| Motion: | Governement's proposal for Directive 2024/XX ensuring fair and decent social standards across the Federation |
|---|---|
| Proposer: | Committee - Social policy |
| Status: | Published |
| Submitted: | 2024-07-04, 13:21 |
C3 A2: Governement's proposal for Directive 2024/XX ensuring fair and decent social standards across the Federation
Motion text
Insert in line 75:
15 days for their partner. Legal guardians may request telework arrangements or reduced working hours for a specified period until the child is two years old, to manage their parental responsibilities.
CHAPTER 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1 : Object
The present Directive is based on three pillars, each of which following a
different objective:
Ensuring decent working conditions all across the Federation by giving
rights and duties to workers and employers;
Successfully accompanying European workers’ entire professional life
cycle, i.e.
Integration in the job market;
Unemployment and professional reintegration;
Retirement.
Helping Member-States implement the present Directive by providing the
necessary resources, indicators and expertise.
Article 2: Definition
For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions apply:
Federal minimum wage - Refers to the lowest wage an employer can pay an
hourly worker.
Education programs - Refers to the learning process based on changing
needs to acquire knowledge, skills and experience to raise or change
persons qualifications in line with their interests, needs and labor
market requirements.
Flexicurity - Refers to an integrated strategy for enhancing, at the same
time, flexibility and security in the labor market. It attempts to
reconcile employers' need for a flexible workforce with workers' need for
security.
CHAPTER 2: MINIMUM SOCIAL STANDARDS
Article 3 : Rights and duties of workers
European workers shall enjoy fair and decent working conditions without
consideration of the place and country they are working in.
For that purpose, European workers shall:
- Benefit from minimum protection (Art. 3a);
- Benefit from additional protection (Art. 3b);
- Comply with minimum duties on the workplace (Art. 3c).
Article 3a.
European workers shall :
Work no longer than 40 hours a week. Exceeding the hourly rate gives
entitlement to compensation in the form of money or time off work
Benefit minimum wage that shall be explicit in further legislation;
Benefit from parental leave, corresponding to:
A period corresponding six weeks to the beginning of the pregnancy
and up to 10 weeks after birth for the parent bearing the child;
15 days for their partner. Legal guardians may request telework arrangements or reduced working hours for a specified period until the child is two years old, to manage their parental responsibilities.
Benefit from adequate protection against unjustified dismissal;
Contribute to collective bargaining and social actions without fear of
repercussion.
Article 3b.
In addition to the previously listed unconditional rights, European workers may
but are not required to:
Benefit from a yearly training paid by their employer;
Benefit from a yearly medical check-up;
Bring a problem before the relevant jurisdiction if they feel that one of
their rights has not been respected or violated.
Article 3c.
In return of the aforementioned right, European workers shall:
Adhere to contractual agreements and workplace regulations.
Engage in continuous professional development.
Participate in professional training, in agreement with their employer.
Maintain confidentiality and integrity of the workplace.
If the employee fails to comply with any of these obligations, they may be
subject to a penalty proportionate to the seriousness of the misconduct, ranging
from a warning to dismissal.
Article 4: Remuneration
In order to ensure fair remuneration, employers shall pay a minimum wage to
their employees. It shall be determined based on the gross median hourly wage
prevalent in the Member-State where the corporate entity is domiciled:
Monthly gross minimum wage: national gross median hourly wage X number of weeks
hour X number of weeks in a month.
Employers shall also pay the mandatory pension contribution, as mentioned in
Article 7 of the present Regulation, in the monthly gross wage.
In addition to the minimum wage, Employers shall pay provide additional
financial compensation for jobs who present difficult conditions, as listed
below:
Marked physical constraint - This includes manual handling of loads,
awkward postures and mechanical vibrations;
Aggressive physical environment - This includes exposure to dangerous
chemical agents, activities in hyperbaric environments, extreme
temperatures and noise;
Work patterns - This includes night work, alternating shifts and
repetitive work.
