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EFCI News – Issue 15 | March 2021
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EFCI News - Issue 15
THE EFCI AND ITS MEMEBERS SHOW THEIR ENGAGEMENT WITH GENDER EQUALITY
FEP together with the sectoral social partners, signed on 18 February 2021 a new agreement setting ambitious objectives to support cleaning companies in further promoting gender equality, reducing gender pay gaps, facilitating access to vocational training and fighting sexual harassment. Social Partners engaged to do so by providing companies with a wide range of tools developed thanks to the employers’ sectoral fund for economic and social innovation in cleaning industries, Fare Propreté.
ANIP-Confindustria was active on social media to highlight the great contribution of women to the Italian cleaning industry, especially in the fight to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
BIV also underlined how, with 70% of female employment in the German cleaning sector, women’s contribution is very 
significant. Indeed, as part of BIV image campaign on the cleaning and facility services’ personnel, many are the women interviewed who tell their story on how they contribute to the development of the industry.
Almega Serviceföretagen was also active on social media accounts to underline the Swedish industry’s contribution to the labour integration of women with a migrant background (as also showed in Almega’s publication on employment patterns of third country nationals in Sweden).
- The EFCI praised on its social media all the women in the industry and, especially in this last year, their key role to contain the spread of Covid-19. The EFCI also underlined how, given the steady levels of female employment in the industry, stabilized at 72% over the last 20 years, the sector plays an important role for women’s integration in the labour market.
SERVICES SOCIAL PARTNERS’ MEETING WITH COMMISSIONER SCHMIT
Juan Díez de los Ríos (EFCI’s President), Nicolas Schmit (Commissioner for Jobs and Social rights),Isabel Yglesias (EFCI’s Director), Andrea Nahles (Special Advisor to Commissioner Schmit), Fernando Sabino (Executive Director at APFS – Associação Portuguesa de Facility Services) during the online exchange of 10 March 2021
In the context of the Commission’s Report on Strengthening EU Social Dialogue , published on 2nd February, and adoption of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan on 4th March, EU Services Social Partners were invited on 10 March to provide their contributions and discuss with Commissioner Schmit and Ms Andrea Nahles, the future of the European social policy agenda.
In July 2020, Commissioner Nicolas Schmit appointed Ms Andrea Nahles as special advisor on social dialogue to prepare a report on how to strengthen and promote social dialogue and collective bargaining through capacity building. In preparation for the report, Ms Nahles held numerous meetings with key sectors and stakeholders, including the EFCI. In parallel, the EFCI together with eight other Services’ Social Partners published on 27th January a Joint Statement with recommendations on how to further strengthen sectoral social dialogue as well as cross-sectoral collaboration on aspects that have a significant social impact on the services industries. Ms Nahles’ report included a set of recommendations and initiatives that were also integrated into the Commission’s Action Plan to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights, presented on 4 March 2021.
During the meeting with Commissioner Schmit on 10 March, the EFCI shared its views on the key role that European and national services Social Partners play in ensuring worker’s social rights and shaping the future of social policies. EFCI’s President Juan Díez de los Ríos highlighted the key need for a strong European Social Dialogue and expressed concerns on how the employer’s views are not sufficiently taken into account in key Commission consultations and legislative proposals such as minimum wages and pay transparency. Furthermore, EFCI’s Director Isabel Yglesias underlined the importance of public recognition of skills and training in the services sectors and how the EFCI will contribute to it through the SK-Clean project.
To the Services Social Partners joint statement of 28 Jan on Strengthening sectoral social dialogue in the services industry: http://bit.ly/3t3r5VE
ALMEGA’S REPORT ON COMPANIES’ VIEWS ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
Almega’s report provides a clear picture of Swedish service companies’ views and concerns with regard to public markets. Against the results of the survey, answered by 1,564 companies, Almega identifies 3 main challenges with regard to public procurement procedures for selecting service providers:
- Price-alone based approach
- Non-essential requirements and time-consuming formalities
- Insufficient follow-up during the preparation of the tender and execution of the contract.
Against this background, Almega calls on public procurers to limit bureaucratic burdens for companies, use fewer but key criteria in procurement procedures and have a stronger focus on quality- based offers when selecting cleaning services’ contractors.
Moreover, and with regards to companies’ concerns for delayed or cancelled public contracts during the current pandemic, Almega underlines how the public sectors should be first in line to support viable businesses and use procurement as a strategic tool to inject liquidity into the services sectors, essential to the well-functioning of the collectivity.
To Almega’s press release on the repot.
SOCIAL DIALOGUE ENSURES BETTER WORKING CONDITIONS
The (German) Economic and Social Research Institute’s report on Collective Bargaining Coverage: development and effects, published on March 22nd, provides diverse and very relevant indicators of the importance of independent sectoral social dialogue in the services sector. It shows that workers covered by a collective agreement in the services sector earn on average a 25 % more and work 1 hour less per week. Moreover, it shows how, the industrial cleaning sector in Germany has been one of the first to harmonise east and west salaries, breaking with a historic differentiation and ensuring full equality and working conditions for all of our sector’s agents in Germany.
This report is yet another basis that supports the key importance to protect independent sectoral social dialogue in Europe and the need to keep investing in capacity building initiatives for social partner organisations, as repeatedly highlighted by the EFCI. The EFCI is actively advocating for the key role of sectoral social dialogue and the independence of social partners in the context of the negotiations around the European Commission’s proposal for an EU Directive on adequate minimum wages.
To EFCI’s statement on the Commission’s proposal for an EU Directive on adequate minimum wages.