The EU Member States’ ministers and their representatives for employment and social affairs, approved, on Monday 9 October, the draft recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions.
The project stresses that the social economy “contributes to labour market integration and social inclusion; it fosters the development of skills and also stimulates equitable and sustainable socio-economic and industrial development, improving social and territorial cohesion”.
The social and solidarity economy accounts for 13.6 million jobs in the EU, with very uneven development from one country to another.
In particular, the recommendation calls on Member States to facilitate access to public and private funding for these companies. “Improved access to markets and public procurement, effective use of state aid rules and a favourable tax framework are also essential for the development of the social economy”.
For the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), this recommendation “will also help to ensure that the sector lives up to its name by promoting the need for social dialogue and collective bargaining for fair wages and working conditions. Too often, we find that social economy employers do not practise what they preach”.
Link to the recommendation: https://aeur.eu/f/8yl (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)