kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
plaza. it is important that the experience gained by the government from working with stakeholders on compensation contributes to ensuring that ultimately a sustainable system for insurance and compensation can be established in bangladesh in the future.
finally compensation is one of the burning issues and it was not directly covered by the compact.
it is also important that the implementing regulations address unfair labour practices including remedies.
it also highlighted the world's shared responsibility for taking action to redress the situation given the links between the garment workers in bangladesh and consumers all around the world. and let us not forget that eu citizens are the largest consumers as regards clothes made in bangladesh. through the bangladesh sustainability compact the eu the us the government of bangladesh and the international labour organisation referred to as the compact partners' have pledged their engagement to improve labour rights and working conditions in the bangladesh garment and knitwear industry.
the commission continues to encourage garment companies and retailers to play their full part in the rana plaza donors trust fund regardless of whether they produced or sourced from rana
as we know one one hundred lives were claimed and over a thousand people were injured.
since october two thousand and fourteen the commission has noted and welcomed the continued progress made by the government of bangladesh to increase capacity and resources for safety inspections on buildings and factories a responsibility they must fully assume in the long term.
the bangladesh industry association is also playing its role by actively raising awareness among its members of workers' and trade union rights and the importance of a constructive social dialogue.
we hear that work is progressing but i would urge the government of bangladesh to ensure that there are no further delays in adopting the rules and that all stakeholders contribute constructively to the process.
madam president two years on from the rana plaza disaster we should be congratulating all on the progress we have made to improve safety in the clothing industry happy that victims have received compensation and safe in the knowledge that it will never happen again but we are very far from this happy position.
we are still stuck with the crazy model of over consumption throwing away clothes once they are last season and they are all costing the lives of the poor and voiceless people who are making them.
so it is essential to mark this second anniversary.
we must continue to fight for the change bangladeshi women so desperately need.
but good progress is being made public awareness about production methods is improving and we now have the sustainability compact with the bangladeshi government the eu and the ilo.
we need due diligence for garment companies that outsource production to third countries with binding measures on traceability and transparency. it is not impossible and it is our responsibility to make sure that those vulnerable people get our protection because the clothes they make make us feel good.
they keep commerce moving and make huge profits for multinationals.
all from the sweat of their own labour. if the bangladesh national laws supposed to protect and compensate the workers are not enforced if the multinational companies are slow in implementing decent working conditions then it has to be up to us the regulators and the consumers to take that action.
so we need to have those binding rules that the right of the house has just rejected.
maybe you can explain how if not by binding rules we are going to make sure that the goods that are being sold here are in line with the most decent normal and basic human rights and the most basic working laws.
i think that is something that we as legislators have to stand up for. we cannot excuse ourselves and leave it to the consumers.
we cannot leave this to bangladesh.
it is our common responsibility.
we also condemn the continued repressive measures in the area of internet censorship as over one thousand websites remain blocked in bahrain.
it is reported that political and human rights activists journalists and medical personnel are being unfairly tried in military and civilian courts.
such prosecutions must be stopped immediately and those officials who fail to implement the fair trial rules must be held accountable.
she raised this matter several times with the bahraini foreign minister and she met with the king himself in april last year.
in recent months we have unfortunately witnessed arbitrary arrests ill treatment and sometimes even torture of detainees trials carried out without the appropriate guarantees and restrictions of fundamental freedoms.
the eeas and the eu delegation in riyadh which is accredited to bahrain are engaged in regular visits and dialogue with the bahraini authorities. the eu welcomes the decision taken by the king in june two thousand and eleven to set up an independent commission of inquiry to shed full light on the human rights violations during the unrest.
the eu has expressed its willingness to provide concrete support to the bahraini government in this challenging task through the provision of assistance and expertise.
it also remains essential that a serious dialogue be opened between the authorities and the opposition.
notably to the group of some twenty medical staff and to several human rights defenders will be revoked.
the opposition groups have to play their part in making this possible because in the absence of such a dialogue genuine and lasting national reconciliation will not take place. finally it is our hope that the sentences given by the so called national safety courts'
all those individuals must be given a fresh trial before civilian courts with all the guarantees arising from bahrain's domestic legislation and from the relevant international conventions.
