2015/2116(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Ulrike LUNACEK, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that ~~an EU anti-discrimination d~~the Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation, the so called 'Employment Equality Directive', was ~~proposed by the Commission in 2008, but that the matter remains blocked in Council~~adopted in 2000 and has been transposed into national laws in all 28 Member States; but that there are still significant challenges to its implementation and application;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Is concerned that according to the 2013 EU LGBT survey by the Fundamental Rights Agency 20% of the respondents who were employed and/or looking for a job in the 12 months preceding the survey felt discriminated against; regrets that underreporting of cases of discrimination remains a problem; highlights the need to raise awareness among LGBTI people about their rights, e.g. through equality bodies, trade unions and employer organisations;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Calls on the Commission to include a specific focus on all type of discrimination when monitoring the implementation of Directive 2000/78/EC establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Notes with concern the lack of awareness of the victim’s rights and the possibilities of seeking redress, and therefore calls for structured and targeted awareness-raising activities to be carried out in relation to EU ~~anti-discrimination~~employment equality legislation;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Notes with concern the lack of awareness of the victim’'s rights and the possibilities of seeking redress, and therefore calls for structured and targeted awareness-raising activities to be carried out in relation to EU anti-discrimination legislation, both by the European Commission and by member state authorities;

Amendment 14 #

Jean LAMBERT, Ulrike LUNACEK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Expresses its concern over the lack of legal clarity and certainty regarding multiple discrimination~~, often as a consequence of the existence of differing and fragmented rules and standards across Member States~~.

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Expresses its concern over the lack of legal clarity and certainty regarding multiple discrimination, often as a consequence of the existence of differing and fragmented rules and standards across Member States.; notes the important work done by Equinet in helping to develop common standards and believes this should be given adequate support

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Regrets that severe labour exploitation persist within the European Union. Notes that victims of severe labour exploitation are often not aware of their rights, the competent authorities they can address and the possibilities for receiving support and redress. Calls in that regard for the establishment of an European platform and hotline providing relevant information to victims of severe labour exploitation, including specific information about each Member State.

Amendment 17 #

Ulrike LUNACEK, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Notes with concern the lack of comparable equality data, as well as huge differences in the reporting of cases across Member States. Notes that the collection of equality data does not go counter to data protection rules insofar as the legal safeguards are respected and points out that, according to Special Eurobarometer 263, there is a broad willingness among the European public to provide personal information as part of a census on anonymous basis to combat discrimination. Urges member states to systematically collect equality data in order to make existing discrimination, and especially indirect discrimination, more visible. Notes that ethnic data is still scarce in many member states;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Notes with concern the lack of comparable equality data, as well as huge differences in the reporting of cases across Member States; encourages the Commission and Member States, together with relevant agencies, to regularly collect relevant and comparable data disaggregated according to ground of discrimination, including multiple discrimination;

Amendment 19 #

Ulrike LUNACEK, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Notes with concern the lack of comparable and disaggregated equality data, as well as huge differences in the reporting of cases across Member States;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Not~~Stresses that in the EU an individual is not protected outside the workplace against discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, age, disability or sexual orientation; Takes the view, that non- discrimination in the field of occupation and employment is only effective if discrimination is comprehensively outlawed in all other fields, including education, access to goods and services and social protection; deplores that an EU anti-discrimination directive was proposed by the Commission in 2008 and voted by the European Parliament in 2009, but that the matter remains blocked in Council; deplores some Member States' lack of political will, the lack of transparency in the negotiation process within the Council and the abuse of the unanimity principle by opposing member states; recalls that it has called upon the Council to adopt the proposal for a directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons, irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation plenty of times over the past 8 years and that the Council has failed to act and respond positively to the call of the EP as the Union's only Institution directly elected by citizens; and urges the Council once again, to overcome ongoing political inertia and swiftly to adopt the directive proposed 8 years ago

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Notes that non-discrimination in the field of occupation and employment is only effective if discrimination is comprehensively combated inby all ~~areas of life~~stakeholders;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Notes that non-discrimination in the field of occupation and employment is only effective if discrimination is comprehensively combated in all areas of life, therefore calls for vertical and horizontal alignment of protection from discrimination, both through legislation and through coordination tools, such as strategies and frameworks. Calls upon Member States to make use of the possibility to introduce positive action in case of groups that suffer of severe and structural discrimination;

Amendment 22 #

Ulrike LUNACEK, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. Points out that for people with disabilities accessibility is a precondition to equal participation and an active role in society. Welcomes the recent proposal for an European Accessibility Act, as such a measure will certainly have a real and positive impact on the lives of persons with disabilities.

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. Welcomes the recent proposal for an European Accessibility Act, as such a measure will certainly have a real and positive impact on the lives of persons with disabilities; notes that the communication on this proposal was very poor resulting in a stagnation of the negotiations in the Council of the directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons, irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, blocked in the Council since it was proposed by the Commission in 2008 and voted in the Parliament in 2009.

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Notes that an EU anti-discrimination directive was proposed by the Commission in 2008, but that the matter remains blocked in Council~~Regrets that, despite progress made since the adoption of the Employment Equality Directive and the Racial Equality Directive, practical implementation of non-discrimination legislation in the EU still lags behind and discrimination still remains part of the daily lives of many Europeans, the 2012 Special Eurobarometer 393 of the European Commission stating that 17% of the EU population has personally experienced discrimination or harassment. Notes that an EU anti-discrimination directive was proposed by the Commission in 2008, but that the matter remains blocked in Council. Considers that a uniform minimum level of vertical and horizontal protection, as provided for in the proposed directive, would be highly desirable and therefore calls upon the Council to unlock the directive;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Notes that~~Reiterates its supports for an EU anti- discrimination directive was proposed by the Commission in 2008~~, but that the matter remains blocked in Council~~; deplores the lack of progress within the Council on this proposal and urges the Member States to work towards the adoption of a common position without any further delay;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Believes that complaint mechanisms must be improved at national level, by~~Notes with concern that effective access to justice in many Member States is still hindered by various factors, such as the victims' lack of trust in authorities, complex and lengthy legal procedures and the unavailability of legal support for complainants. Believes that complaint mechanisms must be improved at national level by ensuring adequate resources for justice systems, offering training to judges, simplifying complaint procedures and strengthening national equality bodies as regards support for access to justice and non-judicial mechanisms;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Regrets the fact that the notion of human rights as being universal, indivisible and interrelated remains, as a principle of law, a matter more of theory than of practice~~, given that different aspects of the human being are treated separately in existing EU legal instruments~~;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Regrets the increase in experiences of discrimination and harassment, especially with regard to gender, ethnic origin or religion, ~~and particularly affecting Muslim women,~~ while at the same time being aware of the general under-reporting of all forms of discrimination, and especially disability-based discrimination;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Regrets the increase in experiences of discrimination and harassment at the work place, especially with regard to gender, ethnic origin or religion, and particularly affecting Muslim women, while at the same time being aware of the general under-reporting of all forms of discrimination, and especially disability- based discrimination;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Regrets the increase in experiences of discrimination and harassment, especially with regard to gender, nationality, social background, ethnic origin or religion, and particularly affecting Muslim women, while at the same time being aware of the general under-reporting of all forms of discrimination, and especially disability- based discrimination;

source: 576.806

2016/02/24 FEMM 54 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the Commission’s application report1 states that all 28 Member States have transposed the Directive into national legislation, but legislation alone is not enough to ensure full equality and must be combined with appropriate policy action; whereas policy measures such as the Directive on improving the gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges and related measures have already been adopted by Parliament, and whereas such measures have the potential to help bring about greater equality for women within employment and improve women's access to management positions; whereas similar appropriate measures to strengthen women in corporate middle management appear to be necessary too; __________________ 1 COM(2014)0002

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas women are mostly the ones with the primary responsibility for taking care of the children, family and household; whereas the~~se responsibilities~~ belief that women with children work less effectively haves a direct effect on women’s careers, negatively affects their conditions of employment and produces pay and pension gaps;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas women are mostly the ones with the primary responsibility for taking care of the children, the elderly, the family and the household, and this responsibility is greater if they have children with disabilities; whereas these responsibilities have a direct effect on women’s careers, negatively affect their professional development and, therefore, their conditions of employment and produce pay and pension gaps;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas women are mostly the ones with the primary responsibility for taking care of the children, family and household; whereas these responsibilities have a direct effect on women’s careers, and negatively affect their conditions of employment ~~and~~, women in many instances are involuntary part-time workers or are pushed into precarious forms of employment, and all these factors produce pay and pension gaps;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas women are mostly the ones with the primary responsibility for taking care of the children and other dependents, family and household; whereas these responsibilities have a direct effect on women’s careers, negatively affect their conditions of employment and produce pay and pension gaps;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas labour deregulation policies, in particular the destruction of the notion of occupational careers and categories and attacks on collective bargaining, have left women in particular more vulnerable to precarious employment, wage discrimination and a lack of social protection, which has consequences for their contribution record and leads to pension disparities that are significantly wider than the corresponding wage disparities;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas women are often forced into insecure and unstable employment contracts which effects their lives in an unjust matter which enhances the multiple discrimination and reproduces gender pay gaps; therefore reiterates the need of different forms of leave with non- transferable rights, especially parental leave, and also the need to implement the Barcelona objectives;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas single-parent families, primarily single mothers, can be found much more frequently among the working poor and all measures adopted should focus on single parents;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas a broad range of skills and competences gained by women when fulfilling family responsibilities bring an enrichment for their personal and professional development; and therefore these competences should be recognized by the society and the employer;

Amendment 19 #

Viorica DĂNCILĂ

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the European Union is confronted with a major economic, financial and social crisis that particularly affects women in the labour market and in their personal lives, since they are more likely to be in insecure jobs and more liable to become unemployed and to have no social security cover;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the Commission’s application report1 states that all 28 Member States have transposed the Directive into national legislation, but legislation alone is not enough to ensure full equality and must be combined with appropriate policy action; ~~__________________ 1~~whereas legislation must be considered a crucial tool in reaching gender equality but must be combined with normative procedures and campaigns in order to implement gender equality, not only in legislation but also in the public opinion; __________________ 1 COM(2014)0002 COM(2014)0002

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the lack of genuinely effective work-life balance laws is resulting in discrimination against working parents;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas ~~there~~women are still ~~case~~victims of multiple, direct and indirect discrimination ~~of women on~~ the labour market, despite the implementation of equal treatment in Member States; whereas women are not always made aware of their rights under existing European and national legislation on equality and discrimination, or doubt the effectiveness of reporting cases of discrimination;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas there are still cases of multiple, direct and indirect discrimination of women on the labour market, despite the implementation of equal treatment in Member States; whereas women are not always aware of their rights under existing European and national legislation on equality and discrimination, or doubt the effectiveness of reporting cases of discrimination; stresses, therefore, the importance of information and guidance documents, awareness campaigns and information portals, particularly for specific groups (minorities, young people, women);

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas there are still cases of multiple, direct and indirect discrimination of women on the labour market, despite the implementation of equal treatment in Member States; whereas women are not always aware of their rights under existing European and national legislation on equality and discrimination, or doubt the effectiveness of reporting cases of discrimination; whereas there are many different types of indirect discrimination, all of which must be covered by the standard definition whereby discrimination occurs where different rules are applied in comparable situations or the same rule is applied in different situations;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas there are still cases of multiple, direct and indirect discrimination of women on the labour market, despite the theoretical implementation of equal treatment in Member States; whereas women are not always aware of their rights under existing European and national legislation on equality and discrimination, or doubt the effectiveness of reporting cases of discrimination;

