Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights EU debates inequalities
- 3 years ago
Even before the crisis while unemployment was declining, income inequality did not follow the same trends. In the EU, the income of the richest 20% was five times higher than that of the poorest.
This afternoon, Ms Lagarde was here to address this Parliament and when she was at the IMF she put inequality as a major challenge for our societies. Recently she said, and I quote: ‘The bittersweet reality is that despite economic growth, there are still far too many people who are left out.’ Yes, the income share of the lower 40% earners has stagnated for many years, even in periods of economic growth. Equal access to opportunities remains a challenge, especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and as President von der Leyen has put it in her political guidelines, we need equality for all and equality in all of its senses.
#eudebates #jobs #work #poverty #wages #inequality
The main social fallout of the COVID-19 crisis is still ahead of us. Unemployment can be expected to further increase and poverty and inequality are likely to follow the same path and therefore the crisis response needs to tackle inequality and poverty both in terms of policy and funding, and this has to happen now.
In this regard, adequate, sustainable, fair and inclusive social protection systems play a crucial role. They help cushion the impact of a crisis and contribute decisively to the resilience of our societies. Reinforced support is needed to address youth unemployment, as the crisis has led to an increase in the rates of young people not in employment, education and training. The crisis has plunged a great number of young people into a really dramatic situation. They are experiencing real poverty and exclusion with a detrimental psychological impact – students who have lost their jobs to pay for their studies, the young who worked in the most impacted sectors like tourism or hospitality. Those with precarious jobs were the first to be unemployed. But there are also all the young performers in creative activities – the artists, the musicians, actors – they suffer enormously having no income and often no possibility to pursue their creative activity. We have to show solidarity with these young people if we do not want again a lost generation, or worse, a desperate generation.
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The Commission has already presented important initiatives in this context: adequate minimum wages and collective bargaining; the SURE instrument; the Youth Employment Support package to prevent another lost generation; skills we just debated; guidelines on seasonal workers – they are not only very much exposed to the pandemic, but they suffer also from bad working and living conditions. The fight against poverty and inequality will take centre stage. The action plan will include proposals which the European Parliament has been calling for for years, such as the Child Guarantee.
This afternoon, Ms Lagarde was here to address this Parliament and when she was at the IMF she put inequality as a major challenge for our societies. Recently she said, and I quote: ‘The bittersweet reality is that despite economic growth, there are still far too many people who are left out.’ Yes, the income share of the lower 40% earners has stagnated for many years, even in periods of economic growth. Equal access to opportunities remains a challenge, especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and as President von der Leyen has put it in her political guidelines, we need equality for all and equality in all of its senses.
#eudebates #jobs #work #poverty #wages #inequality
The main social fallout of the COVID-19 crisis is still ahead of us. Unemployment can be expected to further increase and poverty and inequality are likely to follow the same path and therefore the crisis response needs to tackle inequality and poverty both in terms of policy and funding, and this has to happen now.
In this regard, adequate, sustainable, fair and inclusive social protection systems play a crucial role. They help cushion the impact of a crisis and contribute decisively to the resilience of our societies. Reinforced support is needed to address youth unemployment, as the crisis has led to an increase in the rates of young people not in employment, education and training. The crisis has plunged a great number of young people into a really dramatic situation. They are experiencing real poverty and exclusion with a detrimental psychological impact – students who have lost their jobs to pay for their studies, the young who worked in the most impacted sectors like tourism or hospitality. Those with precarious jobs were the first to be unemployed. But there are also all the young performers in creative activities – the artists, the musicians, actors – they suffer enormously having no income and often no possibility to pursue their creative activity. We have to show solidarity with these young people if we do not want again a lost generation, or worse, a desperate generation.
------
The Commission has already presented important initiatives in this context: adequate minimum wages and collective bargaining; the SURE instrument; the Youth Employment Support package to prevent another lost generation; skills we just debated; guidelines on seasonal workers – they are not only very much exposed to the pandemic, but they suffer also from bad working and living conditions. The fight against poverty and inequality will take centre stage. The action plan will include proposals which the European Parliament has been calling for for years, such as the Child Guarantee.