it will be very important to implement these recommendations fully and rapidly.
the bahraini government is now implementing the recommendations contained in the report that the commission published in november.
respect for human rights standards still needs to be improved and the national reconciliation process still has to be put on a more solid footing.
high representative catherine ashton issued last year no less than eight statements on bahrain calling for dialogue respect for human rights and avoidance of violence.
madam president last month marked the anniversary of the peaceful popular movement calling for respect for fundamental human rights and democratic reforms in bahrain.
however the government led by the king has listened to the international community and engaged in meaningful dialogue with the protestors and their groupings and also with the shia majority parties and has established an independent commission of inquiry as well as proposing constitutional amendments to address all these concerns.
the setting up of a ministry for human rights and social development is also a step in the right direction to make sure that basic civil rights are being restored;
that ministry will uphold the highest international human rights standards.
the ecr group calls upon the bahraini authorities to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms but also to allow entry into bahrain for foreign journalists and international human rights organisations so that the criminal investigations which are now under way and indeed are already taking place can be observed by outsiders and that the implementation of the announced reforms which i welcome will be monitored by independent observers.
the establishment of the bahraini independent commission of inquiry is welcome but unless it is seen to have implementation measures which will bring concrete results it will not be of any value especially in bringing people who have been guilty of human rights violations to justice.
the reforms cannot succeed however when people responsible for the torturing and killing of bahraini civilians are not brought to justice.
i encourage the bahraini government to drop the charges against peaceful protesters and medical personnel who helped the injured release the detained and start independent investigations into the grave acts of violence against peaceful pro democracy protesters. the bahraini government has made many mistakes and has lost international credibility and respect.
when tens of thousands of peaceful protestors are met with violence and doctors face political trials investment is unattractive.
where tensions between shia and sunnis are growing and citizens face military trials there is a risk of a proxy conflict involving saudi arabia and iran.
eu based companies in bahrain should take back fired employees and we should freeze the export of weapons and technology from the eu that is used to repress people.
bahrain's authorities should put themselves on the right side of history and show their unconditional commitment to respecting human rights and make reforms.
social businesses can contribute enormously towards employment particularly for the disabled and disadvantaged but i think it is very important that we recognise that social businesses are real businesses and should make profits and reinvest them.
i am as keen to reduce administrative burdens for social enterprises as i am for any other kind of smes.
in the uk i have seen at first hand the wonderful work done by royal british legion industries.
a social enterprise employing disabled people they compete in the open market and they succeed.
they belong to a european wide organisation called homabilis sharing good practice and cooperating right across the eu.
the rules and the obligations should be applied to everyone which means fair competition.
i am in favour of free trade but under symmetric conditions of production and information. if they do not exist free trade is not fair trade and competition is not fair competition.
in addition the agreement provides for improved cooperation and greater transparency in terms of market data in the fruit and vegetable sector.
however it is the responsibility of the national customs authorities to follow up on the results of the investigation. recuperation is in progress but the publication of the data is strictly the responsibility of the competent customs authorities.
any change to the entry price system and its current application mechanism could have a detrimental impact on the results achieved so far.
the quantitative increase in the tomatoes quota has been limited to fifty two zero tonnes which is well below traditional trade levels and the increase is progressive and staggered over four marketing years thereby preserving current market shares and the traditional supply to the european union.
as a minister i managed to find a piece of european legislation which resolved the problem for a short period but unfortunately it was subsequently challenged and found not to apply precisely to the issues at stake.
something that i would urge at a very early stage.
the importance of having common minimum standards which are globally applied really goes without saying.
if it further promotes fishing as a viable industry for the small and medium operator especially family owned fishing boats then i certainly can support it because as it is fishing is dangerous and in many parts of the world exploitive not just of fish but also of people.
therefore if ratification will achieve a significant decrease in fishing fatalities ensure social security benefits for fishermen and social benefits like medical care and the dole then i welcome it and encourage its ratification.
member states should promote shared parental responsibility. equality at work is also about removing stereotypes and changing mentality.
as long as women are considered more for how they look than for how they perform at work inequality will not be achieved.
women and men should also have the same opportunity to combine family and career.
it should be easier for women to start a business and to be entrepreneurs.
