Responding to petitions on tackling precariousness and the abusive use of fixed-term contracts (debate)
Jarosław Wałęsa, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Mr President, I would like to start by underlining the importance of petitions. This is the way that citizens communicate with us directly and inform us about breaches of EU law. For us, the EPP Group, precarious employment means employment that does not respect European and national law. We want to guarantee flexibility for employers but, at the same time, proper social security for all types of workers.
Now, I need to point out a few facts about this resolution. First of all, I would like to remind you that the conversion of a fixed-term contract into an indefinite one is not an obligation for Member States, but an exclusive national competence. We should not mix EU and national competences regarding labour and social policies. Secondly, when we speak about different directives, we have to recall the fact that they are in place especially to prevent abuses. Thirdly, when we refer to specific cases, we have to take into account all the observations of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
In addition to the current legislation, the Commission issued in December a proposal for a directive on transparent and predictable working conditions in the EU and adopted proposals for a European labour authority and for better access to social protection. I welcome these proposals aimed at improving the existing legislation.