Responding to the European Commission’s announcement of the SURE short-time work scheme, ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini said:
“We are very pleased the European Commission has listened to our request to fast track the launch of the SURE unemployment reinsurance scheme and support short-time work measures.
“The situation of working people affected by the COVID-19 breakdown is deteriorating every hour and the last thing Europe needs in the middle of this health emergency is mass unemployment and another economic crisis.
“The SURE mechanism should help fund the short-time work and income compensation schemes already put in place by many member states in order to avoid redundancies and ensure workers will keep receiving their wages.
“At the same time we ask the Commission to ensure these measures are taken in all member states and that support is extended to all groups of workers, including the self-employed and platform workers, in all sectors and for all sizes of companies.
“This scheme must be properly financed to make a real difference to European workers and that means a common debt instrument is urgently necessary.
“We urge the Eurogroup and the Council to take urgent decisions in order to make SURE immediately operational. European workers cannot wait longer.”
Notes:
ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling for her to “urgently establish” the SURE scheme: https://www.etuc.org/en/document/letter-sent-eu-institutions-emergency-measures-save-jobs-and-protect-workers-rights
The ETUC has published an analysis of the short-time work measures put in place in 18 member states: https://www.etuc.org/en/pressrelease/etuc-reveals-measures-won-unions-protect-jobs-and-wages-across-europe
