Activities of Marita ULVSKOG related to 2015/2284(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Activities, impact and added value of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund between 2007 and 2014 (debate) SV
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the activities, impact and added value of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund between 2007 and 2014 PDF (530 KB) DOC (212 KB)
Amendments (30)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
– having regard to Eurofound ERM 2012 report After restructuring: labour markets, working conditions and life satisfaction
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 b (new)
Citation 6 b (new)
– having regard to Eurofound case study Added value of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund: A comparison of experiences in Germany and Finland (2009)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 c (new)
Citation 6 c (new)
– having regard to Eurofound ERM 2009 report Restructuring in recession
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas restructuring is not a new phenomenon but a practice which happens more frequently due to economic challenges and whereas, in recent years, it has become more prevalent as well as taking many different forms, intensifying in some sectors and spreading to others, with unforeseeable consequences for the economic and social fabric of the Member States; whereas more and more EGF cases are related with restructuring strategies of big firms and multinational companies which are in the majority of the cases decided without the involvement of workers and their representatives; whereas relocation, delocalisation, closures, mergers, acquisitions, take- overs, reorganisation of production, outsourcing of activities as just the most common forms of restructuring that multinational companies and their workforce are going through.
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas companies are responsible for the effects of their restructuring decisions in the communities, societies and economies where they operate; whereas EGF helps to cushion the negative effects of these restructuring decisions; whereas in that sense, not only workers but companies benefit from the EGF support.
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Bc. whereas there is no European legal framework for the involvement of workers and their representatives in restructuring decisions in order to anticipate change and prevent job losses;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B d (new)
Recital B d (new)
Bd. whereas very well developed industrial relations systems which accord workers and their representatives rights in the areas of consultation, information and codetermination are essential;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B e (new)
Recital B e (new)
Be. whereas, adaptability and pro- activity when moving jobs or occupations may however be hampered by insecurity because transitions bear a potential hazard of unemployment, lower wages and social insecurity; whereas reintegration in employment of beneficiaries of EGF cases will be more successful if done in quality jobs and with security in employment and occupation
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B f (new)
Recital B f (new)
Bf. whereas cooperatives manage restructuring in a socially responsible manner and their specific cooperative governance model, based on joint ownership, democratic participation and members' control, as well as the ability of cooperatives to rely on their own financial resources and support networks, explain why cooperatives are more flexible and innovative in managing restructuring over time, as well as in creating new business;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B g (new)
Recital B g (new)
Bg. whereas the Commission has delivered disappointing responses to parliamentary resolutions on information, consultation and restructuring that highlight the need for urgent and concrete steps in this area;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B h (new)
Recital B h (new)
Bh. whereas there are currently large differences in national context concerning the responsibilities of employers towards their employees in the process of restructuring; whereas, European social partners have been consulted twice in the previous decade and the Commission has failed to act;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas EGF measures are found to have most value in cases where these measures have been personalised and are complementary to mainstream provision; in connection with this, the importance of a full assessment of local labour market needs and skills requirements was also seen to be critical, as this should form the basis for planning training and competence building for a quick reintegration of workers into the labour market;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Welcomes the extension of the funding period from one to two years. According to Eurofound research 12 months was not a long enough period to help all redundant workers, especially the most vulnerable groups such as low- skilled workers, older workers, women and particularly single parents;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Emphasises that one of the main roles of the EGF it to benefit specific sectors in Europe impacted by the effects of globalisation where several companies are affected; stresses that these cases assisting especially SMEs should be regarded as the main added value of the EGF.
