Sven Giegold

Grüne Resolution zur Bekämpfung der Jugendarbeitslosigkeit

Die Grüne Fraktion im Europäischen Parlament hat eine sogenannte Alternative Resolution ins Plenum eingebracht, da unserer Meinung nach die Resolution der konservativen Abgeordneten Joanna Katarzyna Skrzydlewska „Bekämpfung der Jugendarbeitslosigkeit: mögliche Lösungswege“ nicht die Situation und Bedürfnisse junger Menschen in Europa widerspiegelt. So fehlen in ihrer Resolution die wichtigsten Kernthmen wie z.B. die Beziehung zwischen Jugendarbeitslosigkeit und der derzeitigen Eurokrise und der anhaltende „brain drain“ von Süd- nach Nordeuropa.

Daher haben wir eine Alternative Resolution eingebracht, über die nächste Woche im Plenum abgestimmt werden wird.

Darin fordern wir unter anderem:

– ein Ende der einseitigen Sparpolitik ohne nachhaltige Investitionen in Bildung, Beschäftigung und Zukunftsbranchen, die zum Anstieg insbesondere der Jugendarbeitslosigkeit und der Zunahme von prekären Beschäftigungsverhältnissen für junge Menschen führt; konkret sollen zum Beispiel Staaten unter den EU-Rettungsschirmen ihre Ausgaben, die zur Erreichung der 2020-Ziele und zur Schaffung von Arbeitsplätzen dienen, nicht bei der Einhaltung ihrer Sparziele berücksichtigen müssen,

– eine stärkere Einbeziehung Jugendlicher in die Politikgestaltung,

– die stärkere Fokussierung auf den Zugang zu qualitativ hochwertiger Bildung, Ausbildung und Arbeit für junge Leute, es dürfen keine Kompromisse bei der Qualität der Arbeit und den Arbeitsbedingungen für junge Menschen gemacht werden.

 

Hier der Originaltext der Resolution:

 

 

Raül Romeva i Rueda, Karima Delli, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Rebecca Harms, Elisabeth Schroedter, Margrete Auken, Rui Tavares, Malika Benarab-Attou, Inaki Irazabalbeitia Fernandez, Tarja Cronberg, Sven Giegold

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Report A7-0275/2013

Joanna Katarzyna Skrzydlewska – Tackling youth unemployment: possible ways out

Motion for a resolution (Rule 157(4) of the Rules of Procedure) replacing non-legislative motion for a resolution A7-0275/2013

 

The European Parliament,

 

– having regard to its resolution of 14 June 2010 on ‘Promoting youth access to the labour market, strengthening trainee, internship and apprenticeship status’,

– having regard to the Commission communication ‘Youth Opportunities Initiative’ (COM(2011)0933), and to its resolution of 24 May 2012 on the Youth Opportunities Initiative and its question for oral answer to the Commission on the Youth Opportunities Initiative,

– having regard to the Commission communication on the implementation of the Youth Opportunities Initiative (COM(2012)0727),

1.A. whereas in June 2013 23.5 % of active young people were jobless, with the rates ranging from 10 % or less in Austria and Germany to 64.2 % in Greece, indicating marked geographical differences both between and within Member States; whereas the most recent data and forecasts indicate a continued deterioration in the situation facing young people in some Member States;

2.B. whereas in 2011 7.5 million young people aged 15-24 and 6.5 million aged 25-29 were not in education, employment or training (NEETs), among them members of vulnerable groups; whereas this could lead to serious personal and social consequences such as insecure future employment prospects and poverty and social exclusion; whereas these problems are likely to increase in the near future, and whereas they have serious financial implications for Member States’ welfare systems; whereas having 14 million NEETs calls for far greater efforts on the part of the Member States and the European institutions to integrate young people into society including the labour market and education;

3.C. whereas in 2011 the economic loss due to the disengagement of young people from the labour market was estimated at EUR 153 billion in the Member States, corresponding to 1.2 % of EU GDP; whereas this sum exceeds by far the estimated EUR 10 billion which would be needed to create 2 million new jobs for young people; whereas this represents a serious long-term social and economic burden for the EU as a whole;

4.D. whereas these youth unemployment and NEETs rates can entail consequences regarding human rights violations; whereas a right-based approach is necessary in order to tackle this situation;

5.E. whereas working conditions, social rights, education access, housing and participation are crucial policy fields to ensure youth emancipation; whereas efforts on all policy levels must be implemented to ensure youth emancipation and the EU institutions must guarantee to all young people equal opportunities and the right to emancipate, to develop an independent and decent life;