Amendment 25 #

Karima DELLI

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas multiple discrimination is a reality for many women in the EU; the main case is because still in the EU, an individual is not protected outside the workplace against discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, age, disability or sexual orientation; non- discrimination in the field of occupation and employment is only effective if discrimination is comprehensively outlawed in all other fields, including education, access to goods and services and social protection;

Amendment 26 #

Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the Commission has a responsibility to supervise the implementation of the Directive 2000/78/EC in each Member State, and report and address any shortcomings in its enforcement;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Notes with concern the absence of case- law providing an interpretation of ‘indirect discrimination’ in certain Member States, as well as the difficulty that its definition posed for the transposition of the Directive in certain Member States; suggests that the Commission should provide advice for Member States on such interpretation difficulties;

Amendment 28 #

Anna ZÁBORSKÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Asks the Members States to develop gender-neutral job classifications and evaluation systems as indispensable measures to foster equal treatment;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on the Member States to promote free high-quality public services that provide proper and necessary care and assistance for children, the sick and the elderly;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the Commission’s application report1 states that all 28 Member States have transposed the Directive into national legislation, but legislation alone is not enough to ensure full equality in the labour market and must be combined with appropriate policy action; __________________ 1 COM(2014)0002 COM(2014)0002

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Stresses the low number of complaints, which represent only a small percentage of actual cases of discrimination across the EU; notes that in some Member States the figures may be lower still because there are clear cases of discrimination that remain unreported and whose perpetrators are not prosecuted; stresses the need to redouble efforts to raise awareness, spread information, improve access to justice and complaint mechanisms, extend time limits for lodging a complaint for discrimination (which are currently too short), reduce the length and cost of processes and increase the availability of legal aid for complainants lacking resources, who are mostly women;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Deplores the fact that Directive 2000/78/EC contains no specific provisions on multiple discrimination, although it does at least state that women are often victims of it; notes, furthermore, that the combination of two or more forms of discrimination may pose problems arising from divergences in the guaranteed level of protection for different forms; stresses how important it is for the Council to reach an agreement as soon as possible for the adoption of a common position on the proposal for a directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons, irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation (COM(2008) 426), adopted by the European Parliament at first reading in April 2009, which explicitly addresses multiple discrimination;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Urges the Commission and the Member States to develop harmonised and homogeneous statistics designed to fill in all gaps in the collection of equality data~~; recalls~~ so that this data ~~should~~can be comparable, gender- disaggregated and take into account differences between women with and without ~~children~~qualifications and with and without family responsibilities in order to allow for a correct assessment of multiple and indirect discrimination;

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Urges the Commission and the Member States to fill in all gaps in the collection of equality data; recalls that this data should be comparable, ~~gender-~~disaggregated based on gender combined with multiple variables such as country of birth and take into account differences between women with and without children in order to allow for a correct assessment of multiple and indirect discrimination;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Urges the Commission and the Member States to fill in all gaps in the collection of equality data because the scarcity of equality data makes it difficult to assess situations of discrimination and establish proof of its existence, especially in the case of indirect discrimination, in which statistics play a key role in proving the adverse effects of a superficially neutral measure directed to a specific group; recalls that this data should be comparable, and gender-disaggregated ~~and~~so as to determine whether women are more likely to suffer certain types of discrimination than men, and should also take into account differences between women with and without children in order to allow for a correct assessment of multiple and indirect discrimination;

Amendment 35 #

Viorica DĂNCILĂ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Urges the Commission and the Member States to fill in all gaps in the collection of equality data; recalls that this data should be comparable, gender-disaggregated and take into account differences between women with and without children in order to allow for a correct assessment of multiple and indirect discrimination; calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide systematic gender- disaggregated information and statistics as part of the national reporting process and in the annual Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion;

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Urges the Commission and the Member States to fill in all gaps in the collection of equality data; recalls that this data should be comparable, gender-disaggregated and take into account differences between women with and without children, as well as women who are the main earners in a household, in order to allow for a correct assessment of multiple and indirect discrimination;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Calls on the Member States to implement labour legislation that promotes labour regulation, collective bargaining, social protection and higher wages; calls likewise on the Member States to eliminate legislation that allows or regulates precarious employment;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Member States to ~~strengthen their equality bodies, as these bodies should take on a leading role in improving complaint mechanisms and organising awareness campaigns as regards women’s rights on the labour market~~raise awareness, encourage public debate and adopt appropriate measures to combat employment inequalities;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Member States to ~~strengthen their equality bodies, as these bodies should take on a leading role in~~implement – in a decisive manner and with sufficient budgetary resources – equality policies that include training for professionals in institutional settings with a view to applying effective equality policies and improving complaint mechanisms and organising awareness campaigns as regards women’s rights on the labour market;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the application and transposition of Directive 2006/54/EC have been assessed and Parliament, in its report dated 25 June 2015, set out its serious misgivings concerning the implementation of the Directive's provisions on putting into practice the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation;

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Member States to strengthen their equality bodies, as these bodies should take on a leading role in simplifying and facilitating the lodging of complaints by victims of discrimination, improving complaint mechanisms and organising awareness campaigns as regards women’s rights on the labour market;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Member States to strengthen their equality bodies, as these bodies should take on a leading role in improving complaint mechanisms and organising ~~awareness campaigns as regards~~campaigns to affirm women’s rights on the labour market;

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Member States to ~~strengthen their equality bodies~~designate an equality body covering the areas of the Directive and to strengthen their equality bodies and ensure they are independent and adequately funded, as these bodies should take on a leading role in improving complaint mechanisms and organising awareness campaigns as regards women’'s rights on the labour market;

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Member States to develop and strengthen national labour inspection bodies, providing the conditions and financial and human resources that will enable them to maintain an effective presence on the ground in order to combat precarious employment, unregulated employment and labour and wage discrimination, in particular from the point of view of equality between men and women;

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Stresses the importance of reversing the burden of proof to ensure the correct processing of complaints of discrimination in the courts and by other relevant authorities; believes it necessary to foster the correct application of this concept by training national judges and legal practitioners;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Commission to give priority to tackling the issue of discrimination against parents wishing to combine work with childcare, which stems from a lack of family-friendly employment practices such as flexible working arrangements and teleworking;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Member States to ~~pursue the~~ implement~~ation of~~ equal treatment in employment policies and measures that would encourage the employment of women and reduce pay and pension gaps.

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Member States, in particular by also making active use of gender budgeting, to pursue the implementation of equal treatment in employment policies and measures that would encourage the employment of women ~~and~~, reduce pay and pension gaps and, in general, improve the position of women on the labour market; calls on the Commission to promote exchanges of best practices in gender budgeting.

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Member States to ~~pursue the~~display greater commitment in implement~~ation of~~ing equal treatment in employment policies and measures that would encourage the lifelong learning and employment of women and reduce pay and pension gaps.

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Member States to pursue the implementation of equal treatment in employment policies and measures that would also encourage ~~the employment of women~~a healthy family- work balance; and reduce pay and pension gaps as well.

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas social inequalities, in particular as regards employment equality, can be combated only through policies guaranteeing a better distribution of wealth, based on an increase in real wages, action to promote labour and working time regulation and labour protection, in particular through collective bargaining and guaranteed universal free access to high-quality public healthcare and education services;

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Member States to pursue the implementation of ~~equal treatment~~the principle of equality in employment policies and measures that would encourage the employment of women and reduce pay and pension gaps.

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Member States to pursue the implementation of equal treatment in employment policies and measures that would encourage the employment of women on fair grounds without insecure forms of employment and reduce pay and pension gaps.

Amendment 52 #

Karima DELLI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Takes the view that equality in employment is severely hindered by the absence of EU legislation prohibiting discrimination outside employment and urges the Council to overcome ongoing political inertia and swiftly adopt the proposal for a directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment of persons, irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation outside employment that was proposed by the Commission in 2008 and voted in the Parliament in 2009.

Amendment 53 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Welcomes the fact that the overwhelming majority of Member States have considered some form of positive action within the scope of the Directive;

Amendment 54 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Notes with concern that national courts tend to apply the lower scale of sanctions provided for by law and award the lowest possible levels of compensation; emphasises the need for the Commission to pay close attention to the rules applicable to sanctions and redress in the Member States to ensure that domestic law does not, as the European Court of Justice has reported, provide for purely symbolic punishments or only issue warnings in cases of discrimination;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas austerity policies and policies that attack workers’ rights through labour deregulation and the destruction of specific labour inspection mechanisms have fostered precarious employment, inequality and exploitation;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)

Ac. whereas in most Member States the provision of free and high-quality public services providing care and assistance for children, the sick and the elderly has worsened as a result of privatisation policies, the destruction of public services and the imposition of austerity and poverty policies;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Recital A d (new)

Ad. whereas women are most affected by unemployment and suffer negative discrimination in terms of access to jobs, particularly in the case of mothers and women who want to have children;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas, for these reasons, women are ~~mostly~~ the ones with the primary responsibility for taking care of the children, family and household; whereas these responsibilities also have a direct effect on women’s ~~careers, negatively affect their conditions of employment and produce pay and pension gap~~access to jobs;

source: 578.458

2016/03/15 EMPL 310 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1

– having regard to the Treaty on European Union (TEU), in particular Article 2 and 5 thereof, and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in particular Article 10, 19 and 1953 thereof,

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10

– having regard to the proposal for a Council Directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation (COM(2008)0426),deleted

Amendment 100 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Notes that Directive 2000/78 in itself does not contain any definition of the concept of disability; highlights that the European Court of Justice was called upon to define the concept of disability independently for the purposes of Chacón Navas; recalls that further cases have called for clarification of the concept of disability as well as the meaning to be ascribed to the reasonable accommodation for disabled persons which employers must provide under Article 5 of the Directive (HK Danmark C-335/11 and C 337/11);

Amendment 101 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Brando BENIFEI, Siôn SIMON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Deplores the fact that the employment rate among women with disabilities is less than 50%, a figure which highlights the twofold discrimination that they face, making it difficult for them to play a full part in society;

Amendment 102 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Considers that a terminal illness, an illness or physical condition which can reasonably be expected to result in death in 24 months or less after the date of the certification by a medical practitioner, can be deemed as a disability should it hinder the participation of the person concerned in their professional life;

Amendment 103 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7c. Stresses the obligation for employers to provide reasonable accommodation for all workers with a disability, which can include workers with a terminal illness;

Amendment 104 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 d (new)

7d. Highlights that the nature of some terminal illnesses may result in fluctuations of physical, mental and psychological impairments and that therefore employers are obliged to review reasonable accommodations on a regular basis to ensure that they fully support employees in their role;

Amendment 105 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 e (new)

7e. Stresses the importance of protecting disabled workers, including those with a terminal illness, from any form of discrimination in the workplace; particularly highlights the need to protect these workers from unfair dismissal;

Amendment 106 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Notes that evidence suggests that investments in reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities are cost- beneficial and provide a return, in terms not only of social inclusion, but also of increased productivity and reduced absenteeism18 ; regrets the failure in many Member States to provide reasonable accommodation; __________________ 18 European Parliament, Policy Department A: Economic and Scientific Policy, ‘Reasonable Accommodation and Sheltered Workshops for People with Disabilities: Costs and Returns of Investments’.

Amendment 107 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 108 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Notes that ~~evidence suggests~~inquiries show that investments in reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities are cost- beneficial and provide a return, in terms not only of social inclusion, but also of increased productivity and reduced absenteeism18; __________________ 18 European Parliament, Policy Department A: Economic and Scientific Policy, ‘Reasonable Accommodation and Sheltered Workshops for People with Disabilities: Costs and Returns of Investments’.

