15 September, 2010
A draft report on precarious women workers has been presented to the European Parliament by Danish Social Democratic MEP, Britta Thomsen.
The report expresses disappointment that EU employment law and the directives on fixed-term, part-time, and temporary agency work do not adequately address the precarious nature of employment and calls on the Commission and the Member States to take further specific legislative measures, such as introducing binding minimum social standards for employees and granting all employees equal access to social services and benefits, including maternity leave, health care, and pensions, regardless of their employment conditions.
The report underlines the need for unionisation of women in precarious jobs and calls on the Member States to penalise those who create obstacles to trade union participation.
Danish Social Democratic MEP, Britta Thomsen
Member States are encouraged to combat undeclared work by means of preventive measures, such as granting immunity from prosecution to employees who report their illegal employment status and taking dissuasive action against employers. The report further calls on the Commission and the Member States to improve data collection and monitor progress in this field.
The Commission and the Member States are called on to enhance their monitoring of minimum health and safety requirements in the workplace, paying particular attention to the specific risks to female workers.
With regard to migrant workers, the report calls on the Commission, in its new gender equality strategy, to strengthen its commitment to promoting gender equality in migration and integration policies, in particular with a view to fully utilising migrant women’s employment potential and encourages employers to take specific measures to facilitate the social integration of women migrant workers.
Attention is drawn to the limited amount of research on the subject of precarious work and the report calls on the Commission and Eurofound to initiate targeted research in order to assess the cost of the de-skilling and welfare loss resulting from precarious employment.
The report will be voted on by members of the European Parliament Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality on 10 October 2010.