6.F. whereas the economic crisis which began in 2008 has negatively affected both demand and supply on the labour market, thus dramatically increasing uncertainty over job prospects and making it essential to address the investment from Member States in jobs creation, training and education; whereas the consequences can be an increment of social conflict and social unrest;

 

Combatting the impact of crisis measures on young people

1. Urges the Member States, their heads of States and the European Commission – to take a rights-based approach to youth and employment, – to involve youth stakeholders in policy making, – to identify and end crisis policies which increase youth unemployment and exclusion – to focus on access to quality employment, education and training; Stresses that, particularly in times of high crisis, the qualitative aspect of decent work for young people, the rights at work and the core labour standards must by no means be compromised; stresses that the European Parliament will closely monitor progress and observe whether the promised measures are implemented, especially as regards the Youth Guarantee;

2. Deplores that the current crisis measures directed towards reduced public spending in the crisis countries have already shown a direct negative impact on youth due to cuts in education, employment creation and support services;

3. Notes and deplores that the crisis has led to a rise in precarious forms of employment for young people, with short-term and part-time contracts and unremunerated work placement schemes all too often replacing existing jobs; recognises that austerity policies have had a dramatic negative effect on employment and led to an increase in unemployment, particularly for young people; Emphasises the importance of immediate action to combat youth unemployment and long-term unemployment; emphasises, too, the need to get young people into long-term, sustainable, high-quality jobs;

4. Calls on the Commission to first assess and then put an end to such incoherent and sometimes destructive policies; stresses that public commitment to Youth Employment is needed and welcomed but looses its credibility if economic governance policies are destroying youth opportunities;

5. Calls on the Commission to put forward a ’safeguard addition‘ for Member States under financial assistance so as to exempt from targets agreed on deficit reduction in the framework of their Memorandum of Understanding public expenditure directed towards achieving the EU2020 targets and Youth Employment- such as Job Creation, education and training, decent work and combating poverty; stresses that such „safeguard addition“ must be developed in a more democratic manner than the Memorandums of Understanding;

6. Calls on the Commission in cooperation with Member States with more than 25% youth unemployment in the regions to develop a 1-year relief-plan to tackle youth unemployment by the creation of jobs for at least 10% of the affected youth; stresses that no possible relief-plan can be effective without enough investment and sufficient flexibilization of the deficit targets of each Member State;

 

Democracy, participation, emancipation

7. Deplores the disrespect shown to young people when policies affecting them were or are introduced without involving them; stresses that young people are valid competent and creative actors in defining youth-related policies and must be involved in policies affecting them and be given a voice; insists that youth organisations must have a recognised role in the set-up, monitoring and implementation of policies and initiatives aimed at addressing youth unemployment and points to the importance of involving all stakeholders in the process;

8. Calls on the Member States to encourage and support the participation of young people, especially women, through education, civil society and quality youth initiatives, in democratic life, and to make use of both existing and new tools in order to contribute to policy development, thereby enhancing young people’s development, wellbeing and social inclusion;

9. Is deeply concerned at the budget cuts in the Member States in the area of education, training and youth policy, which could result in young people being locked out of both education and employment, and recalls that budget allocations for inclusive and integrated education and training systems, addressing the needs of all potential beneficiaries, are a necessary and invaluable investment in the future;

10. Calls on the Member States to implement measures addressing gender inequalities that are suitable for taking into account vulnerable social groups, including persons with disabilities, migrants and single mothers;

 

European Youth Guarantee and Youth Employment Initiative

11. Informs Member States that the European Parliament intends to monitor closely all Member State activities to make the Youth Guarantee a reality and invites Youth Organisations to keep the European Parliament updated on their analysis of Member State actions;

12. Calls on the Commission to include Youth Guarantee progress per Member State in both the European Semester National Reports and country recommendations; stresses the importance to address both measures fostering the Youth Guarantee and restricting success; Calls on National Parliaments together with Youth Organisations to hold their governments responsible for delivering on the Youth Guarantee and to ensure that serious steps are taken to ensure that all young people in need will within four months receive a good-quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship;

13. Recognises the particularly difficult situation in certain regions where the level of unemployment among young people is above 25 %; welcomes the fact that EU support for youth employment will be further boosted through the proposed EU Youth Employment Initiative, with a maximum budget of EUR 8 billion over the seven-year period 2014-2020; stresses at the same time that, according to the ILO, EUR 21 billion would be needed to implement the Youth Guarantee effectively in the Eurozone alone; agrees that the specific budget allocation for this employment initiative for young people and the corresponding allocation from the ESF should be frontloaded;

14. Reiterates its call to extend the target groups of both the Youth Guarantee and the Youth Employment Initiative to include young people under the age of 30;