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Emphasises the importance of work for people with disabilities and for people suffering from serious, chronic or incurable diseases, and advocates inclusive approaches to the labour market that guarantee security and rights for both groups;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)

– having regard to the Gender Equality Directive (recast) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 (Directive 2006/54/EC),

Amendment 110 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Is concerned that the Employment Equality Directive does not explicitly make the denial of reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities a form of discrimination;

Amendment 111 #

Renate WEBER, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to ensure that employment- related rights and services, including reasonable accommodation in the context of the Employment Equality Directive, are portable and in line with the freedom of movement for persons with disabilities;

Amendment 112 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Welcomes the fact that all Member States offer grants or subsidies to employers providing reasonable accommodation, thereby incentiviszing employers to adapt the workplace in order to hire people with disabilities; Recommends that national, regional and local authorities propose guidance for reasonable accommodation and prevention of exclusion of specific vulnerable groups; calls for dialogue with social partners, such as trade unions and employers with an aim at defining guidance for reasonable accommodation practices to be put in place;

Amendment 113 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Considers that workplaces should accommodate disabled persons in a way as for them to be on an equal footing with non-disabled workers; Welcomes the fact that all Member States offer grants or subsidies to employers providing reasonable accommodation, thereby incentivising employers to adapt the workplace in order to hire people with disabilities;

Amendment 114 #

Marek PLURA, Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Welcomes the fact that all Member States offer grants or subsidies – including tax concessions – to employers providing reasonable accommodation, thereby incentivising employers to employ people with disabilities and to adapt the workplace in order to hire people with disabilities;

Amendment 115 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Welcomes the fact that all Member States offer grants or subsidies to employers providing reasonable accommodation, thereby incentivising employers to adapt the workplace ~~in order to hire~~so that people with disabilities can have access to an open labour market;

Amendment 116 #

Renate WEBER, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Highlights the need to recognize social clauses in public procurement procedures as the potential tool for achieving social policy objectives; takes the view that socially responsible public procurement could be used as an instrument to integrate people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups into the labour market;

Amendment 117 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Urges the European Commission and the Member States to adopt quality frameworks for traineeships with a view to ensuring reasonable accommodation and accessibility for persons with disabilities;

Amendment 118 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Encourages~~Calls on the Member States to ~~contemplate the adoption of~~adopt a universal design standard for creating working surroundings that take into account the needs of persons with disabilities;

Amendment 119 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. E~~ncourages the Member States to contemplate the adoption of a universal design~~mphasises the importance of special standards for creating individual working surroundings that take into account the needs of persons with disabilities;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)

– having regard to the Inter-institutional Agreement on Better Law-Making 2016 between the European Parliament, Council of the European Union and the European Commission,

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Encourages the Member States to ~~contemplate the adoption of a universal design standard for~~ creat~~ing~~e working surroundings that take into account the needs of persons with disabilities;

Amendment 121 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Encourages the Member States to contemplate the adoption of a universal design ~~standard~~principle for creating working surroundings that take into account the needs of persons with disabilities;, in connection with the General Recommendation on accessibility adopted by the UN committee on 11 April 2014;1a __________________ 1aGeneral comment No 2.(2014) on Article 9: Accessibility https://documents- dds- ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G14/033/13/ PDF/G1403313.pdf?OpenElement

Amendment 122 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Encourages the Member States to contemplate the adoption of a universal design standard for creating working surroundings that take into account the needs of persons with disabilities; underlines the importance of promotion and the inclusion of the principles of universal design into the Members States national laws regarding design for the workplace and public space, calls on Member States to respect EU commitments on accessibility, welcomes therefore the progress in works on the European Accessibility Act;

Amendment 123 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Encourages the Member States to contemplate the adoption of a universal design standard for creating working surroundings that take into account the needs of persons with disabilities in order to ensure that improvements in working conditions are made permanent and to foster the creation of working surroundings that are increasingly adapted to all European workers;

Amendment 124 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Brando BENIFEI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Considers that ad-hoc accommodations should be replaced by the use of established standards in the design of workplaces; Encourages the Member States to ~~contempla~~promote the adoption of a universal design standard for creating working surroundings that take into account the needs of persons with disabilities;

Amendment 125 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

Amendment 126 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Brando BENIFEI, Siôn SIMON, Jutta STEINRUCK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to encourage smart working models enabling people with a disability to work at home, with all of the resulting advantages in terms of quality of life and productivity;

Amendment 127 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Calls on the Member States to use Structural funds, in particular European Social Fund, to adapt workplaces and to provide necessary assistance for people with disabilities at work, to improve education and training with a view to improving labour market access and combating unemployment, poverty and social exclusion of disabled people;

Amendment 128 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

Amendment 129 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Underlines that Article 7 and Article 96 (7) of the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR)2a promote equal opportunities, non-discrimination and inclusion of persons with disabilities in the implementation of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds) in general and in the Operational Programmes in particular and requests an integrated approach to addressing the specific needs of target groups at highest risk of discrimination or social exclusion, with special regard to persons with disabilities; stresses that ex ante evaluation shall appraise the adequacy of planned measures to promote equal opportunities between men and women and to prevent any discrimination, in particular as regards accessibility for persons with disabilities; stresses that national or regional strategic policy framework for lifelong learning shall be in place that contains concrete measures for the provision of skills development for people with disabilities; recalls that the monitoring committee shall examine in particular actions to promote equal opportunities and non-discrimination, including accessibility for persons with disabilities; __________________ 2aRegulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 320).

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 21 a (new)

– having regard to its resolution of 24 July 2015 on towards an integrated approach to cultural heritage for Europe;1a __________________ 1a A8-0207/2015

Amendment 130 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Calls on the ~~Commission and the~~ Member States to revisit the employment insurance schemes with a view to preventing discrimination of disabled people;

Amendment 131 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Encourages the Member States to combine quotas and passive labour market policies, such as tax breaks and cash incentives, with active labour market policies – i.e. guidance and counselling, training and education, traineeships, and job placements – to support the employment of people with disabilities;

Amendment 132 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Brando BENIFEI, Siôn SIMON, Jutta STEINRUCK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Encourages the Member States to combine ~~quotas and~~ passive labour market policies, such as tax breaks and cash incentives, with active labour market policies – i.e. guidance and counselling, training and education, and job placements – to support the employment of people with disabilities;

Amendment 133 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Encourages the Member States to combine quotas and passive labour market policies, such as tax breaks and cash incentives, with active labour market policies – i.e. guidance and counselling, training and education, and quality job placements – to support the employment of people with disabilities;

Amendment 134 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Encourages the Member States to combine quotas and passive labour market policies, such as tax breaks and cash incentives, with active labour market policies – i.e. guidance and counselling, training and education, and quality job placements – to support the employment of people with disabilities;

Amendment 135 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Encourages the Member States to co~~mbin~~nsider the benefits of introducing positive action measures such as, for example quotas and passive labour market policies, such as tax breaks and cash incentives, with active labour market policies – i.e. guidance and counselling, training and education, and job placements – to support the employment of people with disabilities;

Amendment 136 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Considers that European funding and state investment intended for the training of workers with disabilities should be channelled towards SMEs that allow workers to follow courses leading to employment;

Amendment 137 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Notes that persons with disabilities make a valuable contribution to society as a whole, and that this contribution can be even greater if the (working) environment is properly adapted, for which ESI Funds are needed; therefore urges the EU to take effective action to measure the employment of persons with disabilities and to increase their employment rate in the open labour market, including by providing training for Member States on reasonable accommodation and accessibility in the context of employment;

Amendment 138 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Labour market have to be more adapted to disabled people needs, not disabled persons have to adapt to a labour market in order to be employed.

Amendment 139 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Encourages the Member States to develop an all-encompassing framework for measures benefitting access to work of people with disabilities~~, including using fines imposed for failures to comply with anti-discrimination legislation to finance other actions in the field~~;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)

– having regard to the Gender Equality Directive (Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation (recast)),

Amendment 140 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Brando BENIFEI, Siôn SIMON, Jutta STEINRUCK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Encourages the Member States to develop an all-encompassing framework for measures ben~~efitt~~suring access to quality work ofor people with disabilities, including using fines imposed for failures to comply with anti-discrimination legislation to finance other actions in the field;

Amendment 141 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

Amendment 142 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Encourages the Member States to ~~develop an all-encompassing framework for~~implement measures benefitting access to work of people with disabilities, including using fines imposed for failures to comply with anti-discrimination legislation to finance other actions in the field;

Amendment 143 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Encourages the Member States to develop an all-encompassing framework for measures benefitting access to work of people with disabilities, including using fines imposed for failures to comply with anti-discrimination legislation to finance ~~other act~~inclusions in the ~~field~~open labour market;

Amendment 144 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

Amendment 145 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Encourages the Member States to develop a~~n all-encompassing framework~~ framework covering the impact of the Directive for measures benefitting access to work of people with disabilities, including the possibility of using fines imposed for failures to comply with anti- discrimination legislation to finance other actions in the field;

Amendment 146 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Encourages the Member States to develop an all-encompassing framework for measures benefitting access to work of people with disabilities, including using fines imposed for failures to comply with anti-discrimination legislation to, which could then finance other actions in the field;

Amendment 147 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Encourages Member States to provide ongoing support to employers that hire persons with disabilities so as to create favourable conditions and ensure adequate support in all phases of the employment life: recruitment, retention and career progression.

Amendment 148 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

Amendment 149 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Calls on all actors involved to pay particular attention to the integration of persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities and to develop a comprehensive campaign to raise awareness about the CRPD and combat prejudice against persons with disabilities, and especially persons with psychosocial disabilities, intellectual disabilities, people with autism spectrum disorders and older persons with disabilities in workplaces; requests that all materials related to capacity-building, training, awareness raising and public statements, among others, be made available in accessible formats;

Amendment 15 #

Rosa ESTARÀS FERRAGUT, Verónica LOPE FONTAGNÉ

Motion for a resolution
Citation 27 a (new)

– having regard to the Brighton Declaration and the outcomes of the ECHR High Level Conference at Brighton on 19th and 20th April 2012;1a __________________ 1a http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/2012_ Brighton_FinalDeclaration_ENG.pdf

Amendment 150 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Is concerned about the delay in the mid-term assessment of the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020; urges the Commission to revise the strategy on the basis of the concluding observations on the initial report of the European Union adopted by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on ~~2 October 2015~~7 September 2015, and to include representative organisations of persons with disabilities in this process;

Amendment 151 #

Rosa ESTARÀS FERRAGUT, Verónica LOPE FONTAGNÉ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Encourages Member States to provide ongoing support to employers that hire persons with disabilities so as to create favourable conditions and ensure adequate support in all phases of employment life: recruitment, retention and career progression;

Amendment 152 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Recommends the European Commission and the Member States to provide training for public officials, employers and employees on reasonable accommodation and accessibility at the work place, as recommended by the concluding observations on the initial report of the European Union adopted by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 7 September 2015;

Amendment 153 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Regrets that the Commission has not yet addressed age inequalities in the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and the Disability Strategy; calls, therefore, on the Commission to raise awareness of and address the rights of persons with disabilities and the discrimination they suffer

Amendment 154 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

Amendment 155 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Underlines the importance of having elderly in the workplace who can pass on their knowledge and experience to younger workers~~, and regrets the fact that age is the first grounds for employment discrimination~~;

Amendment 156 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Underlines the importance of having elderly in the workplace who can pass on their knowledge and experience to younger workers, and regrets the fact that age is ~~the first~~a grounds for employment discrimination;

Amendment 157 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Underlines the importance of having elderly in the workplace who can pass on their knowledge and experience to younger workers, and regrets the fact that age is the first grounds for employment discrimination; considers it regrettable that older people are still often exposed to stereotypes and barriers on the job market;

Amendment 158 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Underlines the importance of having elderly in the workplace who can pass on their knowledge and experience to younger workers in the context of active ageing, and regrets the fact that age is the first grounds for employment discrimination;

Amendment 159 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Defines intergenerational justice as the equal distribution of benefits and burdens between the generations; considers that functional cooperation between the generations is based on solidarity and must be informed by mutual respect, responsibility and a willingness to care for one another;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 29

– having regard to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights comparative legal analysis on protection against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics in the EU,deleted

Amendment 160 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Brando BENIFEI, Siôn SIMON, Jutta STEINRUCK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Calls on the Member States to promote access to employment and integration into labour market of all workers regardless their age and to apply measures in order to protect all workers in the workplace in terms of remuneration, training, carrier development, health and safety, etc.;

Amendment 161 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

Amendment 162 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Jutta STEINRUCK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)

16b. Notes that a one-sided rejuvenation of workforces does not lead to more innovation, but represents a waste of experience, knowledge and skills;

Amendment 163 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)

16b. Calls on the Member States to encourage employers to recruit young people, but at the same time ensure and respect equal treatment in terms of remuneration and social protection, including necessary training related to work;

Amendment 164 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)

Amendment 165 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Notes with concern that the CJEU identifies solidarity between generations as the single most important legitimate aim justifying differences of treatment based on age, as those Member States that show higher employment rates for older workers are also those that perform far better in introducing younger people into the labour market;

Amendment 166 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Notes that the CJEU identifies solidarity between generations as the single most important legitimate aim justifying differences of treatment based on age;2a; __________________ 2aCommission staff working document 'Annexes to the Joint Report on the application of the Racial Equality Directive (2000/43/EC) and the Employment Equality Directive (2000/78/EC)' (SWD(2014)5)

Amendment 167 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Recalls that EU legislation concerning ageing policies must be effectively implemented in order to combat and prevent age discrimination;

Amendment 168 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Notes that, thanks to polic~~y chang~~ies implemented by many Member States, people aged 55-64 make up an increas~~ing~~ed share of workers throughout EU Member States; regrets, however, that the employment rate for this group has increased too slowly and remains below 50 % in the EU 2819 ; ~~is concerned about how the digital market will affect employment, in particular for people over 50, and about how little prepared the EU and the~~believes that the opportunities for future job creation in the digital market will require further efforts by Member States ~~are~~ to address ~~this issue~~skill mismatches, in particular for people over 50; __________________ 19 Businesseurope , ‘Position paper on Promoting diversity in employment and workplaces’, Nov. 2013.

Amendment 169 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Notes that, ~~thanks to policy change~~as a result of policy decisions in recent years, people aged 55- 64 make up an increasing share of workers; regrets, however, that the ~~employment rate for this group has increased~~pension policies dictated by austerity measures are compelling ageing workers too slowly and remains below 50% in the EU19; is concerned about how the digital market will affect employment, in particular for people over 50, and about how little prepared the EU and the Member States are to address this issuremain in employment too long, at the expense of the quality of their personal and family lives; points out in addition that, again as a result of policy decisions, workers in the 45 to 55 age group have been forced out and are unable to re-enter employment, not least because of discrimination on account of their age; __________________ 19 Businesseurope , ‘Position paper on Promoting diversity in employment and workplaces’, Nov. 2013.

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 a (new)

– having regard to the definition of the word "gender" by the European Commissioner Vera Jourová on behalf of the European Commission on 3 December 2015 (E-012868/2015),

Amendment 170 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

Amendment 171 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Notes that, thanks to policy changes, people aged 55-64 make up an increasing share of workers; regrets, however, that the employment rate for this group has increased too slowly and remains below 50 % in the EU19 ; ~~is concerned about how~~underlines therefore theat digital ~~market will affect employment, in particular for~~ization has a substantial impact on the labour market by creating new job opportunities and more flexible working conditions such as telecommuting or teleworking which could serve as an effective tool against the exclusion of people over 50, a~~nd about how little prepared the EU and the Member States are to address this issue;~~ s well as for better reconciliation of professional and domestic duties for both women and men, emphasises in this context that the continual improvement of digital skills is a perquisite to benefiting from digitalization; __________________ 19 Businesseurope , ‘Position paper on Promoting diversity in employment and workplaces’, Nov. 2013.

Amendment 172 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Notes that, thanks to policy changes, people aged 55-64 make up an increasing share of workers; regrets, however, that the employment rate for this group has increased too slowly and remains below 50 % in the EU19; ~~is concerned about how the~~stresses the need for an upgrade of digital ~~market w~~skills a~~ffect employment~~mong the working population, in particular for people over 50, and ~~about how little prepared the EU~~stresses that digitalisation will contribute to social inclusion and the ~~Member States are to address this issue~~lp older people remain in the labour market for longer by establishing closer human-machine cooperation; __________________ 19 Businesseurope , ‘Position paper on Promoting diversity in employment and workplaces’, Nov. 2013.

Amendment 173 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Notes that, thanks to policy changes, people aged 55-64 make up an increasing share of workers; regrets, however, that the employment rate for this group has increased too slowly and remains below 50 % in the EU19; ~~is concerned about~~encourages the Member States to consider how the digital market will affect employment, in particular for people over 50~~, and about how little prepared the EU and the Member States are to address this issue~~; stresses the importance of offering employees opportunities for training, particularly in the new digital technologies, further training and retraining throughout their professional careers in order to ensure that the skills of older people match the needs of companies; __________________ 19 Businesseurope , ‘Position paper on Promoting diversity in employment and workplaces’, Nov. 2013.

Amendment 174 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Notes that, thanks to policy changes, people aged 55-64 make up an increasing share of workers; regrets, however, that the employment rate for this group has increased too slowly and remains ~~below 50~~only at 51.8 % in the EU19 ; is concerned about the gender gap in employment rates for this age category of almost 14%; is questioning how the digital market will affect employment, in particular for people over 50, and is worried about how little prepared the EU and the Member States are ~~to address this issu~~regarding the digital change; __________________ 19 Businesseurope , ‘Position paper on Promoting diversity in employment and workplaces’, Nov. 2013.

Amendment 175 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Notes that, thanks to policy changes, people aged 55-64 make up an increasing share of workers; regrets, however, that the employment rate for this group has increased too slowly and remains below 50 % in the EU19; considers at the same time that it is necessary to find a way of applying the principle of solidarity between generations to a greater extent in the upbringing of children too; is concerned about how the digital market will affect employment, in particular for people over 50 and unskilled middle-aged people, and about how little prepared the EU and the Member States are to address this issue; __________________ 19 Businesseurope , ‘Position paper on Promoting diversity in employment and workplaces’, Nov. 2013.

Amendment 176 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Notes that, thanks to policy changes, people aged 55-64 make up an increasing share of workers; regrets, however, that the employment rate for this group has increased too slowly and remains below 50 % in the EU19; ~~is concerned about how~~points out that the digital market will affect employment, in particular for people over 50~~, and about how little prepared the EU and the Member States are to address this issue~~; stresses that new relations between humans and robots also provide opportunities for removing burdens and providing backing for the inclusion of older and physically or mentally impaired workers; considers it important to shape the influence of the digital market on employment in a socially just and sustainable way; __________________ 19 Businesseurope , ‘Position paper on Promoting diversity in employment and workplaces’, Nov. 2013.

Amendment 177 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Is concerned about how the digital market will affect employment, in particular for people over 50, and about how little prepared the EU and the Member States are to address this issue; highlights that many employers do not hire older workers because of stereotypes on lacking or out-dated skills; therefore calls for the inclusion of life-long learning and adult education for workers of all age groups into the reflection on the upcoming European Skills Strategy announced by the European Commission;

Amendment 178 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Brando BENIFEI, Siôn SIMON, Jutta STEINRUCK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Stresses that measures to combat discrimination on grounds of age must as a matter of principle avoid differentiating between children or the elderly, and that any form of unjustified age discrimination must be tackled in an appropriate manner;

Amendment 179 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Calls on the Commission in cooperation with the Member States to study the worrying problem of unemployment among people over the age of 50 and to develop effective tools for reintegrating such workers into the labour market;

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas, according to the TEU, the Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, and shall combat social exclusion and discrimination;

Amendment 180 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Siôn SIMON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)

18b. Calls on the Member States to ensure vocational training and integration of elderly workers, for example, to introduce incentives or subsidies for employers who recruit older people;

Amendment 181 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)

18c. Notes that elderly workers have more precarious rights and calls on the Member States to ensure their protection against unfair dismissal in case of retirement age;

Amendment 182 #

Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA, Danuta JAZŁOWIECKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Recalls that the most important resource of the EU and the Member States is their human resources; ~~calls for investment in the development of the digital and soft skills needed in the future, including through~~takes the view that e-skills are essential for older workers over 55 in order to safeguard them from the exclusion from the labour market and to facilitate them in finding new employment, calls on the Commission and the Member States to support and invest in life-long learning, as well as comprehensive training and schemes ~~and the retraining of older employees~~which prepare for a better adaptation to growing demand for e-skills in many different sectors, stresses therefore that older workers over 55, especially women should have continuous access to trainings on ICT;

Amendment 183 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Recalls that the most important resource of the EU and the Member States is their human resources; calls for investment in the development of the digital and soft skills needed in the future, including through life-long learning, comprehensive training schemes and the retraining of older employees; encourages, also, the Member States and the Commission to put in place strategies to reduce the digital divide and promote equal access to new information and communication technologies;

Amendment 184 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Recalls that the most important resource of the EU and the Member States is their human resources; calls for investment in the development of the digital and soft skills needed in the future, – not just computer use but adaptation to the virtual environment (augmented reality) – including through life-long learning, comprehensive training schemes and the retraining of older employees;

Amendment 185 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Recalls that the most important resource of the EU and the Member States is their human resources; ~~calls for investment~~points to the growing weight of the digital market where employment is concerned and calls for investment – starting with the young – in the development of the digital and soft skills needed in the future, in~~cluding~~ which older employees should also be included through life-long learning, comprehensive training schemes ~~and the~~, or retraining ~~of older employees~~;

Amendment 186 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Recalls that the most important resource of the EU and the Member States is their human resources; calls for investment in the development of the digital and soft skills needed in the future, including through life-long learning, comprehensive training ~~schemes~~and further training schemes, the development of skills strategies linking the world of education with the world of work and the retraining of older employees;

Amendment 187 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. welcomes the work programme of European social partners for the period 2015-2017 which focusses on active ageing; calls upon social partners to thoroughly take on the issues linked to age discrimination, adult learning, occupational health and safety as well as reconciliation between work and family life to build a European framework that supports employability and health of all workers;

Amendment 188 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Brando BENIFEI, Jutta STEINRUCK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Calls on the Member States, in collaboration with social partners, to promote life long-learning, to ensure in- work training opportunities for all ages, and to provide accessible and affordable learning programs in order to enable ageing population to update their skills;

Amendment 189 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas all 28 Member States have transposed the Employment Equality Directive and~~, despit~~ whereas, given the differences oin its transposition and implementation, ~~have gai~~studies need ~~valuable experience~~to be compiled in order to give a true picture of the position regarding the application of Directive 2000/78/EC in the Member States;

Amendment 190 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Stresses that reliable statistics on the situation of older people and demographic changes are needed to develop better targeted and effective active ageing strategies; calls on the Commission to ensure comprehensive high-quality data collection on the societal status of older people, their health, rights and standard of living

Amendment 191 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Stresses the importance of accessible technologies for ageing European societies and calls on the Commission to develop an inclusive Digital Single Market strategy by ensuring that accessibility is mainstreamed throughout the strategy and linked with the promotion of the 'silver economy' in Europe;

