the EU’s founding treaties with regard to equal treatment; __________________ 1 European Parliament legislative resolution of 2 April 2009 on the proposal for a Council directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion and belief, disability, age or sexual orientation
Amendment 112 #
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on all EU Member States to implement the Council recommendation on long-term care to realise principle 18 on the right to long-term care to ensure a shift towards rights-based long-term care, which focusses on guaranteeing the independence of persons in need for care, the needs and choices of a person in need for care, develops community-based and homecare services, supports informal carers in their access to social protection, supportive services and training;
Amendment 121 #
Paragraph 9
9. Highlights that, according to principle 19, access to social housing or housing assistance of good quality should be provided for those in need; urges the Commission to develop an ambitious action plan to achieve accessible and green social housing to meet the housing needs of all EU citizens and to progressively eradicate homelessness by 2030 in a decarbonised frame;
Amendment 131 #
Paragraph 10
10. Expresses its concern about the lack of access to essential services (principle 20), which have come under additional stress; urges the Commission to present a revision of the services of general and economic interest; warns against the shift to exclusively digital service provision in the field of essential services such as banking or payments, booking appointments with health care professionals and participation in society in general;
Amendment 140 #
Paragraph 11
11. Reiterates its call that, in the light of the framework of the Green Deal industrial plan, EU and national funding, including State aid, should be conditional on public policy objectives, in particular social requirements, in order to offer high- quality jobs, promote collective bargaining, respect EU labour rights and standards and ensure improved working conditions; calls on the Commission and the Member States to enforce the social clause in the existing Directive on public procurement7 and to revise the directive in order to further strengthen social clauses in public contracts to require economic operators and subcontractors to fully respect the right of workers to collective bargaining, to accountas well as to exclude companies that refuse to participate in collective bargaining or that engage in union busting building upon for the recently adopted Directive on adequate minimum wages in the EU; __________________ 7 Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC, OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 65.
Amendment 146 #
Paragraph 12
12. Highlights the need to strengthen the social dimension of the European Semester and the implementation of the EPSR, especially in the light of the economic governance review; calls on the Commission to consider presenting an instrument for upward social convergence in order to prevent social convergence risks, detect potential setbacks in the proper implementation of the EPSR and establish social targets; believes that binding social divergence risks should be included in the country-specific recommendations and taken into account when laying out fiscal adjustment paths; supports the inclusion of a social imbalances procedure in the European Semester, to identify, prevent and address the social imbalances that could negatively affect working and living conditions; stresses the need to make the semester process more democratic, including stronger role for EP and ensuring full involvement of Social Partners at EU and national level;
Amendment 154 #
Paragraph 13
13. Believes that, in order to make a fair and social Europe a reality and to ensure the highest levels of social protection in the green and digital transitions, it is necessary to ensure a sustainable, fair and inclusive Europe where social rights are fully protected and safeguarded to at least the same level as economic and environmental standards; stresswelcomes the need to take steps to reinforce the role of the EPSR to ensure the equal treatmentrecommendations of the High-Level Group on the Future of Social Protection and the Welfare State, particularly ofn the economic, environneed for social investmental and social standards andthe setting up of a ‘Golden Rule on Social Investment’; stresses the need to take steps to reinforce the role of the EPSR to ensure that social standards and social rights in Europe are placed at the centre of the EU’s forthcoming political practicesproject; notes that, consequently, social investment will be needed for the implementation of the EPSR in upcoming funding initiatives and the revision of the multiannual financial framework;
Amendment 163 #
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Commission to present a governance legal framework to anticipate and manage changes related to the green and digital transitions in the world of work, focusing first on the importance of safeguarding jobs, including access to adequate training, and second, on the involvement of social partners in decision- making processes by promoting collective bargaining on the anticipation and management of change;
Amendment 172 #
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. In line with the Conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe and with the European Parliament Resolution of 9 June 2022 on the call for a Convention for the revision of the Treaties, calls for the inclusion in the Treaties of a Social Progress Protocol to guarantee that workers’ rights, trade union rights and social rights take precedence over economic freedoms in the event of a conflict;
Amendment 175 #
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Reinforces the need for stronger legislation tools as soft laws have reached limited results; believes the next EPSR action plan should be supported by a comprehensive anti-poverty strategy against the multidimensional issue of social exclusion;
Amendment 177 #
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16c. Calls for a stronger integration of the EPSR action plan with related strategies, including Roma inclusion strategy, gender strategy homelessness strategy and the anti-racism strategy;