Stop social dumping in Europe!
Yesterday the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee adopted – against the Socialists and Left – an ambiguous report on the enforcement directive on the posting of workers (read SOLIDAR’s position on the posting of workers). Progressives had tried to ensure that the legal rights of workers posted abroad would be protected from employers who abuse legal uncertainties and loopholes in the law paving the way for a kind of flexibility and mobility which undermines core labour standards, collective bargaining and social dialogue.
The social reality is that the posting of workers directive, which has already been the object of many European Court of Justice rulings (Laval, Viking, Rückert), as it currently stands, creates two kinds of workers: the highly qualified and protected “elite” and low qualified workers from new Member States who work under conditions which can be compared to modern slavery. An example is the German meat industry where posted workers work 12 hours a day for between 3,50 and 4,50€ an hour. Furthermore they live in conditions which are everything but decent. This situation is not only a problem in the industrial sector, but also in the health and care sector, in particular in the case of domestic workers (SOLIDAR briefing on domestic workers).
Read more…

Social Affairs

Achieving Europe – Progressive reforms for the 21st century
Josef Weidenholzer MEP and President of SOLIDAR is organising a conference entitled "Achieving Europe – Progressive reforms for the 21st century" on 26 June 2013 from 2 to 8.30pm in the European Parliament. Europe is in crisis – economically, financially and socially, the event will look at which reforms are necessary to establish an economic framework that is just, stable and sustainable.
EPSCO Council: Strengthen Social Dimension of the EU
On 19 June, the Social Platform – of which SOLIDAR is member – sent a letter to the Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs on the occasion of the EPSCO Council of 20-21 June. The letter calls for the adoption of concrete measures to counterbalance the financial and economic dimension of the EU with a stronger social dimension. The Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs are asked to give due attention to the Europe 2020 targets and to the Social Investment Package when formulating recommendations for the European Council on the 2013 Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs).Read more…
Future of ‘Europe For Citizens’ Programme
SOLIDAR, together with other civil society organisations, has sent a letter to EU Heads of State and Government asking the Council to reverse the proposed budget reductions of 23% over the next seven years for the ‘Europe for Citizens’ programme. A properly funded ‘Europe for Citizens’ programme in the 2014 – 2020 Multiannual Financial Framework would serve to properly recognise and support the role that civil society organisations play in the construction of the European project as envisaged in article 11 of the Lisbon Treaty.
Social Innovation in Horizon 2020: Coherent Strategy Needed to Better Address Social Needs
The INNOSERV project – of which SOLIDAR is partner – together with some other European Commission 7th R&D Framework Programme funded projects, has contributed to a position paper on social innovation research in Horizon 2020, the next Framework Programme 2014-2020. The paper underlines the importance of social innovation in the EU research agenda and provides recommendations on how to strengthen the involvement of all stakeholders (the scientific community, civil society and the public and private sectors) in identifying and defining research topics on social innovation in Horizon 2020. Read more…

International Cooperation

Make Decent Work for Domestic Workers Real: Ratify ILO Convention 189!
On 16 June 2011, an international standard finally recognised domestic workers as workers with the same rights as all other workers (ILO Convention No 189). On this occasion of the second anniversary of this Convention, SOLIDAR and the Global Network launched a report on the ratification process going on in four African countries (Kenya, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe). With it, we want to remind each and every government in Europe and outside Europe, of their commitment to make decent work for domestic workers real by ratifying and implementing ILO C189. Read more…
Tax Justice Week
On Monday, MEP Anni Podimata (S&D, Greece) won a cross-party majority in the European Parliament’s economic and monetary committee for the introduction of a 0.1% tax on stocks and bond trades and 0.01% on derivatives in 11 countries in the European Union from January 2014. Podimata hopes that, at the Parliament’s plenary session in July, this will send a strong message to the Council that there are no excuses for delaying the implementation of the financial transaction tax, saying “We want an FTT in place before the European elections in May 2014”. Read more…

Education

Re-thinking Education
This week the Culture and Education Committee of the European Parliament discussed the draft reportof MEP Katarina Nevedalova (S&D) on the European Commission’s Communication “Rethinking education: investing in skills for better socio-economic outcomes”. SOLIDAR together with its partners from The European Civil Society Platform on Lifelong Learning (EUCIS-LLL) contributed to the process by drafting amendments for the report that were handed over to Ms Nevedalova and shadow rapporteurs for their consideration. SOLIDAR stressed the need to put more attention on the validation of non-formal and informal learning and to focus more on adult education, as those two aspects were not sufficiently covered in the original proposal.

Members News

Read the joint appeal of the AEDH and its members: "A world Refugee Day … for refugees the European Union still does not want to accecpt".

Partners News

Congratulations to Fabian Zuleeg – newly appointed director of EPC The European Policy Center is pleased to announce that Dr Fabian Zuleeg, currently the EPC’s Chief Economist, will take over as Chief Executive from Hans Martens in September 2013. As a Board member, SOLIDAR welcomes Fabian Zuleeg and looks forward to working with him.
Read European Civil Society Platform on Lifelong Learning (EUCIS-LLL) newsletter.
Read UNRWA update on Syria where it continues to deliver essential services and emergency assistance in a challenging environment characterised by unpredictable and repeated displacement of refugees, damage to UNRWA facilities and detention of staff.
Read the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants new report on poverty of migrant children in the EU.
Register for a webinar and tweetchat with Andreas Schleicher – OECD Deputy Director for Education and Skills on OECD’s latest education indicators on enrolment rates, employment rates and investment in education observed in the first years of the crisis on 25 June 2013 at 5pm.
Read European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) news.

Agenda

27 June: SOLIDAR Annual General Assembly
SOLIDAR is a European network of 59 NGOs active in over 90 countries working to advance social justice in Europe and worldwide. SOLIDAR voices the concerns of its member organisations to the EU and international institutions across the policy sectors social affairs, international cooperation and lifelong learning. For more info www.solidar.org