On Tuesday 23 September, members of European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) approved the draft report by Alicia Homs Ginel (S&D) from Spain on quality traineeships by 42 votes to 9 with 6 abstentions (see EUROPE 13714/10).
At the same time, they also gave the Spaniard a mandate to begin trilogues with the EU Council as soon as Parliament’s position has been confirmed in plenary, at the next session in October.
This mandate was approved by 41 votes in favour, 14 against and one abstention. The MEP wanted an ambitious proposal for a European directive to offer trainees good working conditions and discourage companies from disguising regular jobs as traineeships.
The text first establishes a clear definition of what constitutes a ‘traineeship’, emphasising that it must be of limited duration and constitute work facilitating the transition from studies to employment. All types of traineeships will be affected by the new rules, with the exception of mandatory traineeships, which are part of studies to obtain credits and apprenticeships. Traineeships carried out in the context of active labour market policies are also covered.
MEPs also stressed that all trainees must receive a written traineeship agreement setting out remuneration, tasks, learning objectives, rights and obligations, as well as the duration of the traineeship, which must not exceed six months, unless duly justified. Trainees must also have access to social protection, health insurance, unemployment benefits and pension contributions, in accordance with national provisions or agreements in force.
“A traineeship that is not paid in accordance with national law, lacks a training component, or has no mentorship or evaluation” should be considered an abusive practice, says the text.
Additional criteria have been introduced to help detect and combat these practices, such as the fact that a trainee completes several placements or consecutive placements with the same employer. The rules sought by Parliament will also make it easier for a trainee to report professional misconduct, with channels for anonymously reporting poor working conditions. Trainees could also be represented by union representatives from the company.
Nearly 80% of Europeans aged between 18 and 35 undertake a traineeship, the S&D group points out in a press release. “However, almost half of all trainees receive no pay at all, and those who do are often only partly reimbursed for their expenses”.
Upheaval at the EPP. All the compromise amendments were adopted, but last-minute difficulties were reportedly caused by the EPP, which was divided on the text. It took the ECR group’s cooperation to secure broad support, according to several sources.
With the EU Council having taken a position in June, the trilogues can begin once Parliament’s mandate has been confirmed in plenary. The first meeting is scheduled for 14 October.
Links to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/ikg ; https://aeur.eu/f/ikh (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)