Amendment 192 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Hopes that investment in development and digital and soft skills will be channelled first and foremost towards SMEs which have their own in- house training schemes and retrain older employees;

Amendment 193 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Calls on the Member States to conduct a review of upper age limits for certain jobs and posts and for eligibility for loans, and to do away with such limits;

Amendment 194 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)

19b. Stresses that a policy for justice between the generations must aim to create the tools needed to conduct an open and frank intergenerational dialogue with a view to achieving win-win situations; calls on the Commission and Member States to work intensively on such tools in order to create solidarity;

Amendment 195 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Brando BENIFEI, Jutta STEINRUCK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)

19b. Stresses on the importance of accessible technologies for ageing European societies and calls on the Commission to develop an inclusive Digital Single Market strategy by ensuring that accessibility is mainstreamed throughout the strategy and linked with the promotion of the ´silver economy´ in Europe;

Amendment 196 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)

Amendment 197 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)

19b. Points out that promoting age- friendly environments is an essential tool for supporting older workers and jobseekers and promoting inclusive societies that offer equal opportunities to all; welcomes, in this connection, the Commission's joint management project with the WHO aimed at adapting the WHO Global Age-friendly Cities guide to the European context;

Amendment 198 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)

19b. Welcomes the campaign 'Healthy workplaces for all ages' conducted by EU- OSHA; underlines the importance of effective occupational health and safety legislation and incentives for companies to adopt preventive methods; calls for the campaign to adopt strong outreach to companies of all sizes;

Amendment 199 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)

19c. Calls on the Member States to reinforce the public pension schemes in order to guarantee a decent income replacement for all after the retirement;

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1

– having regard to the Treaty on European Union (TEU), in particular Article 2 thereof, and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in particular Articles 6, 8, 10 and 19 thereof,

Amendment 20 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Jutta STEINRUCK

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the equal treatment directives prohibit both direct and indirect discrimination, as well as harassment and instructions to discriminate;

Amendment 200 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)

19c. Calls on the Member States to reinforce the public pension schemes in order to guarantee a decent income replacement for all after the retirement;

Amendment 201 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)

19c. Welcomes the Commission's initiative on work-life balance; underlines that work-life balance is a challenge also to older workers, as 18 % of men and 22 % of women between 55 and 64 care for family members in need of care, while more than half of grandparents provide regular care to their grandchildren; recommends that the upcoming initiative on work-life balance fully includes measures to support informal carers and grandparents of working age as well as young parents;

Amendment 202 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

~~20. Notes that national courts and the CJEU have only heard a limited number of cases on discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation;~~deleted

Amendment 203 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Notes that the provisions of the Employment Equality Directive on discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation could be easily abused through the bringing of unfounded claims;

Amendment 204 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Recalls that, notwithstanding the fact that the number of Member States that have extended the prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation to all areas covered by the Racial Equality Directive grew from 10 in 2010 to 13 in 2014, protection from sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination is still limited20; __________________ 20EU Fundamental Rights Agency (2015), ‘Protection against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics in the European Union: Comparative legal analysis’.Notes that the prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation has been implemented in all the Member States;

Amendment 205 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Recalls ~~that, notwithstanding the fact~~ that the number of Member States that have extended the prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation to all areas covered by the Racial Equality Directive grew from 10 in 2010 to 13 in 2014~~, protection from sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination is still limited20~~; __________________ 20 EU Fundamental Rights Agency (2015), ‘Protection against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics in the European Union: Comparative legal analysis’.

Amendment 206 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21a. Welcomes the role played by the European Court of Human Rights, through its decisions on the interpretation and implementation of the directive, and looks forward with interest to future rulings on this matter to be handed down by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU);

Amendment 207 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Recalls that the scope of protection from discrimination available to trans people remains uncertain in many Member States; calls for measures to implement effectively national legislation transposing the Gender Equality Directive (recast); points out that such measures could include improved legal definitions and the extension of protections for trans people to include others than those undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment21; __________________ 21deleted Ibid.

Amendment 208 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. ~~Recalls that the scope of protection from discrimination available to trans people remains uncertain in many Member States; calls for measures to implement effectively national leg~~Draws attention to the internationally accepted definition of trans people, which is consistent with the World Health Organislation ~~transposing the Gender Equality Directive (recast); points out that such measures could include improved legal defini~~'s ICD-10 International Statistical Classifications, and t~~he extension of protections for trans people to include others than those undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment21~~o the need to enshrine the relevant protection effectively in national laws; __________________ 21 Ibid.

Amendment 209 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Recalls that the scope of protection from discrimination available ~~to trans people~~ remains uncertain in many Member States; calls for measures to implement effectively national legislation transposing the Gender Equality Directive (recast); points out that such measures could include improved legal definitions and the extension of protections for trans people to include others than those undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment21 ; __________________ 21 Ibid.

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas, as well as implementing Directive 2000/78/EC, all Member States should be encouraged to adopt legislation establishing social security and welfare schemes for persons suffering discrimination, combined with measures aimed at removing the obstacles preventing them from taking up employment;

Amendment 210 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

Amendment 211 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Recalls that the scope of protection from discrimination available to trans people remains uncertain in many Member States; calls for measures to implement effectively national legislation transposing the Gender Equality Directive (recast); points out that such measures cshould include improved legal definitions ~~and the extension of protections for trans people to include others~~to ensure that protections include all transgender people and not only thran ~~thos~~s people who are undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment21 ; __________________ 21 Ibid. Ibid.

Amendment 212 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Recalls that the scope of protection from discrimination available to trans people remains uncertain in many Member States; calls for measures to implement effectively national legislation transposing the Gender Equality Directive (recast); points out that such measures could include improved legal definitions ~~and the extension of~~to ensure that protections for trans people to include ~~others than~~s all trans people not only those undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment21 ; __________________ 21 Ibid.

Amendment 213 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Recalls that the scope of protection from discrimination available to trans people, especially in the area of employment, education and healthcare, remains uncertain in many Member States; calls for measures to implement effectively national legislation transposing the Gender Equality Directive (recast); points out that such measures could include improved legal definitions and the extension of protections for trans people to include others than those undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment21 ; __________________ 21 Ibid. Ibid.

Amendment 214 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Is concerned that rights awareness in the area of discrimination, and awareness of the existence of bodies and organisations offering support to victims of discrimination, are low, with higher rates of awareness among LGBTI people; takes the view that national, regional and local authorities, along with workers organisations, should substantially intensify awareness raising activities for both victims and employBelieves, on the basis of case law available at EU and national level, that a duty to take reasonable precautions against all forms of discrimination – including, therefore, on the basis of sexual orientation – should be laid down in EU and national law, provided that this does not impose a disproportionate burden on employers or service providers;

Amendment 215 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. ~~Is concerned~~Notes that rights awareness in the area of discrimination, and awareness of the existence of bodies and organisations offering support to victims of discrimination, are low, with higher rates of awareness among LGBTI people; takes the view that national, regional and local authorities, along with workers organisations, should substantially intensify awareness raising activities for both victims and employers;

Amendment 216 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

Amendment 217 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

Amendment 218 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

Amendment 219 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

~~24. Calls on the Member States to adopt clear definitions of ‘family members’ for LGBTI families and to review laws and practices with a view to preventing discrimination of intersex people;~~deleted

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas further efforts should be made to preserve and exploit the value of our cultural heritage, which includes not only the physical heritage and landscape, but also the intangible heritage, such as languages and religious and culinary traditions;

Amendment 220 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

Amendment 221 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

Amendment 222 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

Amendment 223 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

Amendment 224 #

Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. C~~alls on the Member States to adopt clear definitions of ‘family members’ for LGBTI families and to review laws and practices with a view to preventing discrimination of intersex people~~onsiders that the neutral and respectful of the national options approach proposed with regard to civil status by Directive 2000/78/EC should be preserved and strengthened and the text shall not apply to matters covered by family law, including civil status and the benefits that derive from it;

Amendment 225 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. CRecalls onthat the Member States ~~to adopt clear definitions of ‘family members’ for LGBTI families and to review laws and practices with a view to preventing discrimination of intersex people~~have exclusive competence in shaping and adopting family law policies;

Amendment 226 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Brando BENIFEI, Siôn SIMON, Jutta STEINRUCK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Calls on the Commission and Member States to ~~adopt clear definitions of ‘family members’ for LGBTI families~~ensure the mutual recognition of partnership status, matrimonial regimes and parenting rights; calls on the European Commission and Member States to take account of the specific discrimination intersex people face in employment and to review laws and practices with a view to preventing discrimination of intersex people;

Amendment 227 #

Renate WEBER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Calls on the Member States to ~~adopt clear definitions of ‘family members’ for LGBTI families~~ensure mutual recognition of partnership status and matrimonial regimes, as well as parenting rights; Calls on the European Commission and Member States to take account of the specific discrimination intersex people face in employment and to review laws and practices with a view to preventing discrimination of intersex people;

Amendment 228 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to combat all forms of multiple discrimination, to ensure application of the principle of non- discrimination and equal treatment in the labour market and in access to employment; furthermore calls on the Member States to combat the harassment and violence at workplace which violates person's dignity and/or creates an offensive environment at work;

Amendment 229 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

Amendment 23 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Brando BENIFEI, Jutta STEINRUCK

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas it is essential to remove the obstacles which, by limiting freedom and equality, are impeding the full development of the human person and preventing workers from genuinely participating in the political, social, and economic organisation of their Member States;

Amendment 230 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)

24b. Calls on the Commission and Member States for additional legislative measures which are necessary for the full implementation of the Directive 2000/78/EC and to achieve the general objectives as regards non-discrimination and equality in employment and occupation in the European Union;

Amendment 231 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)

Amendment 232 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Highlights that lack of objective, reliable and comparable ~~equality~~ data makes it more difficult to prove the existence of discrimination; calls on the Commission and the Member States to collect ~~equality~~ data ion ~~a systematic way and~~instances of discrimination and inequality, with the involvement of national equality bodies and national courts;

Amendment 233 #

Renate WEBER, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Highlights that lack of comparable equality data makes it more difficult to prove the existence of discrimination, but points out that Article 10 of Directive 2000/78 provides for a shift in the burden of proof and a reversal of it where there are facts from which it may be presumed that there has been direct or indirect discrimination; calls on the Member States, therefore, to collect equality data in a systematic way and with the involvement of national equality bodies and national courts;

Amendment 234 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Highlights that lack of comparable equality data makes it more difficult to prove the existence of discrimination, particularly indirect discrimination; calls on the Member States to collect equality data in a systematic way and with the involvement of national equality bodies and national courts; notes that Directive 2000/43/EC already encourages Member States to do so, including in the area of employment; calls on the Commission to take initiatives to promote such data collection by means of a Recommendation to the Member States, and by ask Eurostat to consult with relevant groups with the aim to mainstream the disaggregation of data on all discrimination grounds for the indicators of the European Social Survey;

Amendment 235 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Highlights that lack of comparable equality data makes it more difficult to prove the existence of discrimination, particularly indirect discrimination; calls on the Member States to collect equality data in a systematic way and with the involvement of national equality bodies and national courts; calls on the Commission to take initiatives to promote such data collection by means of a Recommendation to Member States, and by tasking Eurostat with the development of consultations aiming at mainstreaming data disaggregation on all discrimination grounds in European Social Surveys' indicators;

Amendment 236 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

Amendment 237 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Highlights that lack of comparable equality data makes it more difficult to prove twhe ~~existence of~~ther discrimination exists; calls on the Member States to collect equality data in a systematic way, with scientific methodology and with the involvement of national equality bodies and national courts;

