21 May 2021
On Wednesday, 12 May 2021, SGI Europe held its first meeting of the Public Services Board of the year, chaired for the first time by Ms Nadine Fischer. The aim of the meeting was to discuss in particular four topics: The Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act, the current definition of SMEs, the ongoing evaluation of the economic impacts of the water exclusion from the Concessions Directive and the latest initiatives in the field of State Aid.
The highlight of the meeting was the participation of MEP Mr Andreas Schwab, rapporteur for the Digital Markets Act, who gave us an overview of the state of play of the proposal. In his presentation, Mr Schwab highlighted the importance of the respective regulation since it aims at ensuring fair and contestable digital markets with a new ex-ante approach, which will tackle the possible distortions of competition before any market investigation procedure is initiated. In the exchange that followed, SGI Europe members also shared their views and raised their concerns regarding the proposals to Mr Schwab.
Speakers from the European Commission also joined the conversation on the evaluation of the exclusion of the water sector from the Concessions Directive.
The next session of the Public Services Board meeting will take place in November 2021.
Contact: Manca Pocivavsek
Last Wednesday 12 May, the European Commission adopted its communication “Zero Pollution Action Plan- A Pathway to a Healthy Planet for All” to help reduce pollution on the water, air and soil scale whilst promoting a holistic approach. SGI Europe reacted to the proposals with the following press release.
In the framework of the innovative European project ‘Green Skills in VET’, SGI Europe and EFEE invite you to save the date for the Kick-off Conference, which will take place online on 6 July 2021, from 10:00-12:45.
SGI Europe and EFEE will welcome on this occasion, amongst others, Mr Nicolas Schmit, Commissioner for Jobs and Social Affairs, who will open the event. The conference will focus on raising awareness regarding the green skills shortages within services of general interest, and regarding VET providers’ development of teaching methods and staff competences to deliver green-oriented trainings. Findings of the project’s initial survey, capturing the state of play on green skills in the water, energy, and transport sectors, will be presented during the conference.
The complete agenda will soon be communicated.
Contact: Stefan Enica
On 4 March 2021, the European Commission published the "Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms". The right to equal pay between women and men for equal work or work of equal value is one of the EU's founding principles enshrined in the Treaty of Rome. The requirement to ensure equal pay is set out in Directive 2006/54/E and complemented in 2014 by a Commission Recommendation on pay transparency (the ‘2014 Recommendation’). The European Commission following the retrospective evaluation of the relevant legal provisions (the ‘2020 evaluation’) has concluded that despite the legal framework, the right to equal pay is not adequately applied nor enforced in practice and that pay transparency is lacking in many Member States. Currently the gender pay gap in the EU is at around 14%.
SGI Europe fully supports the two objectives of tackling the gender pay gap and fighting pay discrimination. The main objectives of the proposal are establishing pay transparency within the organisations, facilitating the application of the key concepts relating to equal pay, including ‘pay’ and ‘work of equal value’, and strengthening enforcement mechanisms. The proposal at hand is an important piece of legislation which will most likely have a considerable impact on European workplaces, such as reporting obligations on the differences between female and male workers. SGI employers will work constructively in the context of the ongoing negotiations between the Council and Parliament to ensure the directive complements efficiently different national social and collective bargaining systems as well as to ensure the administrative obligations stemming from the proposal remain proportionate.
The proposal is now in the hands of the European Parliament. The committee responsible is the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM), with Samira Rafaela (Renew Europe Group, Netherlands) as Rapporteur. The committee responsible for delivering the opinion is the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), with Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (Greens/EFA, Denmark) as Rapporteur.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
In the framework of the new SGI Europe projects co-funded by the European Commission, ‘Involving SGIs in the European Semester’ and ‘Green Skills in VET’, the first Steering Committee Meetings took place online on the 17 and 19 May, bringing together the project partners and the external experts.
