MEPs approve €11.6m in job-search aid for redundant workers in France and Greece

Parliament approved aid on Thursday worth €6,468,000 for 557 redundant workers from the “Larissa” supermarket in Greece and €5,146,800 for 2,132 former drivers for the road haulage and delivery firm MoryGlobal SAS in France. The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) aid will still need to be approved by the Council of Ministers on 6 June.

In Greece, Larissa’s 422 employees and 135 worker-owners were made redundant when the cooperative supermarket was declared bankrupt. In France, MoryGlobal’s 2,132 lorry drivers and their delivery colleagues lost their jobs due to its bankruptcy and closure. Both bankruptcies resulted from the prolonged global financial and economic crisis which has devastated the Greek economy and deeply affected the road haulage sector.

The measures, co-financed by the EGF and the Greek and French governments, would help the workers to find new jobs by providing them with occupational guidance and other assistance schemes.

The aid request from France was passed by 540 votes to 73, with 2 abstentions. The request from Greece was approved by 551 votes to 67, with 2 abstentions.

Background

The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) was introduced in 2007 as a flexible instrument in the EU budget to provide support, under specific conditions, to workers who have lost their jobs as a result of mass redundancies caused by major changes in global trade (e.g. delocalisation to third countries).

The EGF 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.

Procedure: Budgetary

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REF. : 20160524IPR28824