Spain: €720,000 to help 303 former clothing industry employees find new jobs

Met dank overgenomen van Europees Parlement (EP) i, gepubliceerd op donderdag 22 februari 2018.
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    Five manufacturers in the Galicia region affected
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    All five companies suffered from increased imports of textiles into the EU
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    EU funds to cover measures such as job-search assistance and monetary incentives

303 workers in Spain, laid off by five apparel manufacturers should receive EU aid worth €720,000, following a Budgets Committee vote on Thursday.

The former employees were made redundant by five firms in the municipality of Ordes in Galicia. Increased imports of textiles and clothing into the EU forced down prices, which caused the manufacturers to produce more offshore in lower-cost, non-EU countries. This in turn led to the closure of various companies in Galicia and lay-offs within the Caramelo, Confecciones Deus, Deus Creaciones, Viriato and Shivshi companies.

Overall, unemployment in Ordes rose by 40% from December 2016 to April 2017. In Galicia as a whole, 26% of clothing companies shut down over the period 2010 to 2016.

The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) money will complement measures taken by the Spanish authorities. All 303 redundant workers will benefit, 83.5% of whom are women between the ages of 30 and 54. Six types of measures are planned: preparatory workshops, occupational guidance, training, job-search assistance, tutoring after reintegration into work and monetary incentives.

The Budgets Committee approved the aid by 30 votes to 1, with 1 abstention.

Next steps

To take effect, the aid has to be approved by the Parliament as a whole on 1 March, and by the Council on 27 February.

Background

The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund contributes to packages of tailor-made services to help redundant workers find new jobs. Its annual ceiling is €150 million.

Redundant workers are offered measures such as support for business start-ups, job-search assistance, occupational guidance and various kinds of training. In most cases, national authorities have already started the measures and will have their costs reimbursed by the EU when their applications are finally approved.

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