Activities of Jutta STEINRUCK related to 2015/2147(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Towards a Digital Single Market Act (debate) DE
Amendments (45)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1
Citation 1
- having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions "A Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe" (May 2015),
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Citation 2
Citation 2
- having regard to the Own-initiative procedure "Social protection for all, including self-employed workers" (2013/2111(INI)),
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Citation 3
Citation 3
- having regard to the Opinion on Employment and Social Affairs for the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection on an integrated parcel delivery market for the growth of e- commerce in the EU (2013/2043(INI)),
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses the need for compliance with data protection legislationall legislation pertaining to fundamental rights of all initiatives developed under the Digital Single Market Strategy; underlines the fact that respect for fundamental rights andsuch as data protection and privacy are key elements in building citizens’' trust and security, which are necessary for a balanced approach allowing the development of the economy and should thus be considered as creating opportunities and a competitive advantage;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for measures to tackle illegal content and materials on the internet, that will be in compliance with the fundamental right to freedom of expression and information; considers that, in order to achieve that goal, it is necessary to provide appropriate law enforcement tools, to support public- private partnerships and cooperation, torespect the fundamental rights and freedoms set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular the fundamental right to freedom of expression and information, the right to protection of personal data, and the freedom to conduct a business, the rule of law and due legal process; considers the role of intermediaries and to promote education and awareness-raising campaigns;at, in order to achieve that goal, it is necessary to:
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Points out that the digital revolution has changed the labour market already to a great extent in some segments and this trend will further intensify over the next few years; highlights that on the one hand, digitization generates new business models and new jobs, especially for high- skilled but also low-skilled workers, but on the other hand, digitization also induces the outsourcing of jobs or part of a job to countries with low labour costs, points out, that due to automation, some jobs even completely disappear, especially medium skilled-labour;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 – point a (new)
Paragraph 2 – point a (new)
(a) provide clear guidelines with regards to which online content is illegal, including a definition of hate speech;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Welcomes the Commission's initiative; stresses, that the Digital Single Market plays an important role as an engine for jobs and growth; stresses however that a comprehensive strategy is needed which goes beyond the technical aspects to take full advantage of employment and growth potential;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. PRegrets that the effects of a common digital single market on employment and social protection are not addressed by the Commission, although in terms of the transformation of the working world digitization causes a considerable need for policy-making on EU level and in the Member States; points out that employment and social policy need to keep pace with the digitalisation of society;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights the fact that the fast-growing number of attacks on networks and acts of cybercrime calls for a harmonised EU response with a view to ensuring a high level of cybersecurity; believes that providing security on the internet meansentails the protectingon of networks and critical infrastructures, the ability of law enforcement agencies to fight criminality, including terrorism, radicalisation and child pornography, the illicit online trade and the use of the necessary data to fight crime online and offline; stresses that security, thus defined, is necessary to reinforce trust in digital services and the processing of personal data; underlines that fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law needs to be protected in cyberspace;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Points out that specific measures aimed to address the needs of people with disabilities should be included as an essential part of the Digital Single Market strategy;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Demands a permanent European Forum composed of all relevant stakeholders, including social partners, to discuss how such a European digital vision can be developed and how to shape the future digital Europe, how to design industry 4.0, workplaces 4.0 and smart digital services, on the basis of a clear roadmap;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to undertake a thorough assessment of the impact whichcomprehensive analysis of the qualitative and quantitative development of types of employment, which are triggered by digitalisization will have on the number and types of jobs available and to gather information on new forms of employment, such as crowdsourcing and crowdworkingin order to better seize the opportunities and to meet the challenges; stresses that there is a need for a detailed analysis regarding the sustainable sectors, including new forms of employment and jobs in the health and care sector, and the geographical distribution as well as the consequences of digitization;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Draws the Commission's attention to the urgent need for more detailed and regularly updated statistics that show the spread and distribution of income as well as nonstandard forms of employment, including data on practices such as "Crowdsourcing / Working Crowd";
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Considers that big data, cloud servicestechnological innovations like big data analytics, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, as well as research and innovation are key to economic development; believes that data protection safeguards and security are crucial for building trust in the data-driven economy sector; stresses the need to raise awareness of the role of data and data- sharing in the economy and to clarify data ownership rules; underlines the role of personalisation of services and products that should be developed as a balanced solution in compliance with data protection requirements; calls for the promotion of privacy by default and by design; underlines the importance of a risk-based approach in data protection legislation, especially for SMEshould be built with the citizen at the centre and in control of personal data;