Article 5 : Rights and duties of employers
Considering the previous Articles, employers shall:
- Ensure protection towards their most vulnerable workers (Art. 5a);
- Ensure minimum protection towards their workers (Art. 5b);
- Follow a strict procedure before laying a worker of (Art. 5c).
Article 5a.
Employers must hire at least 30% of worker in a situation of job insecurity,
i.e.:
Workers under the age of 25 years-old;
Workers over the age of 55 years-old;
Workers presenting physical or mental health issues;
Long-term unemployed worker.
Employers must accept and consider all applications without any form of
discrimination.
If an employee proves to have signed two consecutive 3-year contracts within the
same company, that company must present them with an indefinite period contract.
Article 5b.
In addition, Employers shall:
Provide safe working conditions;
Facilitate professional development opportunities, by granting
professional training to their employees. Those trainings shall be paid
both by the company and the Federation;
Respect the rights to privacy and non-discrimination of employees.
Article 5c.
Employer may dismiss one or several employees if one or several of the following
conditions are met:
Termination on personal grounds - This type of redundancy is linked to the
individual employee. It may be due to professional inadequacy, misconduct
(simple, serious or gross), or physical unfitness.
Simple misconduct - This is negligence or an error on the part of
the employee that does not jeopardize his or her continued
employment with the company;
Serious misconduct - This is misconduct that makes it impossible for
the employee to remain with the company, such as harassment, theft
and insubordination;
Gross misconduct - This is characterized by the employee's intention
to harm the company;
Termination for economic reasons - This type of redundancy is linked to
the company's economic difficulties, a technological change, a
reorganization necessary to safeguard the company, or the cessation of the
company's activity.
Employers must inform the employee of their decision at least three months prior
to the termination.
In situations I.A. and II., the two parties must agree on the financial
compensation for the terminated employee. Situation I.B. and I.C. do not lead to
any form of compensation.
CHAPTER 3: SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
Article 6 : Unemployment
European job-seekers:
- May benefit from social and financial assistance (Art. 6a);
- Committ to attend activites provided by social services (Art. 6b);
- May be deprived of their benefits when not complying with the present
Article (Art. 6c).
Article 6a.
European job seekers must declare their situation to the competent national
authorities. Those latter are entitled to provide:
A personalized support tailored to their needs - They can take stock of
their situation and mobilize all the resources they need to successfully
complete their career plan;
Benefit from social protection - They can continue to benefit from social
protection, the amount of which depends on the contributions they paid in
their previous gross salaries, for a maximum period of 20 consecutive
months. This goes in complement with other social benefits.
Article 6b.
In return of this rights, jobseekers commit to :
Declare their professional situation on a monthly basis ;
Attend all meetings with their advisor;
Actively look for a job or actively strive forward the set up or the
development of a company;
Define a career plan with their advisor;
Accept a reasonable offer of employment.
Article 6c.
The grounds on which non-compliance may result in removal from the list of
jobseekers and the withdrawal of their benefits are :
failure to take repeated positive action to find a job or to set up or
develop a business;
refusal on 2 occasions to accept a reasonable job offer;
refusal to draw up or update their career plan;
failing to attend a training course or abandoning a training course;
failure to attend an appointment with an organization approved by the
Federal Labor Agency;
refusal to follow or abandon an action to help them find a job;
making a false declaration in order to be or remain registered as a
jobseeker;
making a false declaration with a view to improperly receiving
unemployment benefit.
Article 7: Retirement
European workers may retire from work at the age of 62.
To that end, pensions systems shall:
- Be based upon three pillars (Art. 7a);
- Provide national administrations with implementing measures (Art. 7b);
- Provide contributors with optional provisions (Art. 7c).
Article 7a.
In order to ensure a fair and decent living for everyone, a Federal Pension Plan
is hereby established. It is based on three pillars:
The Minimum Pension plan - funded with workers contributions collected
from their monthly gross salaries. The amount, collected by Member-States
and deposited to the Federal Pension Fund, is redistributed directly by
the latter to retired workers;
The Complementary Pension plan - funded by Member-States national pensions
systems through workers’ biannual contributions. Retired workers may enjoy
this revenue once they have worked 173 semesters or 43 consecutive years;
Optional Pension plans - optional plans paid by workers to public or
private national insurers, in addition to the two previous pension plans.
