Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-05-17-Speech-1-082"
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"en.20100517.15.1-082"2
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"Madam President, firstly, I would like to congratulate Ms Lulling on this report: she made a valiant effort.
When I first heard of this report, I wondered how it would work logistically. The aim of the report is admirable and supports the principle of equal treatment for self-employed women and men workers and their spouses.
But then I thought how this report would be greeted by, for example, a self-employed sole trader, such as a plumber or an electrician. For argument’s sake, let us say his wife would be helping him in the evenings with the paperwork and answering the phone from home. How does the report fit in here?
Would he be expected to pay social contributions to cover his spouse, thus enabling her to qualify for maternity leave if needed? Could this sole trader, who in today’s economic climate is struggling, afford to pay this indirect tax, and indeed would he and his wife want this extra burden? If they didn’t see it as a benefit, would they just not pay the contributions – after all, no one really knows she is helping her husband – and is this not what married people do, help each other?
Then I took this scenario a step further: a few years down the line, they get divorced, as happens often enough, what happens then? This poor guy will be skinned in the courts by his wife for not paying the contributions. Interesting times, and an interesting side-effect to our report.
The number of self-employed workers in the United Kingdom has risen to 1.7 million. One reason for this rise is that employment opportunities are fewer these days, so people look towards starting their own work. Should the state not, in these circumstances, support their effort?
I have studied Ms Lulling’s amendments and feel that she has made a valiant effort to improve what was originally a heavy-handed report on self-employment. However, I am still concerned about legislation in matters of employment being made in Brussels. I believe that this work is best left to national governments, who are best geared to evaluate the needs of their citizens – as, indeed, the report says.
I support Ms Lulling’s recommendations that the national systems should recognise the importance of protecting self-employed workers, and we should stand against all forms of discrimination, but I am still not convinced that this House is best placed to work on employment matters."@en1
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