Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-10-18-Speech-1-026"
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"en.20101018.13.1-026"2
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"Mr President, I am very glad that I can replace Vice-President Reding tonight in this very important debate because we are going to discuss two very topical reports which are at the heart of fundamental rights and gender equality. On behalf of the Commission, I would like to warmly thank the two rapporteurs, Ms Thomsen and Ms Estrela, who both have done tremendous work.
Firstly, the Commission fully agrees with the emphasis on the role of fathers. The reinforcement of parental leave through the new directive adopted earlier this year is an important step forward. However, introducing paternity leave under the maternity directive is neither in line with the overall objective we are pursuing, nor with the legal basis on which the proposal is made. The proposal is based on Article 153 on health and safety at work for pregnant women, and on Article 157 which allows the EU to intervene in the field of equal pay for men and women.
Having said that, I would like to underline that the Commission will consider this issue further. It is currently undertaking an in-depth cost/benefit study on the subject in view of a possible separate initiative in this area. Similarly, the Commission cannot accept weakening a woman’s right to refuse night work.
As regards the lengths of the leave and the payment to be received by women during this period, I would like to say the following. Vice-President Reding has met many Ministers over the last few months and they have explained that the national leave systems work well and that it is not possible, given the current financial constraints, to increase the length or payment, but the Commission made it very clear that it is not prepared to reduce the level of ambition of this proposal.
This being so, I would like to stress that the Commission aims to set the minimum level of protection which takes into account the different models of reconciliation and family-related leave in the Member States. The Commission believes that its proposal would constitute a good basis for an agreement between Parliament and the Council. The Commission would also like to thank Parliament for introducing a number of amendments which either strengthen or clarify the proposals.
To sum up, the proposal should aim to strengthen the protection of the health and safety of women, increase their employment prospects and help tackle demographic ageing. I very much look forward to your contributions and suggestions for both these very important items.
These two reports concern the often challenging situation of women in the EU labour market. The contribution of women is crucial to meeting our ambitious targets of an overall employment rate of 75% by 2020, but this cannot be done without ensuring the fundamental rights of women workers. This is what we are going to discuss tonight.
Let me start with precarious women workers. We have made a lot of progress in integrating women into the labour market during the last few years. As we know, women are more likely to be in precarious jobs than men. Certain forms of precarious work performed by women, such as paid domestic work and care, are simply not visible on the labour market. If women do not have decent jobs, they cannot enjoy economic independence – which is a prerequisite for having control over their lives.
We need to tackle the reasons why women are more likely to have precarious jobs: the stereotypes, the unequal sharing of family and household tasks, and the undervaluation of female-dominated jobs. We also need to ensure that the growing female migrant workforce, which is often exploited in the grey economy, is integrated into the labour market. Our new equality strategy covers all these issues and we need to mobilise all the instruments available to make progress in implementing it.
If you allow me, I shall add some remarks on the pregnant workers directive.
It is quite clear that stronger maternity leave standards at EU level are crucial to ensuring the health and safety of the mother and child, as are increasing participation of women in the labour market, changing family models and dealing with demographic pressure.
The main points of the Commission proposals include extension of maternity leave by four weeks to reach the International Labour Organisation recommendations; encouragement to grant a higher allowance; more flexibility for women to work until shortly before giving birth; and the right to ask for flexible working hours.
With this, the Commission aims to protect women’s employment rights, give women sufficient time to recover from birth and bond with her child, and allow women to be financially secure during the maternity leave.
I would therefore like to compliment Ms Estrela on her work on this comprehensive report which, in many ways, improves the Commission’s original proposal."@en1
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