Article 7b.
Member states shall determine a fair minimum pension standard according to their
cost of living, revised on an annual basis.
Member-States shall establish an amount corresponding to the employee's salary
that Employers are compelled to pay the Complementary Pension plan.
Article 7c.
European workers may at any moment choose to opt out once in their professional
life from the Complementary Pension plan and retrieve the contributions they
have paid. The retrieval of the contributions shall not end further
contributions to this plan.
When working across the territory of the Federation, a European worker may
choose to keep their original Complementary Pension plan or to opt for the one
of the Member-States they are working in. Employees must make the necessary
arrangements to meet the worker’s demands.
CHAPTER 4: IMPLEMENTATION
Article 8: Establishment of the European Labor Agency
A European Labor Agency is hereby established with the mandate to:
Ensure the effective implementation of employment policies, by sending
recommendations to Member-States;
Provide support to national administrations in their effort to advise
workers in job search and career transitions;
Oversee the administration and the management of retirement benefits
through the Federal Pension Fund. In compliance with Article 51 of the
European Youth Convention and Regulation EF/XX laying down the Federal
Budget, the Federal Pension Fund cannot run a deficit;
Collect and analyze labor market data to inform policy decisions; .
The European Labor Agency shall fall under the responsibility of the Minister of
Labor and social affairs.
Article 9: Member-States Compliance
Member States shall:
Adopt and enforce this Directive;
Collaborate with the European Labor Agency to facilitate policy
implementation.
Provide regular reports on the status of the national transposition of
flexicurity measures.
The Federal Government shall take appropriate measures, including financial
sanctions and bringing the case to court, against a national administration that
does not comply with the present Directive.
Article 10: Entry into force and application
The Present Directive shall enter into force immediately following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Federation;
It shall apply from [Day][Month][Year];
Member-States shall have until December 31st 2029 to transpose into their
national law the elements of the present Directive that involve their
participation.
The present Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
to the European Government and in all Member States.
For the European Parliament
The President
For the European Senate
The President
Insert in line 75:
15 days for their partner. Legal guardians may request telework arrangements or reduced working hours for a specified period until the child is two years old, to manage their parental responsibilities.
CHAPTER 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1 : Object
The present Directive is based on three pillars, each of which following a
different objective:
Ensuring decent working conditions all across the Federation by giving
rights and duties to workers and employers;
Successfully accompanying European workers’ entire professional life
cycle, i.e.Integration in the job market;
Unemployment and professional reintegration;
Retirement.
Helping Member-States implement the present Directive by providing the
necessary resources, indicators and expertise.
Article 2: Definition
For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions apply:
Federal minimum wage - Refers to the lowest wage an employer can pay an
hourly worker.
Education programs - Refers to the learning process based on changing
needs to acquire knowledge, skills and experience to raise or change
persons qualifications in line with their interests, needs and labor
market requirements.
Flexicurity - Refers to an integrated strategy for enhancing, at the same
time, flexibility and security in the labor market. It attempts to
reconcile employers' need for a flexible workforce with workers' need for
security.
CHAPTER 2: MINIMUM SOCIAL STANDARDS
Article 3 : Rights and duties of workers
European workers shall enjoy fair and decent working conditions without
consideration of the place and country they are working in.
For that purpose, European workers shall:
- Benefit from minimum protection (Art. 3a);
- Benefit from additional protection (Art. 3b);
- Comply with minimum duties on the workplace (Art. 3c).
Article 3a.
European workers shall :
Work no longer than 40 hours a week. Exceeding the hourly rate gives
entitlement to compensation in the form of money or time off work
Benefit minimum wage that shall be explicit in further legislation;
Benefit from parental leave, corresponding to:
A period corresponding six weeks to the beginning of the pregnancy
and up to 10 weeks after birth for the parent bearing the child;15 days for their partner. Legal guardians may request telework arrangements or reduced working hours for a specified period until the child is two years old, to manage their parental responsibilities.
