Provisional deal on support for workers affected by imminent job displacement

Those facing unemployment to also receive EGF support

New rules to also cover workers employed by enterprises’ suppliers and downstream producers

Deadline of 14 weeks after a company has informed public authorities of upcoming redundancies

Parliament and Council negotiators have reached a provisional agreement on a revision to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF).

The EGF is an emergency fund intended to support workers who lose their jobs in large-scale restructuring events and help them to find other jobs as quickly as possible. It can be used, for instance, to fund career advice, education and training, and entrepreneurship and business creation.

Under the new rules, this support will also apply to workers threatened by imminent redundancy, so that they can acquire skills that could help them find new employment in the same company or elsewhere, before facing unemployment. As is the case for the EGF in its current form, a request for support for workers facing unemployment will have to be approved by both the Parliament and the Council.

Suppliers and downstream producers

To reach as many workers as possible, Parliament made sure that the new rules cover workers employed by affected enterprises’ suppliers and downstream producers too, provided that the enterprise requesting support agrees to include them in the request to the member state. These workers are also often affected by major restructuring events.

Financing

The co-legislators agreed that a minimum of 40% of the annual maximum EGF should be reserved for applications concerning the cessation of activity of displaced workers or self-employed persons and should not exceed €4 million per application for workers affected by imminent job displacement.

Deadline

Following Parliament’s proposal, there will be a deadline for applying for EGF support in cases of imminent job displacement. This will be set at 14 weeks after a company has informed public authorities of upcoming redundancies.

Raising awareness

As the current EGF is not used to the same extent in all member states, the co-legislators call on the Commission to raise awareness of the funding opportunities available, promote their use, and reach out to EU countries with low EGF uptake.

Quote

Liesbet Sommen (EPP, BE), rapporteur on the file, said: “With this agreement, we are modernising the European Globalisation Fund into a true safety net for people in uncertain times. Workers confronted with restructuring or collective redundancies will gain faster access to targeted guidance, training and reskilling towards future-oriented, sustainable employment. We are ensuring that restructuring processes do not become a social bloodbath, but an opportunity to make people stronger. At the same time, we further strengthen workers' and trade unions' involvement in the process. By including suppliers and downstream producers we broaden the scope to more companies, especially SMEs. That way, more workers can potentially be helped.”

Next steps

Both the Parliament and the Council need to adopt the provisional agreement formally before the rules can enter into force.