Het Fonds voor de Aanpassing aan de Globalisering van de EU keert € 633 077 uit aan 590 Poolse arbeiders in de Poolse verwerkingsindustrie (en)
The European Commission has approved an application from Poland for assistance from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). The € 633 077 requested by the Polish authorities will help 590 redundant workers back into employment. The application was submitted after 1 104 employees were made redundant from two manufacturers of cables and wiring systems for the automotive market located in the Polish region of Wielkopolskie. The application will now be sent to the European Parliament and the Member States (the EU's Budgetary Authority) who have to approve the release of the funds.
"The automotive industry in Europe has seen demand plummet and its workers are experiencing difficulties. I am confident that today's decision will help these Polish workers return to employment by increasing their skills," said EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion László Andor.
The Polish application relates to 1 104 redundancies in two manufacturers of cables and wiring systems for car production, SEWS Polska Sp. z o.o. and Leoni Autokabel Polska Sp. z o.o. Both enterprises are located in the western Polish region of Wielkopolskie. The dismissals were a consequence of the financial and economic crisis which resulted in a substantial decrease in demand for vehicles and car components. In the first half of 2009 production of cars in Poland was only 48.7 % of the production in the corresponding period in 2008, and in the truck sector, production was only 27% of the production in the corresponding period in 2008.
The three most affected districts (Ostrzeszów; Leszno and Rawicz) are all in the southern part of the Wielkopolskie region and the impact of the redundancies is locally significant. The redundancies from the two manufacturers made up 9 % of the total number of those unemployed in Leszno, 14.8 % in Rawicz and 33,4 % in Ostrzeszów, during the year from December 2008 to December 2009.
The financial assistance from the EGF is targeted at the 590 workers with the greatest difficulties for re-integration into the labour market. The package of EGF assistance will help the car workers of Wielkopolskie by offering them on the job training, tailor-made training and retraining, aid for self-employment, equipment and refitting of workplace and training allowances. The total estimated cost of the package is almost one million euro, of which the European Union has been asked to provide EGF assistance of € 633 077.
Background
There have been 65 applications to the EGF since the start of its operations in January 2007, for a total amount of about €373.6 million, helping more than 70,000 workers. EGF applications relate to the following sectors: automotive (France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, Sweden); textiles (Italy, Malta, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain and Belgium); mobile phones (Finland and Germany); domestic appliances (Italy); computers and electronic products (Ireland and Portugal); mechanical/electronic (Denmark and Germany); repair and maintenance of aircraft and spacecraft (Ireland); crystal glass (Ireland); ceramics and natural stone (Spain); construction (Netherlands, Ireland and Lithuania); carpentry and joinery (Spain); electrical equipment (Lithuania) publishing and printing industry (Netherlands), furniture (Lithuania), retail trade (Czech Republic and Spain) and wholesale trade (Netherlands). Final reports from the earlier cases supported by the EGF show strong results in helping workers stay in the labour market and find new jobs.
The EGF, an initiative first proposed by President Barroso to provide help for people who lose their jobs due to the impact of globalisation, was established by the European Parliament and the Council at the end of 2006. In June 2009, the EGF rules were revised to strengthen the role of the EGF as an early intervention instrument. It forms part of Europe's response to the financial and economic crisis. The revised EGF Regulation entered into force on 2 July 2009 and applies to all applications received from 1 May 2009 onwards.
Further information
EGF website : http://ec.europa.eu/egf
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