12 December, 2010
The last issue of this Contract and Agency Labour newsletter reported that a draft report on precariously-employed women workers was presented to the European Parliament by Danish Social Democratic MEP, Britta Thomsen.
The report called on the European Commission and European Union Member States to ensure that all employees are granted equal access to social services and benefits regardless of their employment conditions.
On 19 October, the European Parliament adopted a resolution expressing disappointment that the EU employment law package and the directives on fixed-term, part-time, and temporary agency work do not adequately address the precarious nature of employment, and called on the Commission and the Member States to take further specific legislative measures. Those measures include introducing binding minimum social standards for employees and granting all employees equal access to social services and benefits, including maternity leave, health care and retirement pensions, as well as to education and training, regardless of employment conditions.
Britta Thomsen, MEP
The resolution recognises that the “over-representation of women in precarious work is a key contributing factor to the gender pay gap.” It also states that “improving job quality for women will reduce the gender pay gap.” The resolution calls on the Member States to take legislative measures to put an end to zero-hour contract and to introduce controls to regulate all types of false training, which conceal actual employment without proper payment or protection.
The Commission and the Member States are requested to develop strategies on precarious work in order to emphasize decent work and green jobs, and incorporate gender balance; and to take action in order to reduce the double burden of work on women.
Attention is brought on the fact that studies have shown that precarious employment, in which minimum health and safety standards often are ignored, carries higher injury rates and a greater risk of disease and exposure to hazards. The Commission and the Member States are requested to enhance their monitoring of minimum health and safety requirements in the workplace, paying particular attention to the specific risks to female workers.
Due to the lack of adequate research on the subject, the resolution calls on the Commission and Eurofound to cooperate with the European Institute for Gender Equality and to initiate targeted research in order to assess the cost of de-skilling and welfare loss resulting from precarious employment, taking into account the gender aspect.
The resolution has been sent to the European Council, the European Commission, and the governments of the Member States.