On 17 May, within the ‘Involving SGIs in the European Semester’ project, SGI Europe and the project partners from the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR, Sweden), the Union of Social and Solidarity Economy Employers (UDES, France), and the Union of Social Profit Companies (UNISOC, Belgium), exchanged on the initial survey which will focus on SGI Europe’s members involvement and policy priorities for the European Semester.
On 19 May, within the ‘Green Skills in VET’ project, alongside the project partners, SGI Europe and the European Federation of Education Employers (EFEE) discussed with the research team of the Association for International and Comparative Studies in Labour and Industrial Relations (ADAPT) the questionnaire which will be prepared to improve our understanding of the state of play on green skills in the water, energy, and transport sectors.
Contact: Stefan Enica
On 12 May, the European Commission presented the Spring 2021 Economic Forecast with evidence signalling that the economy is finally bouncing back from the double-dip recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The EU economy is projected to expand by 4,2% in 2021 and by 4,4% in 2022, with growth rates still varying across the Member States. However, according to the Commission, all Member States’ economies should return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022.
With accelerating vaccination rates and the easing of containment measures across Europe, the rebound is expected to be mainly driven by private consumption, investment, and increasing demand for EU exports in the context of a strengthened global economy.
Pushed by the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), public investment (in relation to GDP) is projected to reach its peak level after more than a decade in 2022.
Whilst in 2021 the aggregate general government deficit in the EU should be rising to about 7,5 percent of GDP, by 2022 this is expected to almost halve to below 4 percent.
Likewise, debt to GDP ratio is projected to top at around 94 percent in 2021, before a foreseen drop to 93 percent next year.
In an uncertain context in which the economic outlook is still surrounded by risks related to the evolution of the epidemiological situation, SGI Europe believes that a premature withdrawal of policy support would impair the recovery and erase public confidence.
Moreover, we also believe that fast-tracking the assessment and approval of the NRRPs by the Commission – which has so far received 18 plans from Member States – would also be instrumental at this stage to send a strong signal to markets investors, companies, and workers in Europe.
Contact: Antonio Astolfi
On 18 May, during the European Parliament’s Plenary session, MEPs voted on the provisional agreement on the Just Transition Fund (JTF) by the rapporteur Manolis Kefalogiannis (EPP, EL). The report was adopted by 615 votes in favour, 35 against and 46 abstentions. The package comprises €7.5 bn from the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework and an additional €10 bn from the EU Recovery Instrument. To be eligible, projects must focus on economic diversification, reconversion or job creation looking at upskilling and reskilling activities, or they must contribute to a transition to a sustainable, climate-neutral and circular European economy. It will also support micro-enterprises, business incubators, universities and public research institutions, as well as investments in new energy technologies, energy efficiency, and sustainable local mobility.
Regarding the waste sector, the waste incineration will not receive support through the JTF, as is the case for nuclear power stations and any investments related to fossil fuels.
Other key aspects of the regulation
Our sectoral member HOSPEEM is organising its final dissemination workshop to strengthen social dialogue and bring together national social partners from the 14 targeted regions and other European social partners and associations active in employment and health policy, discussing the project findings and lessons learned. Lastly, HOSPEEM foresees an exchange of views between national and European stakeholders, discussing continued capacity-building activities. Register here.
Contact: Simone Mohrs, Policy Officer at HOSPEEM
In the context of a multi-sectoral project, our sectoral member HOSPEEM, together with CEMR and UITP, are organising their first webinar on third-party violence and harassment at work. The webinar aims to review definitions, legal frameworks, latest data available & kick-off discussions on the role of sectoral social dialogue. The project examines and discusses the prevalence, causes and impact of third-party violence and harassment at work in the partners’ respective sectors and recent legislative and social partners’ responses to this major health and safety matter of common concern. It will aim to assess the application at the national level of the 2010 Multi-sectoral Guidelines to tackle third-party violence and harassment related to work and whether further actions might be needed to make its implementation more effective. Register here.
Contact: Simone Mohrs, Policy Officer at HOSPEEM
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