THE SOCIAL Europe exhibition is underway as part of a campaign aimed to raise public awareness about Europe’s social face
The exhibition was launched along the Ledra Street crossing point in Nicosia on Thursday by the Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities of the European Commission, Vladimir Špidla.
The aim of the ‘Do you know what Social Europe can do for you?’ exhibition is to inform Cypriots about the measures taken by the EU in order to create more and better jobs, improve working conditions and remove barriers to job mobility, combat social exclusion and poverty, promote diversity and equality between men and women, create better work/life balance, promote work opportunities for all ages and improve training and adaptability.
So what is the EU doing?
More and better Jobs
The EU aims to increase employment and fighting unemployment by creating more and better jobs. It focuses on attracting more people to enter – and remain – in work, making workers and enterprises more adaptable. The EU helps coordinate national strategies for increased employment. In Cyprus, the Service is hosted by the Labour Ministry.
Špidla noted that “unemployment in Cyprus is the lowest in the EU and the macroeconomic data of the country is considered healthy”.
n http:www.nrcg.dl.mlsi.gov.cy/gr/intro.htm
Improvement of working conditions
According to EU stats, every three and a half minutes, a person dies in a fatal accident at work. The EU is working with the member states, trade unions and businesses to make workplaces safer and healthier. Since 2002, there has been a 17 per cent fall drop in fatal accidents and a 20 per cent fall in accidents leading to absence from work of three days or more. This translates into over 800 lives saved each year.
n http://www.mlsi.gov.cy/mlsi/dli/dli.nsf/
Removing barriers to job mobility
Today, people have the right to move freely within Europe, the global economy is becoming more and more competitive and the population is ageing. To help bring out a true European labour market, the EU is aiming to make it easier for Europeans to move between jobs and countries and still be assured of receiving benefits and pensions.
n http://www.mlsi.gov.cy/mlsi/dl/dl.nsf/
Combating social exclusion and poverty
Approximately 78 million Europeans live at risk of poverty, 19 million of them children. Around 23.5 million people in the EU survive on €10 a day, and seven million on €5 a day. Even though EU countries have some of the most developed social protection systems in the world, too many Europeans still face exclusion. The EU combats this by helping its member states work together and share experiences. In Cyprus, the Office of the Ombudswoman is in charge of this.
n http://www.ombudsman.gov.cy/Ombudsman/ombudsman.nsf
Promoting diversity
Diversity can bring huge benefits to work and to society in general. Since 2000, in addition to laws covering gender equality, EU anti-discrimination legislation has been in place to ensure minimum levels of equal treatment and protection for everyone living and working in Europe. These laws are designed to ensure equal treatment irrespective of racial or ethnic origin, religion and belief, disability, sexual orientation and age.
n http://www.ombudsman.gov.cy/Ombudsman/ombudsman.nsf
Creating better work/life balance
Juggling work and private life can be difficult, especially for women who are still primarily responsible for domestic work and caring for children and other dependents. Sharing family responsibilities helps both sexes achieve a better work/life balance, giving both the opportunity to have a satisfying career and enjoy their private and family life. Europe promotes provision of childcare facilities, a suitable level of care for dependents such as sick and elderly relatives, adequate parental leave and new forms of working.
Promoting equality between women and men
Women are paid on average 15 per cent less than men, despite higher educational skills than men. Europe guarantees and protects the right to equal treatment and supports activities to promote equality in all aspects of life. A large body of European legislation texts is made up of various treaty provisions and directives concerning access to employment, equal pay, maternity protection, parental leave, social security and occupational social security, etc.
Špidla said yesterday that, “among the weaknesses of Cyprus is the wage disparity between men and women, which is at 24 per cent, perhaps the worst rate in the EU.”
In Cyprus, gender equality is a policy priority, and is promoted by the ‘National Machinery for Women’s Rights’ of the Justice Ministry.
n http://www.mjpo.gov.cy/mjpo/mjpo.nsf/dmlwoman_gr/dmlwoman_gr
Promoting work opportunities for all ages
Making the most of the full potential of older workers is crucial to supporting growth and employment and to modernising social protection. The EU is encouraging older people to enter and stay in the job market, extending working life through ‘active ageing’ strategies and more quality jobs.
n http://www.llp.org.cy/
Improving training and adaptability
The European Social Fund (ESF) is the EU’s main financial instrument for investing in people. It spends over €10 billion a year across all member states and regions. The main objective of the ESF is to support employment and help people to improve their education and skills to increase people’s opportunities to find and progress in a job.
The exhibition will be open to the public until today from 9am until 2 pm.
