MEPs call for the new ‘Youth Guarantee’ to reject social dumping and unpaid internships, in a resolution to be put to a vote in the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs on Monday 21 September.
In their compromise amendments, MEPs want to prevent the Guarantee from contributing to “social dumping”, “wage dumping” and “work poverty”.
In this context, they specify that internship contracts provided under this initiative must take the form of “written and legally binding agreements” in which the intern’s tasks are detailed, and must also “include fair remuneration”. They emphasised that the ‘Youth Guarantee’ must “lead to employment” and that “internships should never lead to job replacement”.
Initially proposed by the Greens/EFA, GUE/NGL and S&D groups, these amendments were adopted by most of the shadow rapporteurs, even if the EPP and Renew Europe were initially reluctant, we are told. The vote total was not yet available, but we were assured that there was little doubt as to the outcome.
In addition, MEPs are putting an oral question to the European Commission on its assessment of the reduction from 15% to 10% of the share allocated to actions for young unemployed people in the European Social Fund plus (ESF+) by the July European Council (see EUROPE 12532/2). They are also asking for clarifications on monitoring of the implementation (which could be improved, according to the European Court of Auditors - see EUROPE 11761/22) as well as on the means for raising awareness among the target groups.
The final vote total will be known later this evening or in the morning on Tuesday 22 September. For its part, the EU Council has begun work on the Commission’s recommendations (see EUROPE 12549/11). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)