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Stresses the relevance of strong social dialogue based on mutual trust and shared responsibility, as the best instrument with which to seek consensual solutions and common outlooks when predicting, preventing and managing restructuring processes; highlights that this would help to prevent job losses and therefore, EGF cases; Calls on the Commission to assess whether it is necessary to take steps at Union level to supervise the activities of companies in order to prevent abuse of any kind with prejudicial effects, particularly on workers; calls on the Commission to ensure that dismissals are seen as a last resort after having considered all possible alternatives, without this diminishing the competitiveness of enterprises;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to betterfully anticipate the effects of trade policy decisions on the EU labour market; opposes any initiative t, also considering the EGF, in its current form, as an intervention tool for jobs lost in the European Union as a resultevidence based information of these effects that have been highlighted by the EGF applications; calls ofn trade strategies decihe Commission to review the traded at EU level, including future trade agreements or those already in placegreements in light of this information and to reconsider trade agreements that will have adverse effects on the European labour market;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to better anticipate the effects of trade policy decisions on the EU labour market; opposes any initiative to consider the EGF, in its current form, as an intervention tool for jobs lost in the European Union as a result of trade strategies decided at EU level, including future trade agreements or those already in place;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Agrees with the Commission that the very essence of the EGF is to help people, who lose their jobs as a result of more open trade; considers it an important task of the EGF to mitigate the consequences of trade disputes and ensure that the burdens stemming from joint political decisions at EU-level are shared between EU member states; therefor calls for a targeted revision of the EGF to add a clause, which will ensure support for employees and companies affected by trade conflicts; underlines in this respect the urgent need for a faster procedure for handling of applications;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Opposes any initiative to consider the EGF, in its current form, as an intervention tool for jobs lost in the European Union as a result of trade strategies decided at EU level, including future trade agreements or those already in place;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Considers that if the EGF has to be used as a tool for communities facing job losses as in the case of closing a business in the EU due to the trade agreements, it is crucial, beforehand, to extend the EGF' competencies to allow it to financially support reconversion policies of the member states in the activities of vulnerable sectors; to achieve this, considers it necessary to increase the funds available within the EGF
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Reiterates its request from 2013 that the Commission, pursuant to Article 225 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to submit as soon as possible and after consulting the social partners, a proposal for a legal act on information and consultation of workers, anticipation and management of restructuring, (following the detailed recommendations set out in the Annex to (2012/2061(INL)); stresses that the adoption and implementation of this legal framework should be a prerequisite for Member States and companies to have access to EGF support and that EGF support should be the last resort only after other possibilities for maintaining the company activities and the employment have been tried;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Regrets the fact that one third of EGF funding compensates national workers’ income support schemes with no EU added value; notes the restriction in the current regulation where such costs are capped at 35 % and believes that this cape effects if the cap is lowered should be lowerevaluated;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Regrets the diminished funding for the EGF; calls on the Commission and Member states additionally support the EGF to ensure that needs are met; calls on the Commission to ensure that there are sufficient staff in relation to the workload and to avoid unnecessary delays;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Calls on the Commission to follow- up previous cases when the EGF has benefited SMEs, social enterprises and cooperatives; calls on the Commission to propose measures for how the EGF can additionally benefit SMEs, social enterprises and cooperatives;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls on the Member States to proactively support redundant workers in SMEs, cooperatives and social enterprises using the flexibility provided for in Article 4(2) of the current regulation;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Is concerned that the Court of Auditors report concludes that no quantitative re-integration objectives were set and that existing data is not adequate to assess the effectiveness of the measures in re-integrating workers into employment; recommends therefore that the Member States set quantitative and qualitative re- integration objectives and systematically differentiate between EGF, ESF and other national measures specifically designed for workers affected by mass redundancies; the Member States should furthermore distinguish between the two main types of EGF measures, i.e. active labour market measures and income support paid to workers, as well as providing more detailed information on the measures accessed by individual participants in order to allow a more accurate cost-benefit analysis of different measures;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Reminds the Member States of their obligation to provide data on re-integration rates 12 monthat regular intervals after the implementation of the measures;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Calls on the Member States who have benefited from the EGF to make all data and evaluations of the cases publically available; calls on the Member States to include a gender impact assessment in the evaluation of cases;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Calls on the Commission to delegate the evaluation of the EGF cases to Eurofound. Eurofound, not least in its capacity as the host organisation for the European Monitoring Centre for Change (EMCC), has the scientific expertise and the independence to provide credible evaluations. Eurofound should be 1) empowered to develop an improved evaluation methodology, 2) a set of recommendations on what data should be collected and how this could be achieved since the main requirement for better evaluations is a better statistical material and 3) carry out the evaluation of the EGF cases including comprehensive reporting of these evaluations; calls therefore on the European Commission to provide Eurofound with the necessary financial resources, corresponding to current EGF evaluation procurement expenditure and human resource costs. Moreover, as the main impediment to better evaluations is the lack of appropriate data, that the Commission requires the provision by the Member States of such data to Eurofound as a condition of receipt of EGF financial support. The data specification will be provided by Eurofound;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 c (new)
Paragraph 27 c (new)
27c. Calls on the European Commission to provide Eurofound with the necessary financial resources, corresponding to current EGF evaluation procurement expenditure and human resource costs; moreover, as the main impediment to better evaluations is the lack of appropriate data, that the Commission requires the provision by the Member States of such data to Eurofound as a condition of receipt of EGF financial support; the data specification will be provided by Eurofound;