35 Amendments of Karima DELLI related to 2013/2112(INI)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas labour inspection plays an important role in protecting employees' rights, preventing abusive practices on the part of employers, increasing health and safety at the workplace and promoting fair and socially responsible economic growth inasmuch as it helps to ensure that wages are actually paid and social security contributions are made, thus increasing tax revenue and the inflow of money to social security systems;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas labour inspection has a key role in ensuring that rights are turned into reality by ensuring that law is respected, actors know rights and obligations and accidents as well as abuse can be prevented;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the outsourcing of work through subcontracting and temporary agency work often involves less skilled labour and looser employment relationships, which makes it more difficult to determine who has responsibility for occupational health and safety (OHS);
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the consolidation of a genuine common market is intrinsically linked to the elimination of all forms of social dumping;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas risk prevention is key to reducing the rate of work-related accidents and sickness; whereas good occupational health and safety management has a positive effect at both national and European levels and for companies;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas 168 000 European citizens die every year from work-related accidents or diseases and 7 million are injured in accidents1, __________________ 1 EU-OSHA
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights the fact that labour inspection is a public service task which, in the absence of any equivalent body to do the job, should be carried out only by independent public servantof independent nature and with sufficient resources to do the job, should be carried out by independent public servants; believes that the independence of prevention services vis-à-vis the employer must be guaranteed; considers, as far as occupational health is concerned, that monitoring, alerts, health expertise, and the provision of sound health-related advice can be handled only by independent health professionals; considers it regrettable that the management of occupational health services is still being carried out, in certain Member States, by employer associations, which act as both judge and jury, their general meetings being the real decision-taking bodies;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Points out that labour inspectorates have a vital role to play in prevention and monitoring and also help to enhance expertise and information provision at company level; urges the Member States to increase the staffing levels of, and the resources available to, their labour inspectorates and to meet the target of one inspector for every 10 000 workers, as recommended by the ILO, as well as to impose more severe penalties on firms that fail to comply with their obligations concerning fundamental rights (salaries, working hours, and OHS); considers that the penalties in such cases must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Points out that all categories of worker, employed and self-employed and irrespective of their status, employment relationship or origin, come under the responsibility of the national inspection authorities and must enjoy the same degree of protection; stresses that any attempt to limit the scope of labour inspection has a negative impact on the health and safety as well as the rights of individuals;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers that labour inspection can be effective only if the relevant authorities are adequately funded and have enough staff; voices its concern at the understaffing of Member States’ inspection authorities; points out that labour inspectors play a vital role in verifying the implementation of the legislation in force and, thereby, in prevention, in particular by ascertaining whether decent working conditions are provided for vulnerable categories of workers and workers in occupations in which undeclared work tends to occur; encourages the Member States to strengthen penalties for companies that fail to comply with their obligations concerning fundamental rights (salaries and OHS, including working hours);
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Points out that legal obligations and employee demands appear to be the two main reasons why employers introduce prevention policies1; __________________ 1 EU-OSHA, Esener survey, 2009.
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Believes that, unless there is adequate risk assessment, it is impossible to properly protect workers; believes that SMEs need to be helped to set up risk prevention policies; stresses the positive role played by simple, free and targeted initiatives, such as the OiRA1; __________________ 1 Online interactive Risk Assessment, developed by the EU-OSHA.
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on Member States, in cases where labour inspections uncover abuse, to protect the workers concerned and enable them to assert their rights at no cost; points out that measures to that end, such as a direct right of complaint for victims or a collective right of complaint, are effective means of protecting workers affected (group claims rights) as well as mechanisms to protect whistleblowers, are effective means of protecting workers affected; stresses that it is important that rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation are protected and should be one of the areas of concern; reminds the Member States in this context of the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143);
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Member States to strongly prosecute and where appropriate consider criminaliseing the non-respect of working conditions; stresses that research has indicated clearly that the highest impact in terms of improvement of working conditions is achieved by strong well- coordinated prevention and inspections at an early stage;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Highlights the problematic nature of labour inspection in respect of migrant workers from both EU and third countries, particularly in relaat labour inspections face certain challenges as regards inspections where migrant workers are concerned; stresses that for labour inspections to the role and remit of national inspectoratesbe effective it is important that labour inspections are sufficiently aware of situations with a high risk of non- compliance; points out that national-level electronic systems, such as Belgium's LIMOSA system for the compulsory advance registration of foreign workers by employers, can substantially facilitate the task of labour inspection;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Points out that there is an important role to be played by the social partners, and particularly by workers' representatives, in ensuring that the existing rules are observed; calls on the Member States to ienstitute the formalure involvement of the social partners in labour inspection in line with national traditions;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Points out that it is particularly common for employees on fixed-term contracts to have inadequate working conditions by comparison with permanent employees; notes that, in order for contract work to be subject to proper inspection, the rights of inspectors to inspect companies that provide contract labour must be extended and inspections must cover the observance of rules on rates of pay and working conditions as well as equal pay and, where appropriate, the application of the minimum wage; insists that the prevention of workplace health and safety problems be accorded the same degree of attention in the private and public sectors; points out that observance of the principle of non-discrimination is compulsory;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Points out that workers who provide domestic services are often undeclared or face a reduction in their rights compared to other workers, but that, in many cases, this situation lies outside the remit of the national inspection authorities; calls on Member States to enable inspections to be carried out in private homes and to introduce effective sanctionsratify ILO Convention 189 and in line with this convention develop and implement measures for labour inspection, enforcement and penalties with due respect for the special characteristics of domestic work, in accordance with national laws and regulations. In so far as compatible with national laws and regulations, such measures should specify the conditions under which access to household premises may be granted, having due respect for privacy;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Deplores the marked rise in the incidence of bogus self-employment, particularly in the construction sector; calls on Member States to introduce appropriate inspection measures to combat bogus self- employment, for example by laying down criteria to determine what constitutes employment; calls on the Commission and the Member States to speed up implementation of REACH, in particular the substitution of the most worrying chemicals; considers that work-related diseases should be taken into account in the prioritisation of these substances;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Takes the view that the emerging green jobs sector requires specific attention; calls for environmental impact assessments and studies to be conducted into the toxicity of eco-materials and the working conditions of people working with equipment used for the production of renewable energy (manufacture, use, maintenance and recycling);
