On 17 September the European Commission presented guidance to member states to help address long-term unemployment. CECOP, the European Confederation of Cooperatives active in industry and services, welcomes the Commission’s proposal to support employers engaged in the integration of long-term unemployed into the labour market.
According to the Commission, this could be done through financial incentives and partnerships with local authorities. CECOP has also said that member states should guarantee that co-operatives are not discriminated against and can benefit from these measures like any other enterprises.
“Characterised by a particularly high job tenure and strong economic stability, cooperatives in industry and services have been demonstrating, for decades, that they can be essential partners in providing a sustainable professional and social integration to the most disadvantaged citizens, being also resilient and innovative in the face of successive economic crises”, says Diana Dovgan, Policy Officer of CECOP.
Co-operatives in the industry and services are already contributing to tackling long-term unemployment. In Poland around 1,000 social co-operatives were created by at least one unemployed person. Meanwhile in Italy at least 35,000 people considered in a vulnerable situation are employed through social co-operatives. Worker co-operatives in Bulgaria are the main employer for people with disabilities.
There are currently more than 12m people in Europe that have been unemployed for over a year. Marianne Thyssen, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, commented: "Long-term unemployment is one of the most difficult and acute challenges caused by the economic crisis, affecting more than 12 million people in Europe. It exposes an increasing part of our population to the risk of poverty and social exclusion. We must act to bring them back to work. We cannot settle for an economic recovery that leaves so many Europeans behind. I am confident that today's proposal will make a difference for them with the full support of Member States, social partners and employers."
CECOP highlights that some EU member states already have incentives encouraging unemployed people to create a co-operative or employee owned enterprise through a worker buyout. Similarly, in France only in2014 alone employees saved around 800 jobs through worker buyouts. CECOP regrets that the Commission has not suggested incentives for initiatives of this kind. The organisation thinks the Commission could have also suggested measures to encourage young people currently unemployed to set up enterprises, including co-operatives.
“We thus appeal to the member states to embark on a clearer path away from pure austerity measures to embrace a resolute set of policies that will favour a fresh economic start for Europe”, said Bruno Roelants, Secretary General of CECOP.
Photo: Diana Dovgan (c) CECOP