Amendment 238 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Highlights that lack of comparable equality data makes it more difficult to prove the existence of discrimination; calls on the Member States to collect equality data in a systematic way and with the involvement of national social partners and equality bodies and national courts;

Amendment 239 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Highlights that lack of comparable equality data makes it more difficult to prove the existence of discrimination; calls on the Member States to collect equality data in a systematic way and with the involvement of national equality bodies and national courts in order to take action and practical measures against all forms of discrimination relating to recruitment and the job market;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas non-discrimination in the field of occupation and employment is only effective if discrimination is comprehensively combated in all areas of life;

Amendment 240 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Highlights that lack of comparable equality data makes it more difficult to prove the existence of discrimination; calls on the Member States to collect equality data affecting the scope of the Directive in a systematic way and with the involvement of national equality bodies and national courts;

Amendment 241 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25a. Recommends to Member States while collecting statistical data on employment matters to include into a labour survey optional questions to discover possible discrimination based on grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation;

Amendment 242 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25a. Highlights that the Directive mentions the disproportionate impact of multiple discrimination on women; recommends that further efforts are put in place to increase monitoring of intersections between gender and other grounds in cases and practices of discrimination;

Amendment 243 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25a. Emphasises that the legislative process at all levels should take account of the bureaucratic burden on microenterprises and small and medium- sized enterprises and that proposed measures should undergo a proportionality assessment;

Amendment 244 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25a. Stresses that refusal to employ on grounds of lack of necessary qualifications to exercise certain professions does not constitute discrimination in any sense of the word;

Amendment 245 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Notes the important role of the national equality bodies in the implementation of the Employment Equality Directive, contributing to awareness raising and data collection, addressing underreporting and making complaint processes more accessible; calls for the role of the national equality bodies to be strengthened, their impartiality insured and their capacities enhanced, including through the provision of adequate funding;

Amendment 246 #

Renate WEBER, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Notes the important role of the national equality bodies in the implementation of the Employment Equality Directive, contributing to awareness raising and data collection, addressing underreporting and making complaint processes more accessible; calls for the role of the national equality bodies to be strengthened, and their ~~capac~~activities ~~enhanc~~developed, including through the provision of adequate funding;

Amendment 247 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Notes the important role of the national equality bodies in the implementation of the Employment Equality Directive, contributing to awareness raising and data collection, staying in touch with the social partners and other stakeholders, addressing underreporting and making complaint processes more accessible; calls for the role of the national equality bodies to be strengthened, and their capacities enhanced, including through the provision of adequate funding;

Amendment 248 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Highlights that the Directive mentions the disproportionate impact of multiple discrimination on women; recommends that national, regional and local authorities, law enforcement bodies, including labour inspectors, national equality bodies and civil society organisations, increase their monitoring of the intersectionality between gender and other grounds in cases of discrimination;

Amendment 249 #

Renate WEBER, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

Amendment 25 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Jutta STEINRUCK

Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)

Db. whereas the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) stressed, in Römer1a , that the Employment Equality Directive does not itself lay down the principle of equal treatment in the field of employment and occupation, but provides a general framework for combating discrimination on various grounds; __________________ 1aCase C-147/08, Römer [2011] ECR I- 3591.

Amendment 250 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Highlights that policies on equal treatment should aim at addressing the issues of stereotypes in both male and female occupations and roles;

Amendment 251 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Highlights that policies on equal treatment should aim at addressing the issues of stereotypes in both male and female occupations and roles;

Amendment 252 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Stresses that the social partners have a key role to play in informing both workers and employers and in raising their awareness about tackling discrimination;

Amendment 253 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)

26b. Considers that further focus is needed on balancing competing rights such as freedom of religion and belief and freedom of speech in cases of harassment on this ground;

Amendment 254 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Siôn SIMON, Jutta STEINRUCK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)

26b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to enhance the reconciliation of work and private life by concrete measures, such as urgently proposing new legislative proposals on Maternity leave Directive, Carers´ leave Directive, reinforcing legislation on paternity leave;

Amendment 255 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)

26b. Calls for the adoption of the proposed 2008 Equal Treatment Directive which is still pending for approval by the Council; considers it a condition to secure a consolidated and coherent EU law framework against discrimination, also protecting from discrimination on the grounds of religion and belief, disability, age and sexual orientation outside of employment; notes that no undue restriction of the Directive's scope should be accepted; considers that the consolidation of the EU legislative framework on tackling hate crime is also a crucial element, taking into consideration that similar crimes are also prevalent in the work environment;

Amendment 256 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)

26b. Calls on the Member States to guarantee the right of return to work for women after pregnancy and maternity leave and parental leave, to guarantee their right to effective health and safety protection at the workplace, to safeguard their maternity entitlements, and to take measures to prevent the unfair dismissal of employees during pregnancy and protect women and men with care responsibilities from unfair dismissal;

Amendment 257 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Siôn SIMON, Jutta STEINRUCK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 c (new)

26c. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to enhance the reconciliation of work and private life by concrete measures, such as urgently proposing new legislative proposals on Maternity leave Directive, Carers´ leave Directive, reinforcing legislation on paternity leave;

Amendment 258 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Notes that access to justice is limited in discrimination cases; considers it necessary that available and accessible legal advice and assistance is provided to the victims at all stages of the legal process~~, including in-person counselling, and emotional, personal and moral support,~~ by equality bodies or intermediaries;

Amendment 259 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Notes that access to justice is limited in discrimination cases; considers it necessary that available and accessible legal advice and assistance is provided to the victims at all stages of the legal process, including confidential counsellors, in- person counselling, and emotional, personal and moral support, by equality bodies or intermediaries;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas although the perception of discrimination has increased, numerous victims of discrimination are still not aware of their rights or do not dare to take legal action against discriminatory practices, because of various factors, such as lack of trust in Member State authorities or complex and lengthy legal procedures;

Amendment 260 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Notes that access to justice is limited in many discrimination cases; considers it necessary that ~~avail~~Member States take the appropriate steps to ensure that reasonable and accessible legal advice and assistance is provided to ~~the~~ victims at all stages of the legal process, including for example in- person counselling, ~~and~~ emotional, personal and moral support, by equality bodies or appropriate intermediaries;

Amendment 261 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Notes that access to justice is limited in discrimination cases; highlights the importance of access to information for victims of discrimination; considers it necessary that available and accessible legal advice and assistance is provided to the victims at all stages of the legal process, including in- person counselling, and emotional, personal and moral support, by equality bodies or intermediaries;

Amendment 262 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Notes that access to justice is limited in discrimination cases; considers it necessary that available and accessible legal advice and assistance ~~is provid~~can be obtained toby the victims at all stages of the legal process, including in- person counselling, and emotional, personal and moral support, by equality bodies or intermediaries;

Amendment 263 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Notes that access to justice ismight be limited in discrimination cases; considers it necessary that all persons have equal access to justice and that available and accessible legal advice and assistance is provided to the victims at all stages of the legal process, including in- person counselling, and emotional, personal and moral support, by equality bodies or intermediaries;

Amendment 264 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Calls on the Member States to create platforms that could receive complaints and provide free support on legal contest in cases of discrimination and harassment at workplace;

Amendment 265 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Notes that, considering the increasing xenophobia in Europe, refugees and migrants can be specifically affected by religious discrimination in their access to the labour market and encounter obstacles to participate fully in society, and that they may be deprived from full access to justice due to their residence status;

Amendment 266 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Maintains that proceedings have to conclude within a reasonable time and, not least by imposing severe penalties, serve to guarantee the confidentiality of the personal data of victims of discrimination while naming and shaming employers;

Amendment 267 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)

27b. Calls, as regards cases of discrimination and/or mobbing and/or stalking at the workplace, for rules to be adopted to protect whistle-blowers and their privacy;

Amendment 268 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Recalls that pursuing court cases, and ensuring adequate representation, is still problematic in some cases22, and urges the Member States to find ways to help victims in this regard~~, including by means of tax exemptions, legal aid and assistance from specialised NGOs, etc., and by ensuring legal redress and adequate representation; __________________ 22~~; __________________ 22 EPRS, op. cit. EPRS, op. cit.

Amendment 269 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Recalls that pursuing court cases, and ensuring adequate representation, is still problematic in some cases22 , and urges the Member States to find adequate ways to help ~~victim~~plaintiffs in this regard, ~~including by means of tax exemptions, legal aid and assistance from specialised NGOs, etc.,~~ and by ensuring legal redress and adequate representation; __________________ 22 EPRS, op. cit.

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. ~~whereas evidence collected by~~F. Stresses that the existing studies of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) ~~shows that~~on racism, and xenophobia and related forms of intolerance are widespread, despite measures taken by governments and civil society across the EU, and whereas the social and political climate is growing ever more tolerant of extremist, racist and xenophobic agendas that exploit fears about youth unemployment and security in the face of terrorraise serious concerns regarding methodology; points to the need to carry out new and honest studies in thism a~~nd other geopolitical challenges~~rea;

Amendment 270 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

Amendment 271 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Recalls that pursuing court cases, and ensuring adequate representation, is still problematic in some cases22, and urges the Member States to find ways to help victims in this regard, including by means of ~~tax exemptions,~~ legal aid and assistance from specialised NGOs, etc., and by ensuring legal redress and adequate representation; __________________ 22 EPRS, op. cit. EPRS, op. cit.

Amendment 272 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Recalls that pursuing court cases, and ensuring adequate representation, is still problematic in some cases22, and urges the Member States to find ways to help victims in this regard, including by means of tax exemptions and reductions, legal aid and assistance from specialised NGOs, etc., and by ensuring legal redress and adequate representation; __________________ 22 EPRS, op. cit. EPRS, op. cit.

Amendment 273 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Recalls that pursuing court cases, and ensuring adequate representation, is still problematic in some cases22 , and urges the Member States to find ways to help victims in this regard, including for example, by means of tax exemptions, legal aid and assistance from specialised NGOs, etc., and by ensuring legal redress and adequate representation in line with their own national customs and practices; __________________ 22 EPRS, op. cit.

Amendment 274 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Recalls that pursuing court cases, and ensuring adequate representation, is still problematic in some cases22 , and urges the Member States to find ways to help victims in this regard, including by means of tax exemptions, legal aid and assistance from specialised NGOs, etc., and by ensuring legal redress and adequate representation; underlines the importance of legal standing of NGOs with a legitimate interest in relevant judicial and/or administrative procedures; __________________ 22 EPRS, op. cit.

