Principle 17

80 million people in Europe live with a disability and many are victims of discrimination. For these people, the EU should be a source of augmented freedom and opportunities. People with disabilities face a dire situation in the European labour market, with an employment rate of 48.1% in comparison to 73.9% for the general population. Women and young people with disabilities are confronted with even lower employment rates. These figures, however, do not give an insight into quality of employment The EU should allocate funds, especially the ESF+, to increase the resources that Member States allocate to equal opportunities, infrastructure inclusion and activation measures. The legislative protection and promotion of people with disabilities within the labour market, both in access to employment and in keeping the job, will be assessed and monitored in all Member States, so as to fill the loopholes.

Actions aimed at establishing upward convergence in living and working conditions

1. Monitor the employment rates of people with disabilities in connection with investment for active inclusion, provision of enabling services, poverty and exclusion.
2. Monitor effectiveness of existing legal frameworks within Member States aimed at integration of people with disabilities into the Labour Market and envisage an EU legal framework.

Principle 18

Health care workers across Europe are working hard to treat and stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In many cases, their task is made harder because of staff shortages, inadequate facilities and lack of personal protective equipment and testing kits. The European governing bodies and national governments should take immediate measures to ensure that health services receive much needed emergency funding and to boost staffing levels in the short term. The European Semester is addressing sustainability and accessibility to health services. Austerity measures have drastically reduced the scope of public services and their accessibility. At the start of the 2019 Semester, ETUC stated that health care and long-term care systems were a source of huge concern and suffering for a growing proportion of the EU’s population, and require immediate action. More than 15 Member States show very poor performance in health care. Coverage and access to long-term care is insufficient in several Member States. Informal care dominates the sector, to the detriment of services and female participation in the labour market. While public structures are often lacking, private options are extremely costly, inaccessible, and often lead to a deterioration in services as well as working conditions in the health sector. No substantial investments were contemplated in the past Semester cycle. In the medium and longer term, increased public spending on health and increased investment in public health are crucial, not just to reverse years of underspending in many countries but also to ensure that health staff and facilities can cope with future demands. Europe had a shortfall of around one million health workers even before the COVID-19 outbreak. Governments need to radically change their approach to public health and public services: short-term contracts and precarious jobs in the health sector are not enough to tackle emergencies such as this.

Access to health services and to long-term care is an EU emergency. The EU Semester cycle promoted “rationalisation” and “cost-efficiency”, implying aggregation of structures, a shift in already allocated resources, de-hospitalisation of care, but almost never public investment in necessary personnel and services. Out-of-pocket expenditure for health is on the increase in many Member States. SGP rules have extended the scope of the private market supplying health services and insurance to people. This reduces access to health services, which is one of the main reasons for discontent among the population.

The care sector is crucial to ensuring a decent standard of living for elderly people. It is necessary to improve the attractiveness of the sector in order to raise the quality of the work and services supplied. There is a high incidence of migrants, undeclared and undocumented workers in the sector, especially female migrants. It is important to eliminate all areas of vulnerability for people working in this sector and give workers the opportunity to improve their skills and their working conditions for their own benefit as well as the benefit of users.

The EU should push for a rights-based approach and public investment in universal, solidarity-based and gender-responsive social protection systems at international, European and national levels. It should also pursue upward convergence goals and funding allocation in child, health, elderly, long-term, disability and dependency care in order to guarantee universal coverage and high-quality care.

In order to meet the current and future needs of an ageing population, greater expenditure on universally accessible, affordable and good-quality public services for health and long-term care must be undertaken and viewed as an investment. Preventive care must be enhanced through proper policies and funding. Professional development, training, education and career recognition are crucial in order to improve quality and coverage of care and provide quality job opportunities. Work-life balance policies should support workers with care responsibilities. The EU should introduce an EU Right2Care backed with national action plans.

Actions aimed at establishing upward convergence in living and working conditions

1. EU Right2Care programme, backed with national action plans through the European Semester, based on transparent and ambitious objectives
2. Monitoring capacity, functioning and impact of occupational welfare (in national systems, and the role of collective bargaining).
3. EU initiatives to strengthen the resilience of publicly-funded, universal and accessible healthcare systems.

Principle 19

Liberalisation and privatisation of public services, including an excessive and non-accountable use of Public-Private Partnerships (hence putting profit above the interests of people) deprive society and most of the population of essential tools to meet their needs. Unmet needs, lack of affordable public structures, and too-costly private provisions are found in crucial sectors influencing Europeans’ quality of life, such as health and care, education and training, childcare and housing.

Public services – ranging from health, child and elderly care, education and training and employment services, transport, water, waste, energy, social housing, information and social services to justice systems as well as infrastructure as a whole – represent the backbone of European provision of services and common goods to citizens and residents. High-quality and accessible public services and common goods provision are a fundamental right. They are essential in order to combat inequalities and social exclusion, to guarantee equal treatment and to tackle the social, economic demographic and environmental challenges facing Europe.

Social housing, and decent housing for all households, is a pillar of many social models across Europe. In this regard, and in conjunction with just transitions and the inclusion of the UN2030 Agenda, there should be more emphasis on combating household energy poverty.

