Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-05-15-Speech-2-141"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20010515.5.2-141"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
The European Parliament report adopts the Commission’s proposals on the application of the Stability Pact, with economic policy guidelines for an even stricter anti-employment package.
It describes continuing wage restraint and greater flexibility on the labour markets as positive factors while, at the same time, recommending stricter measures for workers due to the slowdown and lack of vigour in the European economy and the downward revision in the rate of growth in the ΕU from the original estimate of 3% to an average of 2.7% in 2001.
The Commission considers that the process of promoting more flexible forms of work should be encouraged and that efforts should continue to relax the existing restrictive legal framework on the protection of work even more, i.e. in order to allow more ‘economic’ uncontrolled mass redundancies. Large companies have already applied this measure and made huge redundancies on the pretext of the slowdown in the rate of growth of the economy and have restructured production and staff, with the result that over 250 000 redundancies have been announced in recent weeks. With acute signs of a recession in the United States, the wave of redundancies will increase as companies endeavour to maintain high profit margins by cutting staff.
This is the policy of the EU, which has given the go-ahead for mass redundancies in order to protect the plutocracy's profits. Which is why any reference by the EU to its supposed interest in the workers and in combating unemployment is mere Pharisaism and hypocrisy
The report also recommends accelerating the radical shake-up of the existing insurance and pension system and reviewing this during 2001 so as to deal with the “problems arising from the ageing population”.
It also proposes speeding up the rate of privatisation, specifically quoting the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector as a good example, which should be pursued in the energy, post, airport, railway and sea transport sectors, as agreed.
Clearly, even more difficult and bleak times are ahead for the workers. Social insurance will be linked to wages, output and the purchasing power of salaries. Part-time work is becoming the norm and, combined with partial retirement and the high cost of private social care and the commercialisation of the pension, health and welfare systems, is pushing the whole of the working class into unemployment, poverty, insecurity and social exclusion.
The measures designed for the workers are tantamount to a guaranteed level of poverty. Prosperity is, of course, reserved for big business, which these measures strengthen still further.
The MEPs of the Communist Party of Greece are voting against this report, which promises even greater poverty for the workers and even more mega-profits for big business and which seeks to reverse everything the workers have achieved. The workers, who are speaking out and demonstrating against these barbaric, inhumane policies in huge mass rallies and strikes in the various countries of Europe, including Greece, will try to ward off the impending storm and we shall be by their side in the fight."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples