Following the European Commission’s 2017 Proposal for a Directive on work-life balance for parents and carers[1], the new EU Work-life Balance Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/1158)[2] was passed by the European Parliament in April 2019 and entered into force later that year, in August. The aim of this Directive is to “improve families’” access to family leave and flexible work arrangements’, and ultimately “contribute to an increase in women’s employment and families’ economic stability.”[3] Moreover, it introduces a set of legislative and non-legislative measures, i.e. policy measures, designed to modernise the existing EU frameworks in the work-life balance area.[4]

Legal measures under the Directive include the introduction of paternity leave, whereby fathers must be able to take at least 10 working days of paternity leave around the time of birth of their child, compensated at least at the level of sick pay. Secondly, this Directive ensures that two out of the four months of parental leave are non-transferable between parents and compensated at a level that is determined by the Member State. Third legal measure is the introduction of carers’ leave, meaning that workers who provide personal care or support to a relative will be entitled to five days of leave per year. And lastly, the extension of the right to request flexible working arrangements to carers and working parents of children up to eight years old.[5]

On the other hand, policy measures aimed at supporting Member States in achieving common goals are: encouraging the use of European funds to improve the provision of formal care services; ensuring protection for parents and carers against discrimination or dismissal; and removing economic disincentives for second earners within families.[6]

How will this affect Serbia?

However, it is important to note that the Directive (EU) 2019/1158 lays down minimum requirements when it comes to legal measures, meaning that Member States have the right to set higher standards than those set in the Directive.[7] This is significant for Serbia, since it prescribes a very generous paid maternity leave of 12 months for the first and second child, and 24 months for the third and fourth child. Also, the Employment Act of the Republic of Serbia already recognises the possibility of paternity leave, both for the needs of care and for the exceptional circumstances prescribed by law. Therefore, harmonisation with EU legislation, whether it happens at the pre-accession stage or after becoming a member, will not reduce the benefits aimed at supporting childbirth, but will primarily refer to compulsory paternity leave, carers, as well as part-time work.

Background

As previously mentioned, prior to 2019, a set of instruments and legislative measures tackling the matters of work-life balance was already in place.[8] In the 1990s, the EU adopted two directives in the area of family related leave, including the Pregnant Workers Directive[9] and the Parental Leave Directive,[10] as well as the Part-time Work Directive.[11] The Parental Leave Directive was repealed and replaced in 2010, when a mechanism for encouraging men to take parental leave was introduced.[12] However, in 2017, with the launch of the Social Pillar which sets out rights that are meant to ensure fairer working conditions and better social protection and inclusion, NGOs and trade unions demanded an improved and modernised work-life balance framework in the EU.[13]^, [14] In response, the Commission launched a proposal and two years later, the Work-life Balance Directive was adopted and enforced.[15]

As is often the case, the Commission’s proposal was trimmed down during the inter-state bargaining in the Council, and the actual Directive did not include some of the most ambitious provisions. Namely, the Directive puts forward a provision for carers’ leave (at least five days of leave per year), but unlike the original Proposal, it does not require the carers’ leave to be remunerated. When it comes to parental leave, the new Directive extends the minimum period of parental leave that cannot be transferred from one parent to another from one to two months while the Proposal called for four months. Finally, although the Work-life Balance Directive extends the right to request flexible working arrangements to all working parents with children up to the age of eight, as well as caregivers, it is not an enforceable legal entitlement. A parent or a caregiver has the right to request such an arrangement, but the employers are not obliged to take these requests into account.[16]

Therefore, although this Directive represents a positive development within the EU legal framework, as it aims to improve the working Europeans’ work-life balance and contributes towards achieving a wider goal of gender equality, it only lays down the minimum standards and leaves Member States with significant room for manoeuvring. However, given the generosity of the existing legislation, in the case of Serbia, the adoption of this Directive and other EU rules within this area will likely produce positive effects only.

Authors: Nebojsa Lazarevic, member of the Negotiating Team for Accession Negotiations of Serbia to the EU and co-founder of the European Policy Centre (CEP), and Marija Ćirić, Project Assistant at CEP.

[1] European Commission, Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU (COM/2017/0253 final – 2017/085 (COD)).

[2] Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU (Work-life Balance Directive or Directive 2019/1158).

[3] European Commission (2019). Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion: EU Work-life Balance Directive enters into force. [online] Available from: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=89&furtherNews=yes&langId=en&newsId=9438 [Accessed 9 September 2020].

[4] European Commission (2019). Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion: Work-life balance. [online] Available from: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1311&langId=en [Accessed 9 September 2020].

[5] European Commission (2019). Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion: EU Work-life Balance Directive enters into force. [online] Available from: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=89&furtherNews=yes&langId=en&newsId=9438 [Accessed 9 September 2020].

[6] Ibid.

[7] EUR-Lex (2018). European Union directives. Summary of Article 288 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) – directives. Available from: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=LEGISSUM:l14527&from=EN [Accessed 10 September 2020].

[8] Chieregato, E. (2020). A Work-Life Balance For All? Assessing the Inclusiveness of EU Directive 2019/1158. International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations 36(1). Pp: 59-80.

[9] Council Directive 92/85/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health at work of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding (Pregnant Workers Directive or Directive 92/85/EEC).

[10] Council Directive 96/34/EC of 3 June 1996 on the framework agreement on parental leave concluded by UNICE, CEEP and the ETUC (Parental Leave Directive or Directive 96/34/EC).

[11] Council Directive 97/81/EC of 15 December 1997 concerning the Framework Agreement on part-time work concluded by UNICE, CEEP and the ETUC.

[12] Council Directive 2010/18/EU of March 2010 implementing the revised Framework Agreement on parental leave concluded by BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC and repealing Directive 96/34/EC.

[13] European Commission (2017). European Pillar of Social Rights: Building a more inclusive and fairer European Union. [online] Available from: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/economy-works-people/deeper-and-fairer-economic-and-monetary-union/european-pillar-social-rights_en

[14] Euractiv (2018). MEPs and NGOs urge ministers to reach deal on Work-Life Balance directive. [online] Available from: https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/meps-and-ngos-urge-ministers-to-reach-deal-on-work-life-balance-directive/ [Accessed 10 September 2020].

[15] Chieregato, E. (2020). A Work-Life Balance For All? Assessing the Inclusiveness of EU Directive 2019/1158. International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations 36(1). Pp: 59-80.

[16] Ibid.

Članak Parenting in Serbia: What will happen when we become a part of the EU se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

Thousands of Europeans have taken the streets of big cities like London, Paris and Berlin, not only expressing their solidarity with the protestors from across the pond, but also taking a stand against what has been going on in their own countries.[1]

What has triggered the protests?

Ever since a video of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, being murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 25 May went viral, a wave of protests has not only spread across the US (350+ different cities[2]), but went global.

Unfortunately, Mr Floyd’s murder is not an isolated case in the US when it comes to police-related deaths of African Americans, and the protests which bear the slogans ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘I can’t breathe’ symbolise a deeper frustration with systemic racism and police brutality black Americans face every day.[3] The protesters are not only asking for accountability[4] for what has happened to Mr Floyd, but also reacting to the ongoing police violence and mass incarceration of black Americans, racially biased justice system, socio-economic racial divides (these have inevitably contributed to African Americans being disproportionately affected by the coronavirus outbreak), Trump’s presidency and his racist remarks which are adding fuel to the fire, militarisation of the police etc.[5]

Is Europe innocent?

The answer to this question is straightforward – no.

Police brutality and racial profiling are not unknown occurrences to the black ethnic groups living in countries like Britain, France and Belgium. In Brussels, only in the past year, two teenagers of Moroccan heritage, Adil and Mehdi Bouda, lost their lives as a result of police violence[6]. In Paris, on 2^nd of June, 20,000 protestors were demanding justice for Adama Traoré, a black man who died at the hands of police officers in 2016.[7] In Britain, in 2017, two young black men, Rashan Charles and Edson Da Costa, died in similar circumstances after being restrained by police officers, while in 2010 a man named Jimmy Mubenga died on a plane on a Heathrow runway while being restrained by three immigration officers.[8]

Stories like this are not rare across Europe. However, the issue of systemic racism is rarely talked about, let alone addressed, leaving many white Europeans undereducated and ignorant of its extent.  In reality, almost no European country has been taking the necessary steps to combat police violence – France, the Netherlands and Belgium are still discussing weather racial profiling even happens and if it should be recognised by law.[9]  The media often cover the instances of police brutality without investigating them, and take police statements at face value. The victims are usually depicted as perpetrators and are blamed for his/her own death. For example, when a Caribbean man Mitch Henriquez was killed by the police in The Hague, a police statement said that he was ‘violent, intoxicated and resisted arrest’, in an attempt to justify his murder. [10]

In addition, the narratives in the media and school curriculums have done very little to transform how people see race.[11] In the UK, it has been widely acknowledged that the curriculum is ‘whitewashed’ (meaning: making something bad seem acceptable by hiding the truth[12]), where black history is either completely excluded or taught in terms of colonialism and slavery only.[13]

Does the EU play the part?