Amendment 275 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

Amendment 276 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29a. Calls upon Member States to make use of the possibility from the Directive to introduce positive action in case of groups that suffer of severe and structural discrimination, such as the Roma;

Amendment 277 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

30. Highlights the need for anthe dissemination of relevant decisions of the CJEU and for exchange of national court decisions in line with CJEU case law pertaining to the provisions of the Employment Equality Directive~~, and for the dissemination of relevant decisions of the CJEU~~;

Amendment 278 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

30. Highlights the need for an exchange of national court decisions pertaining to the provisions of the Employment Equality Directive, and for the dissemination of relevant decisions of the CJEU and the ECHR;

Amendment 279 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)

30a. Ensuring support for informal carers combining work and care responsibilities (e.g. flexible working hours, respite care) so that these carers (mostly women) are enabled to provide care, making a huge contribution to their families and society and are not penalised for this contribution now or later in life;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas evidence collected by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) shows that racism, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance are widespread, despite measures taken by governments and civil society across the EU, and whereas the social and political climate is growing ever more tolerant of extremist, racist and xenophobic agendas that exploit fears about ~~youth~~ unemployment, alienation as a result of migration flows and security in the face of terrorism and other geopolitical challenges;

Amendment 280 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Considers it necessary that adequate training is provided for employees of national, regional and local authorities and law enforcement bodies; believes that training for judges, prosecutors, ~~lawyers and police force~~judicial staff, lawyers and investigators, the police and prison staff on non-discrimination legislation in employment and case-law is of critical importance, along with training on cultural understanding and unconscious bias provided by organisations representing the most discriminated groups;

Amendment 281 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Considers it necessary that adequate training is provided for employees of national, regional and local authorities and law enforcement bodies; believes that training for judges, prosecutors, lawyers and police force on non-discrimination legislation in employment and case-law is of critical importance~~, along with training on cultural understanding and unconscious bias provided by organisations representing the most discriminated groups~~;

Amendment 282 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Considers it necessary that adequate training is provided for employees of national, regional and local authorities and law enforcement bodies; believes that training for judges, prosecutors, lawyers and police force on non-discrimination legislation in employment and case-law is of critical importance, along with training on cultural understanding and unconscious bias ~~provided by organisations representing the most discriminated groups~~;

Amendment 283 #

Renate WEBER, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Considers it necessary that adequate training is provided for employees of national, regional and local authorities and law enforcement bodies; believes that training for judges, prosecutors, lawyers and police force on non-discrimination legislation in employment and case-law is of critical importance, along with training on cultural understanding ~~and unconscious bias provided by organisations representing the most discriminated groups~~;

Amendment 284 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Considers it necessary that adequate training is provided for employees of national, regional and local authorities and law enforcement bodies and labour inspectors; believes that training for judges, prosecutors, lawyers and police force on non-discrimination legislation in employment and case-law is of critical importance, along with training on cultural understanding and unconscious bias provided by organisations representing the most discriminated groups;

Amendment 285 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Considers it necessary that adequate training is provided for employees of national, regional and local authorities and law enforcement bodies;, including labour inspectors, believes that training for judges, prosecutors, lawyers and police force on non-discrimination legislation in employment and case-law is of critical importance, along with training on cultural understanding and unconscious bias provided by organisations representing the most discriminated groups;

Amendment 286 #

Renate WEBER, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)

31a. Considers it necessary that the European Commission provides private companies, including SMEs and micro companies with models for equality and diversity frameworks which can be later replicated and adapted according to their needs; Calls on the business stakeholders to go further than making pledges with regard to respecting equality and diversity, by, among others, reporting annually their initiatives in this respect with the help of the equality bodies if they want to;

Amendment 287 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)

31a. Calls on employers to create anti- discriminatory working environments for their employees through respecting and implementing the existing anti- discrimination directives based on the principle of equal treatment regardless of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age, sexual orientation; calls on the Commission to monitor the implementation of the related measures;

Amendment 288 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

32. Recalls the important role of ~~NGOs~~social partners, NGOs and civil society in offering assistance to the victims, and stresses that it is often easier for persons suffering discrimination to turn to ~~NGOs~~them than to other actors; calls, therefore, for strong support to be offered to civil society organisations active in this field;

Amendment 289 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

32. Recalls the important role of NGOs in offering assistance to the victims, and stresses that it is often easier for persons suffering discrimination to turn to NGOs than to other actors; calls, therefore, for ~~strong~~ support to be offered to civil society organisations active in this field;

Amendment 29 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Brando BENIFEI, Jutta STEINRUCK

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas evidence collected by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) shows that racism, xenophobia, as well as homophobia and transphobia and related forms of intolerance are widespread, despite measures taken by governments and civil society across the EU, and whereas the social and political climate is growing ever more tolerant of extremist, racist and xenophobic agendas that exploit fears about youth unemployment and security in the face of terrorism and other geopolitical challenges;

Amendment 290 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

Amendment 291 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)

32a. Calls for greater account to be taken of the specific situation of pregnant and breastfeeding women and the need to protect them against discrimination, as, for example, through the Equality Act which has been in force in the United Kingdom since 2010 and which is regarded as exemplary;

Amendment 292 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)

32a. Believes that national and international associations should be set up with the aim of removing the economic and social obstacles preventing the principle of equality from being translated into reality;

Amendment 293 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. Calls for human rights and civic education that fosters awareness and acceptance of diversity, and that seeks to create an inclusive environment ~~by encouraging the redefinition of norms and the removal of insulting labels~~;

Amendment 294 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. Call for human rights and civic education that fosters awareness and ~~acceptance of diversity~~respect, and that seeks to create an inclusive environment ~~by encouraging the redefinition of norms and the removal of insulting labels~~;

Amendment 295 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. Call for human rights and civic education that fosters awareness and acceptance of diversity, and that seeks to create an inclusive environment by encouraging the ~~redefinition of norms and the~~ removal of insulting labels;

Amendment 296 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. Call for human rights and religious, national heritage and civic education that fosters awareness of European cultures and acceptance of diversity, and that seeks to create an inclusive environment by encouraging the redefinition of norms and respect for European traditions and the removal of insulting labels;

Amendment 297 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)

33a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support the study of civic and human rights education in primary and secondary schools;

Amendment 298 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)

33a. Considers it necessary that the Commission adopts a European framework for national strategies to combat anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and other forms of racism;

Amendment 299 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)

33a. Highlights the potential value of the EU as a means to focus Member States attention of the need for action and for brokering exchanges of advice and assistance for those Member States that need it, particularly in the field of equality and anti-discrimination;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)

– having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/20061a, __________________ 1a OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 320.

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas evidence collected by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) shows that in some areas racism, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance are widespread, despite measures taken by governments and civil society across the EU, and whereas the social and political climate is growing ever more tolerant of extremist, racist and xenophobic agendas that exploit fears about youth unemployment and security in the face of terrorism and other geopolitical challenges;

Amendment 300 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 b (new)

33b. Urges the Member States, not least given the increase in migration, to guarantee the principle of equal treatment for migrants;

Amendment 301 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 c (new)

33c. Urges the Member States to establish appropriate schemes enabling prisoners who have served their sentence to re-enter the labour market:

Amendment 302 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Calls on the Commission and Member States to ~~use, and to~~ make available~~, all possible funds, including the Progress Fund,~~ funds to facilitate awareness raising and education campaigns about discrimination in employment; calls on the private sector to play its part in creating a discrimination-free working environment;

Amendment 303 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Calls on the Commission and Member States to ~~use, and to make available, all possible funds, including the Progress Fund, to facilitate~~facilitate access to funding for awareness raising and education campaigns about discrimination in employment;

Amendment 304 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Calls on the Commission and Member States to use, and to make available to relevant stakeholders, including civil society organizations and equality bodies, all possible funds, including the Progress Fund, to facilitate awareness raising and education campaigns about discrimination in employment;

Amendment 305 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Calls on the Commission and Member States to use, and to make available for civil society organisations and equality bodies, all possible funds, including the Progress Fund, to facilitate awareness raising and education campaigns about discrimination in employment;

Amendment 306 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)

34a. Calls on the Member States to seek to bring about an exchange of best practice to help fight discrimination at work;

Amendment 307 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)

34a. Calls on the social partners organisations to develop internal awareness of inequality in employment and proposals to address issues at organisation/company level sectoral collective bargaining, training and campaigns targeting members and workers;

Amendment 308 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Siôn SIMON, Jutta STEINRUCK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)

Amendment 309 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 b (new)

34b. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to involve social partners (trade unions and employers) and civil society, including equality bodies, in the effective application of equality in employment and occupation, with a view to fostering equal treatment; also calls on the Member States to improve social dialogue and the exchange of experience and best practice;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. whereas the FRA LGBT survey (http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2014/ eu-lgbt-survey-european-union-lesbian- gay-bisexual-and-transgender-survey- main) as well as the FRA "Being Trans in Europe" (http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2014/ being-trans-eu-comparative-analysis-eu- lgbt-survey-data) report highlight the persisting discrimination of LGBT people in access to and within the labour market;

Amendment 310 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 b (new)

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. whereas the 2013 LGBT survey conducted by the FRA, as well as the FRA "being Trans in Europe" report highlight the persisting discrimination of LGBT people in access to and within the labour market;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. whereas the current refugee crisis is used by extremists to proliferate a negative attitude towards ethnic and religious minorities across the Member States, which undermines core values of the EU;

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas the Employment Equality Directive only sets out minimum requirements, but Member States may provide for a higher level of protection in their national legislation;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas the Employment Equality Directive sets out minimum requirements, but Member States may provide for a higher level of protection and adopt positive measures in this area;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas the directive on equal treatment in employment and occupation has been implemented in exemplary fashion by many Member States, and whereas many Member States have established such a high level of protection that it has set global standards;

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas pregnant women, mothers who are breastfeeding and women who have recently given birth are also in a situation that requires particular protection against discrimination;

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas the Employment Equality Directive covers freedom of religion and belief, disability, age and sexual orientation, but Member States are also obliged under the Racial Equality Directive to combat discrimination based on race and ethnicity in employment; whereas religion is sometimes used as a proxy for race when it comes to discrimination in employment, based on the real or perceived belonging of a person to a certain religion;

Amendment 39 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas the Employment Equality Directive covers only religion and belief, disability, age and sexuality, but Member States are also obliged under the Racial Equality Directive to combat discrimination based on race and ethnicity in employment;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 2

– having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular Article 21s 20, 21, 23 and 26 thereof,

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas under Article 4(1) of Directive 2000/78 Member States may provide that a difference of treatment which is based on a characteristic related to any of the prohibited grounds for discrimination shall not constitute discrimination where, by reason of the nature of the particular occupational activities concerned or of the context in which they are carried out, such a characteristic constitutes a determining occupational requirement, provided that the objective is legitimate and the requirement is proportionate;

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)

Gb. whereas in accordance with the principle of proportionality, the proportional nature of a measure presupposes that among several means for achieving the legitimate aim pursued, the authorities, employers or service providers choose the one which least infringes rights and freedoms;

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas the rate of employment of people with disabilities in the Member States is under 50 %, as compared to over 70 % for the general population, and the rate of unemployment of people with disabilities (18.3 %) is almost twice that of the general population (9.9 %); whereas behind the EU averages lie strong differences at country level;

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas the rate of employment of people with disabilities in the Member States is ~~under~~far below 50 %, as compared to over 70 % for the general population, and the rate of unemployment of people with disabilities (18.3 %) is almost twice that of the general population (9.9 %);

Amendment 44 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

Ha. whereas within the Roma community, persons not in employment account for more than 75%, a fact which shows that there is a structural problem;

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

Ha. whereas the employment rate of women with disabilities in the EU (44%) is significantly lower compared to the employment rate of men with disabilities (52%);

Amendment 47 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Brando BENIFEI

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas nearly one in five young people in the EU are looking for a job, and whereas the total financial cost of youth unemployment has been estimated at EUR 153 billion a year14, and additional social costs are very alarming; __________________ 14 http://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocu ments/SR15_03/SR15_03_EN.pdf.

