WUNRN
See 2 Parts of This WUNRN Release on
the European Parliament Report on Non-Discrimination Based on Gender &
Intergenerational Solidarity
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EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT URGES MEMBER
STATES
TO FULFIL THEIR GOALS ON CHILDCARE
Women’s
Rights/Equal Opportunities - 03-02-2009
To
maintain the principle of intergenerational solidarity, MEPs urge the Member
States to achieve their commitments to introduce by 2010 childcare for 90% of
children under the mandatory school age and call for a review of the work-life
balance policies in the EU. The report adopted was an alternative motion for a
resolution put forward by the Greens/EFA group and adopted with 358 votes in
favour, 271 against and 28 abstentions replacing the original report from the
Women's Committee.
The
concept of intergenerational solidarity relates to childcare and the
responsibility for the elderly and dependent. In the EU, the employment rate
for women with dependent children is only 62.4% as compared with 91.4% for men.
MEPs urge the Council and the Member States to achieve
their commitments, agreed in the Barcelona European Council of 2002 to
introduce by 2010 childcare for 90% of children between 3 years old and the
mandatory school age and for at least 33% of children under 3 years old.
The EP calls on the Commission to bring forward a proposal
for a new directive regarding specific rights and safeguards in relation to the
reconciliation of working and family life where there are dependent children.
In the resolution, MEPs fear that the Czech Presidency's
proposal for childcare as a "fully fledged alternative to a professional
career" is geared towards the traditional division of labour between men
and women, that is to say the traditional concept of a worker being male,
available on a full time basis, whose personal needs are taken care of by
'invisible hands' (women) organising the home and the family.
Value of informal and invisible work should be
recognised
According to the resolution, the persons who devote their
time and skills in the field of intergenerational solidarity should receive
social recognition, by giving them individual rights, particularly regarding
social security and pensions.
The European Parliament urges the Commission to introduce
initiatives which validate skills acquired in carrying out educational tasks, caring
for dependent persons and household management so that "these skills are
taken into consideration upon re-entry into the labour market". A
point highlighted in the initial own-initiative of Anna Záborská
(EPP-ED, SK), adopted in the Women's rights committee.
Improving conditions for maternity and paternity
leave
To promote a balance between family plans and professional
ambitions, MEPs insist that steps need to be taken to improve the treatment not
just of maternity leave but also paternity and parental leave.
The report calls on the Commission, in collaboration with
the Member States and the social partners, to launch a review of work-life
balance policies, particularly by "guaranteeing that the cost of maternity
is not borne by the employer, but by the public purse", and by improving
accessibility to care and assistance services for children, people with
disabilities and the elderly.
New directive on work-life balance
MEPs call on the Commission to bring forward a proposal for a new directive
regarding specific rights and safeguards in relation to the reconciliation of
working and family life where there are dependent family members (children,
elderly and disabled people). The House calls also on the Member States to
take into account flexible working hours for parents (as a result of free
choice) and flexible times for childcare institutions to help both women and
men to combine work and family life more successfully.
_____________________________________________________________
Link to European Parliament Report:
European Parliament
European Parliament Report on
Non-Discrimination Based on Gender & Intergenerational Solidarity
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