to have a job and economic independence are key for women's equality and in particular now for the integration of migrant women in our society. we need to create the conditions for all women to access the labour market without discrimination.
the selection criteria should be based on competence and skills.
mothers are not the only parents responsible for taking care of children.
do you want to fight discrimination or don't you?
in paragraph forty one you call for a reversal in the burden of proof between employer and employee.
you call for the introduction of sanctions at eu level that would exclude companies from procurement of goods and services financed with public subsidies.
are you aware that this would require a complete alteration in the uk judicial system?
let us talk about forced marriage;
finally in paragraph fifty you want the eu to conduct a study on the situations of working mothers mothers who choose to stay at home and women without children who have made the choice to work.
to find out how each affects the labour market.
let us speak out about abuses of women across the world.
shall we just throw away the concept of innocent until proven guilty?
in paragraph thirty seven you call for eu mandatory pay audits for listed companies in order to obtain gender data.
so are you saying that you want the eu to block companies from using public goods services and money if there is not an appropriate gender balance?
you have now started to contradict yourselves completely which i know is absolutely nothing new for this place but now it is so blatant. in paragraph thirty four you call for eu gender neutral job classifications and evaluation systems yet in paragraph thirteen you demand the introduction of binding gender quotas.
jobs based on the gender of a person or jobs irrespective of the gender?
picture. we have also recently announced our plans for a new initiative in the area of work life
by the end of this year member states should notify to the commission the national measures they have taken in accordance with the recommendation.
we will look specifically at measures to tackle pay discrimination to ensure equality in occupational pension schemes and to strengthen the implementation and enforcement of the legislation. the core task of national equality bodies is to promote equal treatment and to provide independent assistance to victims of discrimination.
let us look at the bigger
there needs to be better use of women's skills to allow them to contribute more to the economy as a whole.
we need improved trans inclusive diversity training and legal gender recognition across our member states as well as equality for women in the labour market now.
we need mandatory wage transparency and committed action from governments and businesses alike.
marriage and children are irrelevant to women's earning potential.
women are in effect punished because of society's expectations that they will bear children regardless of whether they have them or not.
on a related point we have to protect the independence and funding of national equality bodies which assist in cases of unfair treatment and we must likewise protect them from political interference. i am also delighted to see language in this report ensuring that trans people are protected under equality legislation. a recent study found that one third of trans people reported discrimination when seeking employment at
work. trans women earn twenty less than their other female colleagues and they are punished doubly for being a woman and for being trans.
single women without children earn less than their male colleagues.
it is gender that we are talking about not biological sex.
women earn less whether they have husbands or children or not. as the gender pay gap stands on average european women work sixty days without pay compared to european men. employers might think this is good value but it is shocking that it still happens. the best way to tackle wage inequality is to improve wage transparency but despite years of various instruments the problem persists. the time has now come for stronger action.
mr president equal treatment of men and women is a fundamental value of eu law and the principle of equal pay has been enshrined in the treaties since. one thousand nine hundred and fifty seven despite this long standing commitment to equality progress remains far too slow.
large companies listed on the stock exchanges in member states should be obliged to publish their data so that employees can see for themselves whether they are getting a fair deal.
that means legislative and non legislative measures and of course efforts from all the relevant stakeholders at both eu and national level.
ratification however should only be regarded as a first step implementation is the key when it comes to combating corruption.
the current requirement to have at least twenty five of the parliament as members of the military selected by the chief of defence services falls outside any common sense vision about what a legitimate government is.
in order to promote our values human rights development dialogue we need to have a very clear message.
pressure has increased on the rohingya minority to force them to leave the country and the deterioration of socioeconomic conditions continues.
the eu has several times issued declarations condemning violations of human rights. the eu has also tightened sanctions and in parallel we have pressed the neighbours of burma myanmar asean china india to use diplomatic pressure too and some of the neighbours are
but we also know that direct activities on human rights in burma are hardly possible. for instance the eu will not be invited to observe the elections so we have to utilise indirect measures.
by saying this i make it very clear that the eu does not want to isolate burma.
we should also know that the report of the united nations special rapporteur speaks a very clear language.
now the military government has promised elections in two thousand and ten as a step towards its gradual exit from power.