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Considers that nationall programmes for the furthereducation and training of labour inspectors should include specific modules on undeclared work and on related topics such as migration and human traffickingthe most common circumvention strategies as well as on undeclared work and on related topics such as human trafficking; underlines that any cooperation between labour inspectors and immigration authorities should be limited to identifying abusive employers and not give rise to sanctions against/ expulsion of the migrant workers themselves, which actually undermines efforts to address undeclared work;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recognises that there is a growing trend towards self-employment, outsourcing und subcontracting; considers that systems of general contractor liability for the entire subcontracting chain constitute a useful tool for improved monitoring of public procurementto increase compliance with labour standards throughout the whole production process, and that they should be introduced in all Member States;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls for stiffereffective and dissuasive penalties for companies that fail to meet their obligations in relation to employees' basic rights, and considers that such penalties must have a sufficiently deterrent and dissuasive effect to ensure that employers cannot gainshall by now means profit from circumventing the existing rules on employment and health protection; calls on Member States to consider in their sanction-setting systems to make the level of fine proportionate to both the level and damage and ensure that it is above the profit gained from the circumvention;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Considers effective cooperation between national authorities to be important in the effort to end social dumping and ensure that competition in the single market is fair; welcomes the Commission’s initiative to create a European Platform for labour inspectors; endorses the useful work which the Senior Labour Inspectors’ Committee (SLIC) is doing to bring national cultures closer together; calls for the committee’s resources and powers to be strengthened; calls for closer cooperation between the SLIC and the Luxembourg Advisory Committee;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on for the Commission to introduce a European Agency for cross-border matters concerning, in co- operation with social partners and the relevant national authorities to develop effective tools for the combatting of the abuse of employment protection rules and undeclared work, with a remit including inter alia the identification of letter-box companies, the control of transnational service providers, the introduction of further-training programmes, the identification of new ways of circumventing the rules, and the organisation of cross-border controls; and to consider whether there is added value in an EU Agency responsible for such matters;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Commission to introduce a forgery-proof European social security card, on which would be stored all the data needed to verify the bearer's employment relationship, including details of social security cover and working hours, for example, and whichand the Member States to explore in the context of social security coordination the options to ensure that mobile workers carry proof of their formal employment and social security status so as to facilitate the verification of their status; stresses that any such document would be subject to strict data-protection rules;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Commission to assess the introducetion of a European early-warning system, for signalling breaches of employment protection rules and cases of undeclared work, which would promote the rapid exchange of information between Member States and would be accompanied by a blacklist so that abuses by employers could be nipped in the bud; points out that such an early-warning system could be modelled on the existing European consumer- protection early-warning system (RAPEX);
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Points out that the right of national inspection authorities to carry out inspections within non-national companies has hitherto been severely restricted; calls for A1 posting certificates to be entered in an EU-wide registerstresses the importance of creating a level playing field of all companies regardless of their place of establishment also as regards labour inspections. calls on the Commission and the Member states to ensure that labour inspections can fully make use of their right to non- discriminatory independent inspections regardless of the place of establishment of the company; Points out that the right of national inspection authorities to carry out inspections within non-national companies has in certain cross-border situations been severely restricted and that this has both endangered the protection of the worker and the fairness on the internal market; calls for A1 forms not to be retroactive and to consider to develop registration systems in order to facilitate the control at national level of employment relationships among posted workers;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Highlights the lack of emphasis, in existing social security and employment directives, on improved implementation and on the role of labour inspectorates; considers that the existing directives need to be thoroughly reviewed and revised where necessary and that the matter of enforcement has to be better addressed in European labour law; welcomes in this context that the Commission proposed minimum standards of inspection in directives relating to certain groups of workers; calls on the Commission and the Member States to follow up on this by fundamentally improving enforcement of rights also by equipping labour inspections with sufficient resources; stresses the role of labour inspectorates needs to be taken account in social security and employment related matters in such a way as to afford effective protection;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that procedural rights and enforcement rights such as given in the proposal for a directive on "Measures on facilitating the exercise of rights conferred on workers in the context of freedom of movement for workers" are available to all workers;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls on the Commission to propose a directive providing forMember States to increase the comprehensive control of employment agencies, wherebyand consider measures so that such companies willcould be subject to certification and to a requirement of central reporting of their activitiereporting obligations;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Calls on the Commission to propose a directive protecting people who legitimately draw attention to and investigate unacknowledged risks in an enterprise;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls on the Commission, without prejudice to the principle of subsidiarity, to propose a directive underpinning the role of labour inspectors and laying down European labour-inspstresses that labour inspections are at the full responsibility of the Member State; stresses that the European Commission should refrain from restricting labour inspections by any means; stresses that where necessary it might be adequate to add to European legislation a safeguard clause or reference to this national competence and its importance for the European Single Market both in terms of workers protection standards fair competition;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Points out that competition policy is implemented at European level; considers that, by the same token, measures to combat social dumping should be included in the EU treaties with provision for the Commission to implement them; considers that the Commission's powers in this regard should extend, as they do in the field of competition law, to the imposition of penalties on non-compliant compancircumvention of social and labour law should be included in the EU treaties;