Brussels, 19/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament's women's rights committee has called for better protection for domestic workers. In a report adopted on Thursday 18 February, the committee calls for common rules for domestic work and care in the EU.
“It is our duty to ensure that millions of domestic workers do not remain unseen and unprotected”, stated rapporteur Kostadinka Kuneva (GUE, Greece).
The report, which was adopted by 16 votes to 1, with 14 abstentions, calls on member states to support the professionalisation of domestic work and care, leading to the recognition and standardisation of the relevant professions and skills. It calls for specific rules to protect migrant women who form the majority of domestic workers and who have difficulty in accessing legal support. It also calls for a study to be conducted comparing different systems of regularised domestic work.
Work and digital skills. Earlier, the committee adopted the report by Terry Reintke (Greens/EFA, Germany) on gender equality and empowering women in the digital age. This document calls for a European strategy to counter gender-based violence, including provisions on cyber-harassment. It supports free broadband access in public areas and free and open information and communication technology (ICT) software. It urges the Commission and the member states to encourage life-long education and learning specifically aimed at older women during their working life and beyond, along with women with family responsibilities and women who have had a career break and are returning to work.
Equality in Parliament. The committee also considered the issue of gender mainstreaming in the work of the European Parliament and adopted a report arguing for an integrated approach to gender equality in the work of the Parliament. The text, drafted by Angelika Mlinar (ALDE, Austria) stresses that balanced representation between the sexes is desirable in every committee insofar as circumstances permit. (Original version French by Sophie Petitjean)