Brussels, 17/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission proposed on Monday 16 July that a total of €7.2 million be allocated from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) to assist workers made redundant in the Netherlands and Sweden.
Netherlands. The construction sector in the Netherlands has, in the words of Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Laszlo Andor, been “hit particularly hard by the effects of the crisis” and has seen demand fall sharply. In Gelderland, the countries largest province, 54 small businesses have been forced to lay off 516 workers, 435 of whom are experiencing great difficulty in finding alternative employment. “This proposal for €2.9 million from Europe's Globalisation Adjustment Fund would contribute to their smooth transition to new jobs”, Andor said. The Dutch authorities will provide €1.6 million.
Sweden. Here, EGF aid will be for 700 workers made redundant by a single employer, after the AstraZeneca pharmaceuticals group decided to shut down its research and development facilities in the towns of Lind and Umea and to cut back activities at Mölndal and Södertälje, with 987 workers losing their jobs. According to Commissioner Andor: “The pharmaceutical industry is currently undergoing significant changes in order to retain its competitiveness in a tough environment, and it is therefore increasingly seeking synergies to hold down the rising costs of R&D activities. I am confident that this proposal for €4.3 million from Europe's Globalisation Fund would help to make the workers' transition to new jobs easier and faster”.
In both cases, the decision on whether or not to grant the aid is now for the European Parliament and the Council to take. The aid is to help the workers who have been made redundant find employment either in the same sector or in another, by means of training and entrepreneurship schemes. The Netherlands has set up a special programme, called “flexpool” which aims to offer temporary jobs to help the workers acquire experience in a new line of work. (JK/transl.rt)