Amendment 93 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses that education and training curricula must aim at the development of a critical thinking, approach, usage and thorough understanding of new media, digital and information devices and interfaces, whereby people can be active users of these new technologies and not simply end users;
Amendment 94 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Notes further that public and private investment in vocational education and life- long-learning training for all groups of employees has to be promoted in order to provide the EU workforce, including the 'digital workforce' working in non- standard forms of employment;
Amendment 100 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Points out that some Member States have introduced rights which guarantee workers minimum entitlements to paid educational leave as a measure to improve workers' access to education and training; calls therefore on the European Commission to consider, in close cooperation with Member States and social partners, whether such rights should also be introduced at European level;
Amendment 103 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. draws attention to the problem that, according to official Commission data, there are significant shortages of skills acquisition. The mismatch between skills supply and demand opportunities and the development of the digital economy hinders the creation of jobs which has a huge impact on the competitiveness of the EU;
Amendment 105 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
4d. Stresses that lifelong learning for workers of all ages must be a standard in the digitized area, including the legal right to lifelong training and further training measures (e.g. through part-time education); recalls that the qualification and training requirements must apply to all employees via European framework legislation;
Amendment 107 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 e (new)
Paragraph 4 e (new)
4e. Recalls that women are underrepresented in the field of information and communication technologies; points out that women in Europe studying rare ICT-based subjects, rarely find employment in this sector and rarely hold a leadership positions in technology companies; calls on Member States, to promote the qualification and training of women in the ICT sector;
Amendment 109 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 f (new)
Paragraph 4 f (new)
4f. believes that new funding opportunities for lifelong training, including funding models as already exist in some member states, are needed, especially for micro and small enterprises;
Amendment 115 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the establishment of the Europe-wide grand coalition for digital jobs, and encourages businesses to joinin order to promote education and training in digital skills; encourages companies to join this coalition; Calls on companies to finance training opportunities;
Amendment 123 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses that digitalisation represents an opportunity to shape a more inclusive labour market; with a view to match demand for new competences, calls on the Commission and the Members States to develop innovative and accessible e-skills training programmes, in which the needs of the people who are most excluded from the labour market, such as young people, long-term unemployed, people with disabilities and people from rural areas, are fully taken into consideration;
Amendment 134 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Points out that the digital revolution is also changing the ways of working, which leads to an increase of atypical and flexible employment relationships; recognizes a positive effect and more flexible working arrangements for some people allowing them a better work-life balance and the possibility of a caregiver leave; draws attention to the problem that the digitalisation-driven trend towards more flexible working practices may also give rise to precarious forms of employment to which current standards as regards social security, working time, working location, minimum wages, worker participation and employmenthealth and safety protection no longer apply; calls for self-employed persons with quasi-employeeon Member States, social partners and the Commission to develop stratuegies to be placed on an equal footing with employed persons under employment lawensure that these self-employed workers who work under similar circumstances are treated equally under labour law, including the right of collective bargaining;
Amendment 141 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Points out that the digitalisation-driven trend towards more flexible working practices may also give rise to precarious forms of employment to which current standards as regards social security, working time, working location, work-life balance, worker participation and employment protection no longer apply; calls for self-employed persons with quasi- employee status to be placed on an equal footing with employed persons under employment law;
Amendment 144 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the Commission to adopt an Accessibility Act that guarantees the accessibility of online goods and services for people with disabilities;
Amendment 146 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Stresses the necessity for a definition of the term 'worker' in order to distinguish between self-employment and bogus self-employment; calls on the Commission to promote the exchange between Member States on the various forms of self-employment, taking into account the mobility and delocalization of digital work;
Amendment 152 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Draws attention to the increase of sharing economy companies; is concerned that this may lead to a loss of tax revenues; calls on the Commission, the Member States and the social partners to develop strategies to ensure all relevant information is made available to national authorities and that taxes are paid for all forms of work, including non-standard forms of employment;
Amendment 154 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Stresses that the intended harmonization on parcel delivery by the Commission should not lead to lower salaries and working conditions of the parcel deliverers irrespective of whether their employment status is self-employed, subcontractor, temporary staff member or contract worker; calls on the Commission and on Member States to ensure that workers in this sector have access to social security systems and to the right to exercise collective bargaining; considers that one key to appropriate transformation and adaptation measures lies in the development of compatible information systems and in employee training; regards it as the employer's task to properly acquaint employees obligation with new technologies such as IT and tracking applications and GPS systems, which can offer support as online delivery becomes more widespread and complex; in the case of temporary contracts, the agency supplying the staff must provide to employees adequate preparation and training;
Amendment 155 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6d. Calls on the Commission to find appropriate measures for safeguarding labour law and social rights in European wide activities of self- employed persons taking into account the mobility and delocalization of digital work, while avoiding at the same time a possible trend to force self-employed persons to register in member countries with low or no social protection system;
Amendment 161 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Points out that digitization has promoted new forms of employment such as Crowd Working, where services of all kinds are mediated via digital platforms; Encourages the Commission to recognise the working conditions of Crowd Worker not only as a new form of employment but also as a new form of outsourcing; calls therefore on the Commission and Member States to create a regulatory framework ensuring a high level of social security for all; stresses that social and labour law regulation is necessary at both national and European level; points out that European minimum standards are necessary where services are solely digitally rendered and where the Crowdsourcer (contractor) and the Crowd Worker (contractee) come from different Member States;
Amendment 162 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Calls on the social partners to provide adequate information to workers on working conditions and workers' rights throughout Crowd Working platforms;
Amendment 163 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Emphasises that work-related mental health problems such as burnout caused by the constant accessibility and the limitation of work represents serious risk; advocates therefore a "right to log off" for workers;
Amendment 175 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Stresses that industry 4.0 provides the opportunity to increase the share of skilled labour in the factory and to eliminate monotonous work; points out, however, that this changes can only be made if the employees quickly prepare for a changing range of tasks, for which a solid technology assessment and derived quality requirements for education and training are necessary;
Amendment 177 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Emphasises that the guiding principle of decent work must also be promoted in the digital world, including enhanced co- determination rights in the workplace and worker's right to privacy and data protection; calls on the Commission to set high minimum standards under the EU Data Protection basic Regulation; points out that Member Stated must be allowed to go beyond the high EU minimum standards;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Agrees with the Commission that the governance and timely delivery of the Digital Single Market is a shared responsibility of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission; encourages the Commission to engage with societal and social stakeholders and to involve them in the decision making process to the widest extent possible;
Amendment 183 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission, the Member States and the social partners to suggest ways of enhancing social security for self- employed persons in need of protection, such as "self-dependent" and "solo self- employed" workers, in order to safeguard the effectiveness of existing national systems.
Amendment 189 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Stresses that accessibility and inclusiveness of digital technologies and digital education, in particular for people with disabilities, must be ensured; recalls that combatting social exclusion and discrimination, and promoting social justice and protection, as defined in art 3 TEU, are objectives of the EU internal market; further recalls that the integration of persons with disabilities is a fundamental right of the European Union as set out in art 26 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Amendment 190 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Recognises that there are very different forms of social protection for self-employed in the Member States; calls on the Member States to develop social security systems, together with the social partners and in accordance with national law and practice in order to provide better social protection in particular with regard to pensions, disability, maternity/paternity, sickness and unemployment.
Amendment 194 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Deplores that the Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe published by the Commission takes in no account the need to ensure a full, equal and unrestricted access for all to new digital technologies, markets and telecommunications, in particular with regard to people with disabilities.
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 – indent 1 (new)
Paragraph 3 – indent 1 (new)
- Points out that the impacts of the digital revolution on social standards and labour conditions have to be taken into account while adapting current laws and regulations in order to protect citizens and companies alike; encourages the Commission to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the quantitative and qualitative effects of digitalisation on employment conditions;
Amendment 334 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Regrets that the Commission's strategy neglects the accessibility aspect; reminds the Commission that there are 80 million EU citizens with disabilities and an aging population of 190 million of 50+; calls therefore on the Commission to ensure an appropriate level of accessibility in all legislative and non- legislative proposals related to the Digital Single Market; emphasises that accessibility is best achieved and cost- effectively introduced when incorporated from the outset;
Amendment 511 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Stresses that accessible, affordable, efficient and high-quality delivery services are an essential prerequisite for thriving cross-border e-commerce; supports the proposed measures to improve price transparency, interoperability and, delivery times and information schemes on liabilities in case of loss or damage as well as the regulatory oversight that should target both the smooth functioning of cross-border parcel delivery markets and compliance with relevant social and labour rights, allowing enough flexibility for the delivery market to evolve and adapt to technological innovations but calls upon the Commission to and Member States to refrain from further deregulating the parcel delivery and postal services sector in a way which could lead to unreliability and precarious working conditions;
Amendment 902 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Stresses that particularly business models of the sharing economy foster more and more flexible and atypical employment schemes, which may on the one hand allow for more flexibility and a better work-life balance in the EU where life expectancy is high and will become even higher, but on the other hand my also increase the number of precarious working conditions, most importantly through an ever higher number of solo- self-employed contractors; calls on the Commission and Member States to provide improved social security schemes in order to protect those who find themselves in precarious and exploitive solo-self-employment;