15. Encourages the Commission and the Member States to develop clear quality standards and indicators regarding the development of national Youth Guarantee schemes, as well as to boost their support for all actors essential to delivering Youth Guarantee schemes; calls for Youth Guarantee schemes to be given the necessary financial resources; Stresses that making the Youth Guarantee a reality requires respect for collective wage bargaining and the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value;
Decent working and living conditions

16. warns against bringing young people into employment by any means, entailing the risk that the quality of such employment, along with young people’s rights at work and especially the right to decent income, may be ignored;

17. Recognises the importance of young people being able to be financially independent and calls for the Member States to ensure that all young people are individually entitled to a decent level of income that secures for them the possibility of creating an economically independent life; deplores the lack of affordable housing opportunities for young people especially in Southern European countries; calls on the Member states to considerably improve access to the housing market;

18. Identifies the school to work transition as a critical moment with a high risk for the individual; calls on the Commission and the Member States to improve transition security, especially as regards social security, to improve advice services and support before during and after the transition; stresses that such measures have proven highly successful for smooth transition and improved labour market inclusion;

19. Stresses that young people should have the right to employment opportunities in their own community and that work needs to be done to address geographical inequalities in Europe with regards to youth opportunities; warns against youth mobility as a one-size-fits-all solution and points to lessons learned in relation to brain-drain and brain waste in both accession and development countries;

20. Stresses that young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs) are at a higher risk of exclusion, and that exclusion at a young age has longterm damaging effects for the individual and society; stresses that NEETs are the core target group of the Youth Guarantee and the Youth Employment Initiative, calls therefore on Member States to present in the framework of the European Semester how they will make progress on better integration of NEETs via the Youth Guarantee and other instruments;

21. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that national legislation affecting youth, and in particularly national legislation based on the Employment Equality Directive (2000/78/EC), is not used to discriminate against young employees‘ access to social benefits; believes that much more must be done to ensure that both employees and employers are aware of their rights and obligations under this legislation;

22. Calls on the Member States to properly recognise and validate all informal and non-formal learning and education so that young people can provide full evidence of their education and competences;
Quality paid internships

23. Stresses that young people must not be exploited through unpaid traineeships and that any such schemes should be designed as part of a training programme of limited duration with counselling, supervision and training objectives; calls on the Commission and the Council, following the commitment given in Communication COM(2007)0498 ‚to propose an initiative for a European quality charter on internships‘, to set up a European Quality Charter on Internships setting out minimum standards for internships to ensure their educational value and avoid exploitation, taking into account that internships form part of education and must not replace actual jobs; stresses that these minimum standards should include the job description, the qualifications to be acquired, a time limit on internships, appropriate compensation based on standard-of-living costs in the place where the internship is performed, work-related insurance, social security and a clear connection to the educational programme in question; stresses that active promotion and awareness-raising in respect of such standards are needed;

24. Calls on the European Institutions to set a good example by removing their advertisements for unpaid traineeships from their respective websites and to pay a minimum allowance based on standard-of-living costs of the place where the internship is performed as well as social security benefits to all their interns;

25. Calls for young people to be protected from those employers – in the public and private sector – who, through work experience, apprenticeship and traineeship schemes, are able to cover their essential and basic needs at little or no cost, exploiting the willingness of young people to learn without any future prospect of becoming fully established as part of their workforce;
Action Plan

26. Reminds that the Youth Strategy’s two overall objectives (creating equal opportunities for youth in the labour market and promoting social inclusion) are far from being reached and urges Commission and Member States to realise the tremendous impact the crisis has on young people’s participation in society; stresses that any action to tackle youth unemployment by Member States and the European Institution should be at least twofold: to identify and end counterproductive policies and to come forward with policies addressing youth participation and employment involving the concerned actors;

27. Calls on the Commission and the Member States in cooperation with Youth stakeholders and the European Parliament to develop a plan of action on Youth employment identifying short term, medium term and long term measures; regrets that in the current debate longterm measures are being presented as short term solutions; stresses that in the short term the focus should be on immediate crisis relief, both for those outside and inside the labour market, with a focus on securing a living income and quality work as well as putting an immediate end to those measures under the macroeconomic adjustment programs that further damage Youth employment; stresses that investments in education and training, job creation, apprenticeship schemes and incentives geared towards employers are mainly medium-term but also longterm measures which need to be firmly agreed between all actors and upheld for a minimum of five years; stresses that especially constructing a system of dual education, apprenticeships, training on the job and integration of young persons into the labour market are longterm measures which need a longer term commitment then hitherto.