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas data from the Eurofound 6th European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS)1a confirms that little progress over time has been made in the last 10 years in reducing self- reported discrimination of workers; __________________ 1a http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/sites/def ault/files/ef_publication/field_ef_docume nt/ef1568en.pdf

Amendment 49 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Brando BENIFEI, Siôn SIMON

Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)

Ib. whereas data from the Eurofound 6th EWCS indicate that 7% of workers report being discriminated on at least one ground and confirm workers reporting evidence of discrimination on multiple grounds;

Amendment 5 #

Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA, Danuta JAZŁOWIECKA, Marek PLURA

Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)

– having regard to the European Social Charter adopted in the Council of Europe and to the social and employment rights enshrined in it,

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas only half of the people between 55 and 65 are in employment, ~~and long-~~ underlines the fact that the female employment rate in this age group in some Member States is around or less than 30%, and the gender employment gap is the highest - 14,5 pps compared to the gap for the middle age group (30-54 years old)- 12.4 pps and the young group (20-29 years old) - 8.3 pps1a , takes the view that long-term unemployment is particularly prevalent among younger and older employees;, especially women; __________________ 1a Source: Eurostat, LFS, 2012

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas only half of the people between 55 and 65 are in employment, and long- term unemployment is particularly prevalent among younger and older employees; whereas hiring rates and job transition rates of older workers are low across the European Union; whereas gender differences in employment rates are especially high for older workers;

Amendment 52 #

Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elena GENTILE, Brando BENIFEI, Siôn SIMON

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

Ja. whereas age discrimination also occurs across Europe where children or families with children are affected;

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

Ja. whereas older workers are still often exposed to age discrimination, stereotypes and barriers;

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

Ja. convinced that a humane society is necessarily based on the principle of solidarity between the generations;

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)

Jb. whereas, if the economy and society are to achieve their purposes, they need the experience, input and wealth of ideas of all generations;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes the fact that almost all Member States have included the general principle of equal treatment on specific grounds of discrimination in their constitutions; regrets, however, that only a few Member States have systematically ensured that all existing legal texts are in line with the principle of equal treatment, and even fewer implement them systematically15 and discrimination still remains part of the daily lives of many Europeans; __________________ 15 EPRS, ‘The Employment Equality Directive – Evaluation of its implementation’.

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Hopes that all Member States will remove the natural, social, and economic obstacles which are preventing the principle of equality from finding substantive expression and are restricting the freedom of European citizens;

Amendment 58 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

~~2. Calls on the Council to break the deadlock and speed up the adoption of the horizontal anti-discrimination directive proposed by the Commission in 2008;~~deleted

Amendment 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

~~2. Calls on the Council to break the deadlock and speed up the adoption of the horizontal anti-discrimination directive proposed by the Commission in 2008;~~deleted

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)

– having regard to the interim report of the UN's Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief, Hans Bielefeldt, submitted in accordance with general Assembly resolution 68/170 on Freedom of religion and belief,

Amendment 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

~~2. Calls on the Council to break the deadlock and speed up the adoption of the horizontal anti-discrimination directive proposed by the Commission in 2008;~~deleted

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Council to ~~break the deadlock and speed up the adoption of the horizontal anti-discrimination directive proposed by the Commission in 2008~~take account of the need to protect the principle of freedom of contract, a fundamental principle of European private law which guarantees an appropriate framework for the freedom of enterprise, in discussions on anti-discrimination solutions;

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Calls on the Council to break the deadlock and speed up the adoption of the h~~Notes the Commission's proposal for a Council Directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orizoenta~~l anti-discrimination directive proposed by the Commission in 2008;~~ tion (COM/2008/0426) which remains blocked in Council; calls on the Council together with the Commission to consider ways that would enable all Member States to move towards a pragmatic solution;

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Council to ~~break the deadlock and speed up the adop~~carry out a detailed analysis of the reasons for the deadlock in the negotiations o~~f the~~n a horizontal anti-discrimination directive ~~proposed by the Commission in 2008~~and to take a final decision on the fate of the proposal against this background;

Amendment 64 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Council to break the deadlock and speed up the adoption of the horizontal anti-discrimination directive proposed by the Commission in 2008 without further delay;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission and the Council to break the deadlock and speed up the adoption of the horizontal anti- discrimination directive proposed by the Commission in 2008, including a revision of it;

Amendment 66 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Points out that according to the EU Agency of Fundamental Rights all forms of discrimination, including multiple and intersection discrimination, to a great extent hinder the deployment of human capital and constitutes a barrier in career development; underlines the fact that people with disabilities are often victims of those types of discrimination;

Amendment 67 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Notes that some groups with a religious minority background are particularly affected by discrimination on the basis of religion in employment, as documented by national and European research, in particular research conducted by the Fundamental Rights Agency;

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Takes the view that the protection against discrimination on the grounds of religion and belief in the European Union is currently provided in both human rights law and anti-discrimination law and these two are mutually influencing each other;

Amendment 69 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Highlights that religion is sometimes used as proxy for race when it comes to discrimination in employment, based on the real or perceived belonging of a person to a religion;

Amendment 7 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)

– having regard to the interim report of the UN's Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief submitted in accordance with General Assembly Resolution 68/170 on Freedom of religion and belief,

Amendment 70 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA, Sajjad KARIM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Highlights that the most discriminated religious groups in the area of employment include Jews, Sikhs and Muslims (and especially women) according to studies; recommends the adoption of European frameworks for national strategies to combat anti- Semitism and Islamophobia;

Amendment 71 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Highlights that religion is sometimes used as a proxy for race when it comes to discrimination in employment, based on the real or perceived belonging of a person to a religion;

Amendment 72 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3d. Notes the intersectionality between discrimination on religion and belief and race and ethnicity; calls on the Commission to ensure that Member States comply with the implementation of the Racial Equality Directive which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race and ethnicity in employment;

Amendment 73 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the role played by the European Court of Human Rights, through its decisions in the interpretation ~~and implementation~~ of the Directive, and looks forward with interest to the future first decisions on this matter of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU);

Amendment 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the role played by the European Court of Human Rights, through its decisions ~~in the interpretation and implementation of the Directive,~~ and looks forward with interest to the future first decisions on this matter of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the interpretation and implementation of the Directive;

Amendment 75 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

Amendment 76 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Acknowledges the large jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights in the field of non-discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief; Welcomes the role played by the European Court of Human Rights, through its decisions in the interpretation and implementation of the Directive, and looks forward with interest to the future first decisions on this matter of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU);

Amendment 77 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Welcom~~Notes the role played by the European Court of Human Rights, through its decisions in the interpretation and implementation of the Directive, and looks forward with interest to the future first decisions on this matter of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU);

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the role played by the European Court of Human Rights, through its decisions ion the interpretation and implementation of the Directive, and ~~looks forward with interest to the~~awaits future ~~first~~ decisions on this matter of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU);

Amendment 79 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Expresses its concern at the fact that so few within the Roma community are active on the labour market; points to the need to strengthen the role of NGOs involved with this ethnic minority with a view to encouraging Roma to participate in the labour market; also points out that NGOs have an important role to play in informing Roma about their rights or helping them to report cases of discrimination, which will ultimately serve to improve data collection;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)

– having regard to the interim report of the UN's Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief, Hans Bielefeldt, submitted in accordance with General Assembly Resolution 68/170 on Freedom of religion and belief,

Amendment 80 #

Brando BENIFEI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Notes that, considering the increasing xenophobic and Islamophobic context, refugees and migrants can be specifically affected by religious discrimination in their access to the labour market, and often suffer from a particularly difficult access to justice, in connection to their residence status;

Amendment 81 #

Renate WEBER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Believes that the courts of justice should focus more with making sure that an assertion of religious belief is made in good faith instead of assessing the validity or correctness of a religion or belief;

Amendment 82 #

Brando BENIFEI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Considers that a consistent application of anti-discrimination standards should be considered as a crucial element of radicalisation prevention strategies, as discrimination against religious communities in the European Union could contribute to religious radicalisation of vulnerable individuals;

Amendment 83 #

Renate WEBER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Considers that further harmonization is needed following decisions of both national courts and the ECtHR when assessing the principle of secularity of the state against the provisions of Article 4 (2) of the Employment Equality Directive regarding the ethos;

Amendment 84 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Believes, on the basis of case law available at EU and national level, that a duty of reasonable accommodation for all grounds of discrimination – including, therefore, religion and belief – should be laid down in EU and national law, provided that this does not impose a disproportionate burden on employers or service providers; recommends that national, regional and local authorities propose guidance for reasonable accommodation and to tackle exclusion of specific vulnerable groups;

Amendment 85 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Calls upon Member States to recognize the fundamental right to freedom of conscience, notes with concern that there are Member States where competent and well-qualified medical staff are denied employment or have their employment ended, because of their conscientious objection to life- ending procedures;

Amendment 86 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Notes that reasonable accommodation should be understood as necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments not imposing a disproportionate or undue burden, where needed in a particular case, to ensure to all persons have enjoyment or exercise of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with others;

Amendment 87 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Emphasises that the current refugee crisis should also be considered from the point of view of religious discrimination;

Amendment 88 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Is of the opinion that it should be considered that, in accordance with the case law of the ECtHR the Directive provides protection against discrimination on the ground of the employer's religion or belief;

Amendment 89 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Believes that there is a need for progress with regard to the application of the general exception in Article 2(5) ~~is broadly drafted~~, and hopes, therefore, that the courts of justice will assess its boundaries very carefully and that with a view to this Member States will exchange their experiences;

Amendment 9 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10

Amendment 90 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Believes that the general exception in Article 2(5) is broadly drafted, and hopes, therefore, that the courts of justice will assess its boundaries ~~very carefull~~in line with the principle of proportionality;

Amendment 91 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Believes that the general exception in Article 2(5) is broadly drafted, and hopes, therefore, that the courts of justice will assess its boundaries very carefully; notes that Article 2(5) is in accordance with Member States' national laws, which is of particular importance in the context of social tensions arising from the migration crisis;

Amendment 92 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Notes that restrictions imposed by employers to the wearing of religious symbols are not always in line with international human rights standards, as they are not limited to well-defined and narrow circumstances or do not pursue a legitimate goal, and Member States do not always check the validity of these restrictions; is concerned that some Member States have introduced general bans on religious symbols in public bodies, in the name of neutrality and secularism, which have led to attempts to extend such restrictions to the private sector;

Amendment 93 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Notes that restrictions imposed by employers to the wearing of religious symbols are not always in line with international human rights standards, as they are not limited to well-defined and narrow circumstances or do not pursue a legitimate goal, and that States do not always take appropriate measures against such restrictions when they are not in line with international human rights standards; is concerned that some Member States have introduced general bans on religious symbols in the public space, in the name of neutrality and secularism, which have led to attempts to also extend such restrictions by the private sector;

Amendment 94 #

Jean LAMBERT, Afzal KHAN, Soraya POST, Tatjana ŽDANOKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Recalls that exclusion and discrimination against religious communities in the European Union creates a fertile ground for individuals in vulnerable situations to join extremist organisations that can be violent; considers a consistent application of anti- discrimination legislation as a crucial element of strategies to prevent radicalisation;

Amendment 95 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Emphasises that ‘Discrimination on the basis of disability’ means any distinction, exclusion or restriction on the basis of disability which has the purpose or effect of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal basis with others, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field; it includes all forms of discrimination, including denial of reasonable accommodation16a; __________________ 16aUnited Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 13 December 2006, Article 2.

Amendment 96 #

Rosa ESTARÀS FERRAGUT, Verónica LOPE FONTAGNÉ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Encourages the Member States to interpret the EU law in such a way as to provide a basis for a wide concept of disability, combining those elements that are advantageous for disabled persons~~, and regrets that some Member States still have legislation in place that require a threshold of 50 % of incapacity and official medical certification17; __________________ 17~~; Ibid.

Amendment 97 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Encourages the Member States to interpret the EU law in such as way as to provide a basis for a ~~wide~~ concept of disability~~, combining those elements that are advantageous for disabled persons,~~ in line with the CRPD and the denial of reasonable accommodation as a form of discrimination as prescribed by the CRPD and regrets that some Member States still have legislation in place that require a threshold of 50 % of incapacity and official medical certification17 ; __________________ 17 Ibid. Ibid.

Amendment 98 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Encourages the Member States to interpret the EU law in such as way as to provide a basis for a wide concept of disability, following the definition from the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and combining those elements that are advantageous for disabled persons, and regrets that some Member States still have legislation in place that require a threshold of 50 % of incapacity and official medical certification17 ; __________________ 17 Ibid.

Amendment 99 #