Improving and enforcing working conditions of trainees and combating regular employment relationships disguised as traineeships (‘Traineeships Directive’)

Inclusion Europe, the movement representing 20 million people with intellectual disabilities and their families, supports the aim of this directive, to address issues of equality and inclusiveness, such as fair pay and access to social protection. This proposed directive aims to help Member States improve and enforce working conditions for trainees.

Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence University of Pavia Directive proposal COM(2024)132 In the light of the objectives of the directive, and in particular of the desire to strengthen the capacity of traineeships to represent an opportunity to gain experience, skills and facilitate the access to the labour market, convinced that the shared objective of institutions, enterprises and associations must be to strengthen…

Attached feedback from the Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU) and the European Apprentices Network (EAN) with reference to consultative information by VET student apprentices on the Traineeships proposed Directive. OBESSU and the EAN remain available for any further questions and consultations might the EC require more information regarding the content of this feedback.

Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG) is a Spanish national, intercultural, non-profit social organisation that has been working for more than 40 years for the equality and promotion of the Roma people. It develops, among others, programmes to improve the education, employment and housing of Roma people in Spain and Europe, as well as political advocacy to place the Roma issue on the European political agenda.

Fundación ONCE would like to commend the European Commissions proposal for a Directive on improving and enforcing working conditions of trainees and combating employment relationships disguised as traineeships. According to the European Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS), there were 3.1 million trainees in the EU in 2019.

The German Social Insurance Fund (DSV) welcomes the package of measures which, compared to the 2014 Quality Framework for Traineeships, put more emphasis on social protection. At the same time, DSV points out that workers and workers must have easy access to information on social security coverage. This can be ensured, for example, by existing information pages.

Filed in German · English published by the European Commission

Position paper on Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on improving and enforcing working conditions of trainees and combating regular employment relationships disguised as traineeships (‘Traineeships Directive’). Tallinn, 18 June 2024 Introduction The issue of exploitation of trainees is a significant concern in today’s labor market.

Opening of the attached position paper · the full paper is on the Commission’s record (source link above)

Retailers and wholesalers welcome the Commissions objective to tackle regular employment relationships disguised as traineeships. Retailers and wholesalers strongly oppose all forms of exploitation of trainees, regardless of whether they are undergoing their traineeships as students or workers. However, the pursuit of that goal should be proportionate and ensure it remains desirable to offer traineeships.

The detailed version of CEMR's contribution is available attached. The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) is the broadest European association of local and regional governments. We are the only organisation that brings together one million democratically elected European politicians in 60 member associations from 40 countries.

Traineeships play a crucial role, not only in providing practical experience to young people but also in fostering the skills required to maintain competitiveness within the business sector. While protecting trainees is imperative, it is crucial to strike a balance with the demands placed on businesses.

We welcome the European Commissions initiative to revise and improve the 2014 Council Recommendation on a Quality Framework for Traineeships in order to improve quality and inclusiveness. We salute the majority of measures included in the proposal for a Directive, with the caveats below. Over 6 million Roma live in the European Union, its largest minority.

SVENSKT NÄRINGSLIV SWEDISH ENTERPRISE Stockholm, 27 May. 24 Comments from the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise on the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive on improving and enforcing working conditions for trainees and combating regular employment relationships disguised as traineeship, and proposal for a Council Recommendation on a reinforced Quality Framework for Traineeships.

Opening of the attached position paper · the full paper is on the Commission’s record (source link above)

Traineeships should be available to all young people, with transparent information about benefits and social protection. For us, as a trade union, it is important that the status of traineeships is included in the collective agreements. Why? First of all, traineeships are an important springboard for young people to enter the labor market.

The use of a Directive itself immediately makes the instrument stronger, supporting on the one hand the clarification and the adoption of the minimum criteria that must be applied and on the other, pushing for action and supporting the Member States in doing so.