the bulk of our assistance goes to the countryside particularly to the delta which is still recovering from cyclone nargis.
in addition the eu has strongly supported the united nations efforts.
the military government has not responded to international calls to stop those human rights infringements and it has not released political prisoners including aung san suu kyi.
we have to engage directly on our human rights agenda with the authorities and we will continue to do so.
these measures have created difficulties for the military government but they have failed to make it change its behaviour.
we can only judge these elections when the electoral law is published and when we see if clear and fair arrangements are in place for the ballot.
we are in fact the biggest donors of humanitarian and related assistance to that country.
we back the special united nations rapporteur and are ready to help him.
in the meantime the eu is willing to engage with the present government to persuade it to use the opportunity of the elections in order to change the situation and to start a positive phase in the history of burma.
therefore human rights are built into all our assistance programmes.
i am also sure that we should not outsource our task of reminding myanmar of its obligations to neighbouring countries.
mr president i have lost count of the number of times over the years in this house that we have debated the serious and worsening human rights situation in burma but if we are ever tempted to soften our rhetoric against the brutal military junta we only have to look around our own parliament to remember why we need to maintain and increase the pressure on the generals.
she has consistently been denied a voice as have her supporters.
so the least we can do is speak up for them from here and promise them our unswerving support in their mission to bring about permanent democratic change in burma.
we have also raised the fate of the minority rohingyas who are once again bearing the brunt of a vicious campaign of discrimination and persecution by the army and many have had to flee to neighbouring bangladesh.
finally i would like to raise an institutional point.
law. given the wide scope and the wide range of rights and policy areas involved social security education labour law this was a very important issue and we are pleased that the council accepted this proposal. let me hope ms mathieu that parliament will endorse the agreement
this proposal is one of the main building blocks of the european union's labour migration policy. it is a complex proposal as it addresses both immigration and employment issues.
and thereby adopt the directive which will facilitate matters for potential employers and guarantee legal security for non eu workers throughout the european union.
as you are aware the commission presented this proposal back in two thousand and seven which seems like another century because since then we have arrived at the lisbon treaty but at that time our aim was and still is to simplify procedures by introducing one permit for residence and work while protecting migrant workers by guaranteeing them employment related rights on an equal footing with nationals.
if adopted by parliament and the council this directive will confirm the important contribution third country workers make to our economies and to our societies. the commission has already confirmed that the text agreed upon is in line with the original objectives. if the text is endorsed
the commission is very pleased that the last pending issue the reporting mechanism on implementation was also solved in a satisfactory manner. in line with that interinstitutional agreement the commission decided to propose in this specific case that member states provide explanatory documents when putting these eu rules into national
social security rights for registered unemployed workers who have earned them through previous contributions.
it wants third party migrants to enjoy comparable rights to those of eu nationals including working conditions social security and access to public services.
if citizens do not have exclusive rights then the concept of citizenship itself is meaningless.
mr president this directive calls for common rights for third party migrants working in the eu.
no prizes for guessing that britain will be top of their list as a destination.
if adopted it would remove what little rights remain or are still left to member states to determine their own immigration policy.
equally unsurprisingly i can tell you that uk independence party meps will vote against this directive.
but of course not all member states have the same level of social security and public services and of course a citizen of a state by definition enjoys the benefits of that citizenship or should enjoy the benefits of that citizenship that non citizens do not.
what this will mean is that third party migrants will flood to those states that have the highest levels of public housing social security and public services.
we promised at the time that measures to send home people who came and stayed irregularly in the eu would be accompanied by genuine legislation dealing with legal migration making it more coherent and human.
two thousand and twelve i hope parliament shares this ambition. the single application procedure for residence is the first one to be adopted;
i want to congratulate vronique mathieu for her determination during the entire process;
i dare to say that it is an honest attempt to provide people who want to come and study and work within the european union with a better mechanism to do so and also maybe to protect them from the humiliation they have to suffer in various member states at present.
however it is much better when compared to the situation in many member states.
a large number of countries outside the european union and a huge number of ngos from within and outside the eu expressed their disappointment and frustration.
this task has become one of the main priorities of the commission whose ambition is to see the entire package on migration adopted by the end of.
flood the market with any commodity and of course labour is seen as a commodity by globalists and the price will be driven down.