The European Commission has today approved an application from the Netherlands under the Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) for € 386 114 to help 435 workers made redundant by Heijmans N.V., a Dutch construction company, back into jobs.
The European Commission has today approved an application from the Netherlands under the Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) for € 386 114 to help 435 workers made redundant by Heijmans N.V., a Dutch construction company, back into jobs. The application will now be put before the European Parliament and the Council of the EU for decision. The application was submitted to the Commission on 4 August 2009.
"The EGF is one of the ways in which the EU is showing its solidarity with redundant workers," said Vladim í r Špidla, EU Commissioner for Employment. "The construction industry has seen demand plummet as a result of the current crisis and its workers are experiencing difficulties, so I am glad that today's decision will help former Heijmans workers to increase their skills and get back into the labour market as soon as possible."
The Dutch application relates to 570 redundancies at Heijmans N.V. – a company operating in the construction sector which was one of the first economic sectors to be affected by the current crisis. Because of the economic crisis, investors have been reluctant to engage in new building projects. At the same time, demand for new houses and offices has decreased due to declining consumer confidence and low house prices.
These redundancies have an impact in the Netherlands at national level, (because Heijmans N.V. has subsidiaries located all around the country), at regional level (because about 40% of the dismissals occurred in the province of Northern Brabant) and at local level, because 15% of the layoffs happened in Rotterdam. Both the province of Northern Brabant and the city of Rotterdam already suffered an above-average decline in economic activity in 2008.
The package of EGF assistance for the former workers of Heijmans N.V. will help 435 of the most disadvantaged of these dismissed workers back into employment by offering them career guidance and retraining. The total estimated cost of the package is almost €600,000, of which the European Union has been asked to provide EGF assistance of €386,114.
Background
There have been 30 applications to the EGF since the start of its operations in January 2007, for a total amount of over €156 million, helping some 35,300 workers. EGF applications relate to the following sectors: automotive (France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, Sweden); textiles (Italy, Malta, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain and Belgium); mobile phones (Finland and Germany); domestic appliances (Italy and Lithuania); mechanical/electronic (Denmark); computers (Ireland); crystal glass (Ireland); ceramics (Spain); construction (Netherlands and Lithuania) and furniture (Lithuania). Initial reports from the first cases supported by the EGF show strong results in helping workers stay in the labour market and find new jobs.
The EGF, an initiative first proposed by President Barroso to provide help for people who lose their jobs due to the impact of globalisation, was established by the European Parliament and the Council at the end of 2006. In June 2009, the EGF rules were revised to strengthen the role of the EGF as an early intervention instrument. It forms part of Europe's response to the financial and economic crisis. The revised EGF Regulation entered into force on 2 July and applies to all applications received from 1 May 2009 onwards. Heijmans is the fourth to benefit from the new crisis measures, after Dell (Ireland), Limburg and East and West Flanders (Belgium).