The European Parliament Committees on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) and on Gender Equality and Women’s Rights (FEMM) jointly prepared and voted a report on “Creating labour market conditions favourable for work-life balance”. COFACE Families Europe has been actively involved in the preparation of this report, which is and will be a key piece of policy for the upcoming years, especially in view of a “Reconciliation Package” to be possibly proposed by the European Commission in the upcoming months.
The report will be voted in the upcoming European Parliament plenary session (12-15 September 2016) and COFACE Families Europe will be actively campaigning, together with its Members across Europe, to make sure that the report will succeed and be voted by a majority. The report, in its final draft to be voted, has all elements that we have been calling for since 2012: introduction of a paternity leave, introduction of a carers’ leave, amelioration of certain aspects of maternity and parental leaves, objectives on care services and guidance on flexible working arrangements in the workplace.
A positive vote to this report will be an important signal from the people of Europe to the European Commission for its proposal, recalling the importance of these topics for all families and individuals in Europe. However, to have our voice heard, we have to make sure our message gets through and that is why we invite everyone to send a simple email or phone call to their elected Member of the European Parliament, telling them how important this is and inviting him/her to vote in favour of report 2016/2017(INI)!
How to do that? Click on this link select your country and choose your MEP (you can select by political group and geographical areas). Once on the page of the MEP, you will find his/her email and phone number.
More information about this campaign please contact Paola Panzeri, Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer (ppanzeri@coface-eu.org)
Reconciling Work and Family Life 