Benefit from adequate protection against unjustified dismissal;
Contribute to collective bargaining and social actions without fear of
repercussion.
Article 3b.
In addition to the previously listed unconditional rights, European workers may
but are not required to:
Benefit from a yearly training paid by their employer;
Benefit from a yearly medical check-up;
Bring a problem before the relevant jurisdiction if they feel that one of
their rights has not been respected or violated.
Article 3c.
In return of the aforementioned right, European workers shall:
Adhere to contractual agreements and workplace regulations.
Engage in continuous professional development.
Participate in professional training, in agreement with their employer.
Maintain confidentiality and integrity of the workplace.
If the employee fails to comply with any of these obligations, they may be
subject to a penalty proportionate to the seriousness of the misconduct, ranging
from a warning to dismissal.
Article 4: Remuneration
In order to ensure fair remuneration, employers shall pay a minimum wage to
their employees. It shall be determined based on the gross median hourly wage
prevalent in the Member-State where the corporate entity is domiciled:
Monthly gross minimum wage: national gross median hourly wage X number of weeks
hour X number of weeks in a month.
Employers shall also pay the mandatory pension contribution, as mentioned in
Article 7 of the present Regulation, in the monthly gross wage.
In addition to the minimum wage, Employers shall pay provide additional
financial compensation for jobs who present difficult conditions, as listed
below:
Marked physical constraint - This includes manual handling of loads,
awkward postures and mechanical vibrations;
Aggressive physical environment - This includes exposure to dangerous
chemical agents, activities in hyperbaric environments, extreme
temperatures and noise;
Work patterns - This includes night work, alternating shifts and
repetitive work.
Article 5 : Rights and duties of employers
Considering the previous Articles, employers shall:
- Ensure protection towards their most vulnerable workers (Art. 5a);
- Ensure minimum protection towards their workers (Art. 5b);
- Follow a strict procedure before laying a worker of (Art. 5c).
Article 5a.
Employers must hire at least 30% of worker in a situation of job insecurity,
i.e.:
Workers under the age of 25 years-old;
Workers over the age of 55 years-old;
Workers presenting physical or mental health issues;
Long-term unemployed worker.
Employers must accept and consider all applications without any form of
discrimination.
If an employee proves to have signed two consecutive 3-year contracts within the
same company, that company must present them with an indefinite period contract.
Article 5b.
In addition, Employers shall:
Provide safe working conditions;
Facilitate professional development opportunities, by granting
professional training to their employees. Those trainings shall be paid
both by the company and the Federation;
Respect the rights to privacy and non-discrimination of employees.
Article 5c.
Employer may dismiss one or several employees if one or several of the following
conditions are met:
Termination on personal grounds - This type of redundancy is linked to the
individual employee. It may be due to professional inadequacy, misconduct
(simple, serious or gross), or physical unfitness.Simple misconduct - This is negligence or an error on the part of
the employee that does not jeopardize his or her continued
employment with the company;Serious misconduct - This is misconduct that makes it impossible for
the employee to remain with the company, such as harassment, theft
and insubordination;Gross misconduct - This is characterized by the employee's intention
to harm the company;
Termination for economic reasons - This type of redundancy is linked to
the company's economic difficulties, a technological change, a
reorganization necessary to safeguard the company, or the cessation of the
company's activity.
Employers must inform the employee of their decision at least three months prior
to the termination.
In situations I.A. and II., the two parties must agree on the financial
compensation for the terminated employee. Situation I.B. and I.C. do not lead to
any form of compensation.
CHAPTER 3: SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
Article 6 : Unemployment
European job-seekers:
- May benefit from social and financial assistance (Art. 6a);
- Committ to attend activites provided by social services (Art. 6b);
- May be deprived of their benefits when not complying with the present
Article (Art. 6c).
Article 6a.
