BRUSSELS, September 6th, 2018 – The European Federation for family Employment and Home care (EFFE) is presenting today within the framework of an informal working group consisting of 40 MEPs, some of whom will be meeting in the European Parliament this Thursday, the work carried out for eighteen months with several actors from the civil society to favor the emergence of the direct employers and Home and Family employment European sectors.
This work should lead early 2019 at the occasion of a European event, to the release of a European White Paper, that will unveil concrete proposals to structure Household Employment between citizens at European level. The emergence of this sector, potentially representing 20 million jobs declared at European level by 2020, is indeed crucial for building the new foundations of a Europe closer to the needs of its citizens in view of the2019elections. It should also allow all citizens to tailor the answer to their Home needs (childcare, family worker, family life assistant) by directly hiring their employees and assuming responsibility for the declared employment relationship.
Chaired by Elisabeth MORIN-CHARTIER (EPP, France), this informal working group, which gather MEPs coming from more than 20 Member States from all political groups, met for the first time on the 5th of September 2017. After a year of work, exchanges and contributions, EFFE will present to MEPs, at a work meeting which will take place this Automn, the results of the intermediate work conducted by contributors from civil society and the academic world, that committed to support it because of the stakes involved and all reassured their support for the White Paper initiative. Members of the working group will transmit their proposals of amendments on the text in the coming days.
The White Paper puts forward concrete proposals (professionalization, social dialogue, working conditions, attractiveness of the sector, or sharing of existing good practices in some Member States). It also highlights the answers that the sector can make to some of the major political challenges that the European Union is currently facing: migration policy, professionalization of the least qualified jobs, fight against undeclared work, autonomy of the disabled or dependent, work life balance, childcare, digital sector issues and social protection. These topics are part of the work carried out under the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Elisabeth MORIN-CHARTIER, whose historic commitment has reinforced the initiative taken by EFFE to bring this citizen project together with the actors of the civil society declared “This project is totally echoing the major challenges that the European Pillar of social rights is trying to meet and is in line with the work initiated by the Commission to implement it.”
Marie Béatrice LEVAUX, President of the EFFE, welcomed the support of MEPs and reaffirmed the need to bring the White Paper proposals ahead of the 2019 European elections. “While this sector is a considerable source of qualified and declared jobs, it suffers from a significant lack of visibility in most Member States. There is therefore a need to structure it on a European scale.” Said Marie Béatrice LEVAUX. This White Paper must provide concrete answers to ensure that undeclared work is no longer the norm. European authorities must rely on the 2019 political calendar to provide strong support for this growing sector.
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A social Europe that works for every home