New EU rules which will see British jobs being advertised Europe-wide have gained the backing of Conservative Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).
The Parliament’s Committee of Employment and Social Affairs today voted in favour making it easier for jobseekers across Europe to find jobs in Britain and all other member states. The aim of the new rules is to allow citizens of countries with high unemployment rates to take advantage of the jobs market in countries such as the UK, where unemployment is low.
In an attachment to the text of the legislation, the author of the draft bill, Austrian MEP Heinz Becker explains: “The freedom to work anywhere in the EU is a key aspect of freedom of movement, one of the four basic freedoms on which the EU is founded, and thus also of EU citizenship.
“The mass unemployment affecting some parts of Europe provides a compelling argument in favour of improving labour mobility within the EU, creating new employment opportunities for workers and helping employers to fill vacancies more quickly and more effectively.”
The bill includes articles which will force Britain to publish all job applications advertised nationally on the EURES jobs portal hosted by the European Commission. The portal employs 850 employment experts tasked with linking jobseekers to employers across the EU.
In addition, the bill tasks the Commission with creating a standardised “classification of skills, competences, qualifications and occupations,” and tasks member states with creating and maintaining an inventory of all “national, regional and sectoral” provision within those classifications, so that jobseekers can be more easily matched with jobs.
The Conservative MEP Anthea McIntyre has tabled a number of amendments to the bill, including one inserting into the draft, the text: “All job vacancies made publicly available should be published on the EURES portal, in accordance with the Member State’s own practice.” That amendment was passed by the committee.
Her addendum to that statement, which would have allowed employers to have discretion over whether or not to post a job to the EURES portal, was not passed.
A source in Brussels has told Breitbart London that Ms McIntyre voted in favour of the legislation as a whole.
UKIP MEPs Jane Collins and Tim Aker said today: “UKIP is appalled that Conservative MEPs are supporting legislation which would make it compulsory for all British jobs, apprenticeships and training programmes to appear on a European Commission website aimed at workers across the EU.”
“The website, called EURES, tells anyone in the EU who wants to work in the UK that there are 850 Eurocrat advisers available to them ‘to provide information, advice and recruitment/placement (job-matching) services’ in Britain.”
“The amendment which Cameron’s Conservatives have tabled says that any job, apprenticeship or training programme advertised in the UK be put into this EURES system.”
“The website also gives information on British welfare benefits available to foreign workers looking for jobs in the UK. It is bad enough that such a website exists. What is appalling is the Conservative MEPs support advertising more British jobs to the whole of the EU.”
“The Tories clearly don’t believe in controlling immigration. Only UKIP is on the side of British workers.”
Breitbart London approached the press office for the Conservative MEPs for a statement from Ms McIntyre or the Conservative delegation. At the time of publication, there has been no comment.
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