Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-07-06-Speech-4-078"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20000706.5.4-078"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, I wish at this point to express my disappointment at the Commission’s failure to adopt any position on the revision, assessment and notification of Directive 92/85 on maternity protection as yet. Nevertheless, although I wish to highlight the considerable harm that this omission has caused to mothers, every cloud has a silver lining, and this report, which has been brilliantly drafted by Mrs Damião, is proof of that such silver linings exist. This report will enable the European Parliament to move ahead now.
The report clarifies concepts, harmonises legislation at Community level, establishes shared responsibilities, takes account of new risks in the way work is currently organised, looks for incentives to increase the population in an ageing Europe and considers pregnancy to be a natural condition for women, and one which should be respected and protected.
It specifically notes the rights of women working independently or as teleworkers, and highlights the growing concern about single parents, who are becoming increasingly common in Europe. The aim of extending maternity leave to twenty weeks is an ambitious one, which is recommended from a technical point of view, and must gradually be implemented. We must therefore prepare ourselves for this in economic terms, by sharing out responsibilities through cooperation between states and employers’ and workers’ organisations. In order to achieve the aims that are being proposed, it is also crucial for us to encourage greater dialogue, collaboration and coordination between specialists in health, hygiene and safety at work, so that a more suitable working environment can be provided for pregnant women.
The European Community must strive to gain the support of applicant countries to ensure that awareness is raised as rapidly as possible, so that the measures recommended in this report can be adopted, since there may be greater resistance in those countries, which could be difficult to overcome.
Lastly, I wish to sound a warning about point 9 of this report, because measures for protecting new mothers, such as very long maternity leave, may have unwanted effects, as it may become disadvantageous for employers to employ women, and they may consequently prefer to take on men. The Commission must therefore create a system for detecting fraud and for applying harsh penalties to companies practising this kind of discrimination."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples