Our Green and Social Deal will put people and their wellbeing at the centre of Europe’s green transformation and economy. The social welfare state was one of Europe’s biggest successes. Rebuilding that welfare state for the 21st century is the only way to protect and extend social rights for everyone in Europe. A Europe of Social Rights must empower and protect workers and communities in transition and be inclusive to all. It must protect the people who face multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination in their daily lives.
Decent jobs for all
European workers deserve a fair wage, especially after years of price rises. We fight to end in-work poverty. In the last EU mandate, we won an EU-wide living minimum wage framework that sets minimum wages at a decent level indexed to the cost of living. We won measures on pay transparency that will help end the huge pay discrepancies that exist within companies and institutions.
We are fighting for legislation that will recognize platform workers as workers, with all the rights to minimum wages, collective bargaining, and employment conditions and protection that workers are legally entitled to.
The jobs in the key sectors for the future from construction and care to energy and education must be well paid. We support the role of trade unions in ensuring that workers get their fair share of profits. Our tax proposals will reduce the tax burden on workers and support access to energy, food, and housing for the poorest by increasing taxes on polluters and the ultra-rich.
Fighting poverty comprehensively
Everyone has the right to a decent income. A strong social safety net should protect people in employment transitions and those who cannot work. We call for an EU framework directive on minimum income to establish an adequate level of support (60% of the median income) in each EU country for people between jobs or who cannot work and guarantee its coverage and take-up. This should not undermine national collective bargaining models or social security systems.
The short-term SURE unemployment insurance programme should be made permanent to protect the livelihoods of workers affected by transition. We continue to demand an integrated anti-poverty strategy for the EU to end homelessness by 2030 and at the very least halve child poverty by 2030 and eliminate child poverty by 2040.
Universal basic income should be researched and studied. We therefore advocate for national basic income pilots.
Nothing about workers without workers
Our Green and Social Deal protects workers and their rights. We want to build a Union where people are properly treated and paid for their work, especially the essential workers who keep society running and everyone building the infrastructure necessary for a green tomorrow.
There should be nothing about workers without workers. We will fight for the rights of trade unions to organize, collective bargaining, and strike. Workers affected by the twin green and digital transitions should have guaranteed rights to information, involvement through collective bargaining and social dialogue, and training. Unionizing for new or non-standard forms of work should be supported to guarantee the rights of all workers. These rights and standards should be protected by a Just Transition Law. A Lifelong Learning Directive should protect the right to paid training leave.
Fair labour mobility for all
Europe must enable and protect fair mobility of workers across borders, so no one falls through the cracks of nationally fragmented social systems. To avoid social dumping, social rights and access to the labour market must be ensured. Administrative tasks should be possible in different languages, social services should be open to mobile workers, and social coordination on EU level should be fostered. The recognition of professional qualifications should be made easier.
Many EU countries are suffering from the consequences of massive emigration. The economic and social convergence of EU countries must be a priority for EU policymaking and investments to improve the quality of life and opportunity for people across Europe.
New rights for the future of work
Work should take place on decent terms and in safe conditions. We will dismantle the current system that exploits interns and trainees. We will end the practice of unpaid internships so that young people are guaranteed proper pay and safe working conditions. Mobile and migrant work should be properly regulated with all such workers receiving decent and affordable accommodation.
Occupational health and safety measures must be updated for the reality of climate change and enforced, such as rules on heatwaves and working in extreme temperatures. Too much work causes stress and ill health. We will introduce measures that reduce working time and improve work-life balance, including an EU Right to Disconnect, Right to Remote Work, and flexibility in working hours. We support the efforts across the EU to introduce a four-day working week. We will not let workers be monitored by artificial intelligence-based surveillance tools.
Equal pay for equal work
We will fight for equal pay for equal work and equal opportunities for all at work. Fully eliminating the gender pay gap through binding measures for all employers is long overdue. The gender pay gap depends on factors such as ethnicity, disability, access to education, and age. Different groups of women experience very different gaps in pay.
Universal and equal access to childcare and long-term care facilities and the revision of the Work-Life Balance Directive and the Maternity Leave Directive can move Europe towards fully paid parental leave of equal and sufficient duration.
Equal opportunities from the start
As the start of life is decisive, we demand adequate funding for the European Child Guarantee to make sure that all children have access to care, childhood education, healthy nutrition, adequate housing and healthcare. At the same time, we want to support parents’ participation in the labour market. All children have the right to participate in play, recreation, sport and culture.
All children in the EU should have guaranteed access to high-quality care and education – no matter their passport. We want to work with member states to ensure that the direly needed investment in education and care infrastructure is finally taken up.