European job seekers must declare their situation to the competent national
authorities. Those latter are entitled to provide:
A personalized support tailored to their needs - They can take stock of
their situation and mobilize all the resources they need to successfully
complete their career plan;
Benefit from social protection - They can continue to benefit from social
protection, the amount of which depends on the contributions they paid in
their previous gross salaries, for a maximum period of 20 consecutive
months. This goes in complement with other social benefits.
Article 6b.
In return of this rights, jobseekers commit to :
Declare their professional situation on a monthly basis ;
Attend all meetings with their advisor;
Actively look for a job or actively strive forward the set up or the
development of a company;
Define a career plan with their advisor;
Accept a reasonable offer of employment.
Article 6c.
The grounds on which non-compliance may result in removal from the list of
jobseekers and the withdrawal of their benefits are :
failure to take repeated positive action to find a job or to set up or
develop a business;
refusal on 2 occasions to accept a reasonable job offer;
refusal to draw up or update their career plan;
failing to attend a training course or abandoning a training course;
failure to attend an appointment with an organization approved by the
Federal Labor Agency;
refusal to follow or abandon an action to help them find a job;
making a false declaration in order to be or remain registered as a
jobseeker;
making a false declaration with a view to improperly receiving
unemployment benefit.
Article 7: Retirement
European workers may retire from work at the age of 62.
To that end, pensions systems shall:
- Be based upon three pillars (Art. 7a);
- Provide national administrations with implementing measures (Art. 7b);
- Provide contributors with optional provisions (Art. 7c).
Article 7a.
In order to ensure a fair and decent living for everyone, a Federal Pension Plan
is hereby established. It is based on three pillars:
The Minimum Pension plan - funded with workers contributions collected
from their monthly gross salaries. The amount, collected by Member-States
and deposited to the Federal Pension Fund, is redistributed directly by
the latter to retired workers;
The Complementary Pension plan - funded by Member-States national pensions
systems through workers’ biannual contributions. Retired workers may enjoy
this revenue once they have worked 173 semesters or 43 consecutive years;
Optional Pension plans - optional plans paid by workers to public or
private national insurers, in addition to the two previous pension plans.
Article 7b.
Member states shall determine a fair minimum pension standard according to their
cost of living, revised on an annual basis.
Member-States shall establish an amount corresponding to the employee's salary
that Employers are compelled to pay the Complementary Pension plan.
Article 7c.
European workers may at any moment choose to opt out once in their professional
life from the Complementary Pension plan and retrieve the contributions they
have paid. The retrieval of the contributions shall not end further
contributions to this plan.
When working across the territory of the Federation, a European worker may
choose to keep their original Complementary Pension plan or to opt for the one
of the Member-States they are working in. Employees must make the necessary
arrangements to meet the worker’s demands.
CHAPTER 4: IMPLEMENTATION
Article 8: Establishment of the European Labor Agency
A European Labor Agency is hereby established with the mandate to:
Ensure the effective implementation of employment policies, by sending
recommendations to Member-States;
Provide support to national administrations in their effort to advise
workers in job search and career transitions;
Oversee the administration and the management of retirement benefits
through the Federal Pension Fund. In compliance with Article 51 of the
European Youth Convention and Regulation EF/XX laying down the Federal
Budget, the Federal Pension Fund cannot run a deficit;
Collect and analyze labor market data to inform policy decisions; .
The European Labor Agency shall fall under the responsibility of the Minister of
Labor and social affairs.
Article 9: Member-States Compliance
Member States shall:
Adopt and enforce this Directive;
Collaborate with the European Labor Agency to facilitate policy
implementation.
Provide regular reports on the status of the national transposition of
flexicurity measures.
The Federal Government shall take appropriate measures, including financial
sanctions and bringing the case to court, against a national administration that
does not comply with the present Directive.
Article 10: Entry into force and application
The Present Directive shall enter into force immediately following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Federation;
It shall apply from [Day][Month][Year];
Member-States shall have until December 31st 2029 to transpose into their
national law the elements of the present Directive that involve their
participation.
The present Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
to the European Government and in all Member States.
For the European Parliament
The President
For the European Senate
The President