Member States could take measures (also through the Semester) to intervene more actively in controlling and shaping the private housing market, e.g., through building permits, rent controls, tax on 2nd properties etc., and to prevent speculation.

In general, Principles 19 and 20 should be construed as a bridge between the UN2030 Agenda and the EPSR in order to prevent poverty, banish hunger and deprivation, promote good health, ensure equal opportunities and sustainable cities and agriculture. The human right to water and sanitation, recognised by the United Nations in the Social Development Goals (SDGs), must be backed by concrete proposals in order to be accessible to all.

Local workers, mobile workers and migrant workers, irrespective of their immigration status or nationality, must have the same rights and should benefit from equal treatment, quality jobs and decent working conditions, while everyone should have equal rights to adequate, safe and affordable housing and social protection.

Some priorities that may also be promoted through closer cooperation between Member States and, where necessary, leading to EU legislation:

• Promote universal social services as public services, organised collectively on the basis of public service principles and underpinned by clear legal frameworks.
• Fight against budget cuts in social services, and for adequate funding and staffing for social services. Support access to training and qualifications, higher levels of professionalisation, representation and defence of workers’ rights by trade unions; and develop effective recruitment and retention policies at all levels.
• Pursue the professionalisation of these jobs for better collective guarantees. Increase collective bargaining coverage.
• Improve working conditions in the people care sector, especially filling the gaps between migrants and local workers.
• Advocate the development, implementation and monitoring of standards for the quality of services and jobs, building on the EU voluntary quality framework for social services of general interest (SSGI), which recognises the need for high-quality services and employment.

Actions aimed at establishing upward convergence in living and working conditions

1. See also Anti-Poverty Action Plan. It may include targets for public investment in social housing.
2. Develop benchmarks for government expenditure within the Stability and Growth Pact to ensure necessary funding for universal, affordable and high-quality public services (e.g. through the “golden rule”).
3. Access to decent housing must be ensured.
4. Support initiatives to integrate public service elements and fundamental rights in relevant EU sectoral initiatives.

Principle 20

Liberalisation and privatisation of public services, including an excessive and non-accountable use of Public-Private Partnerships (hence putting profit above the interests of people) deprive society and most of the population of essential tools to meet their needs. Unmet needs, lack of affordable public structures, and too-costly private provisions are found in crucial sectors influencing Europeans’ quality of life, such as health and care, education and training, childcare and housing.

Public services – ranging from health, child and elderly care, education and training and employment services, transport, water, waste, energy, social housing, information and social services to justice systems as well as infrastructure as a whole – represent the backbone of European provision of services and common goods to citizens and residents. High-quality and accessible public services and common goods provision are a fundamental right. They are essential in order to combat inequalities and social exclusion, to guarantee equal treatment and to tackle the social, economic demographic and environmental challenges facing Europe.

Social housing, and decent housing for all households, is a pillar of many social models across Europe. In this regard, and in conjunction with just transitions and the inclusion of the UN2030 Agenda, there should be more emphasis on combating household energy poverty.

Member States could take measures (also through the Semester) to intervene more actively in controlling and shaping the private housing market, e.g., through building permits, rent controls, tax on 2nd properties etc., and to prevent speculation.

In general, Principles 19 and 20 should be construed as a bridge between the UN2030 Agenda and the EPSR in order to prevent poverty, banish hunger and deprivation, promote good health, ensure equal opportunities and sustainable cities and agriculture. The human right to water and sanitation, recognised by the United Nations in the Social Development Goals (SDGs), must be backed by concrete proposals in order to be accessible to all.

Local workers, mobile workers and migrant workers, irrespective of their immigration status or nationality, must have the same rights and should benefit from equal treatment, quality jobs and decent working conditions, while everyone should have equal rights to adequate, safe and affordable housing and social protection.

Some priorities that may also be promoted through closer cooperation between Member States and, where necessary, leading to EU legislation:

• Promote universal social services as public services, organised collectively on the basis of public service principles and underpinned by clear legal frameworks.
• Fight against budget cuts in social services, and for adequate funding and staffing for social services. Support access to training and qualifications, higher levels of professionalisation, representation and defence of workers’ rights by trade unions; and develop effective recruitment and retention policies at all levels.
• Pursue the professionalisation of these jobs for better collective guarantees. Increase collective bargaining coverage.
• Improve working conditions in the people care sector, especially filling the gaps between migrants and local workers.
• Advocate the development, implementation and monitoring of standards for the quality of services and jobs, building on the EU voluntary quality framework for social services of general interest (SSGI), which recognises the need for high-quality services and employment.

Actions aimed at establishing upward convergence in living and working conditions

1. See also Anti-Poverty Action Plan. It may include targets for public investment in social housing.
2. Develop benchmarks for government expenditure within the Stability and Growth Pact to ensure necessary funding for universal, affordable and high-quality public services (e.g. through the “golden rule”).
3. Access to decent housing must be ensured.
4. Support initiatives to integrate public service elements and fundamental rights in relevant EU sectoral initiatives.