Responding to the events in the US and Europe, the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrel acknowledged that this was an ‘abuse of power’ that is not limited to the US and should be combated everywhere.[14] However, a question arises – how can the EU effectively combat racism when the voices of the minorities living in Europe cannot be heard in its institutions? Currently, in the European Parliament, 4% of the seats are taken by the members of racial/ethnic minorities, while they make up at least 10% of the EU population.[15] When it comes to the European Commission, the College of Commissioners contains no non-whites. When asked about it, the Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen replied: ‘I hope one day that changes, that would be good’. Although it is quite early on to judge whether she has done enough to address this, when the reporter pushed her on whether she intends to, von der Leyen said: ‘It is the right of the member states to present candidates, so I had to fight hard to get the commission composed. So we’ll see’.[16]

Will anything change?

It remains open, will Europeans see any change in the years to come?

Ultimately, it is of vital importance to take a look at a historical context – European countries, including Belgium, the UK, France and the Netherlands, still have not come to terms with legacies of slavery and colonialism which shape the lives of Afropeans today.[17] Until they do, it will be hard for Europeans to accept the fact that the problem exists and condemn it in an appropriate way.

Photo credit: June 7, 2020. People gather in Rome calling for justice for George Floyd, who died in May after being restrained by police in the US.   –   Copyright  AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

[1] Euronews (4 June 2020). Analysis: Is Europe any better than the US when it comes to racism? Available at: https://www.euronews.com/2020/06/04/analysis-is-europe-any-better-than-the-us-when-it-comes-to-racism

[2] Aljazeera (2 June 2020). Mapping US cities where George Floyd protests have erupted. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2020/06/mapping-cities-george-floyd-protests-erupted-200601081654119.html

[3] Deutsche Welle (1 June 2020). African Americans face deadly endemic police violence in US. Available at: https://www.dw.com/en/african-americans-face-deadly-endemic-police-violence-in-us/a-53646354

[4] ABC News (2 June 2020). Black Lives Matter co-founder says what protesters want is simple: Accountability. Available at: https://abcnews.go.com/US/black-lives-matter-founder-protesters-simple-accountability/story?id=71008710

[5] BBC News (5 June 2020). George Floyd: Five pieces of context to understand the protests. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52904593

[6] Euronews (4 June 2020). Analysis: Is Europe any better than the US when it comes to racism? Available at: https://www.euronews.com/2020/06/04/analysis-is-europe-any-better-than-the-us-when-it-comes-to-racism

[7] Time (4 June 2020). A Young Black Man Died in France  Years Ago in Police Custody. Now Thousands Are Protesting in His Name. Available at: https://time.com/5847396/france-protests-anti-racism/

[8] The Guardian (4 June 2020). Systemic racism and police brutality are British problems too. [Opinion piece by Kojo Koram] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/04/systemic-racism-police-brutality-british-problems-black-lives-matter

[9] Politico (3 June 2020). In Europe, we also can’t breathe. [Opinion piece by Yassine Boubout]. Available at: https://www.politico.eu/article/in-europe-we-also-cant-breathe-black-lives-matter-anti-racism-protests-george-floyd-police-brutality/

[10] Politico (3 June 2020). In Europe, we also can’t breathe. [Opinion piece by Yassine Boubout]. Available at: https://www.politico.eu/article/in-europe-we-also-cant-breathe-black-lives-matter-anti-racism-protests-george-floyd-police-brutality/

[11] Deutsche Welle (1 June 2020). Opinion: George Floyd killing opens racism wounds for European blacks. Available at: https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-george-floyd-killing-opens-racism-wounds-for-european-blacks/a-53648169

[12] Cambridge Dictionary. Available at: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/whitewash [Accessed 16 June 2020].

[13] The Telegraph (5 June 2020). Racism isn’t just a US problem; to fight it in the UK we need to change how it’s taught in schools. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education-and-careers/2020/06/05/racism-isnt-just-us-problem-fight-uk-need-change-taught-schools/ [Accessed 16 June 2020].

[14] The Guardian (2 June 2020). ‘Abuse of power’: global outrage grows after death of George Floyd. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/02/abuse-of-power-global-outrage-grows-after-death-of-george-floyd

[15] Euronews (4 June 2020). Analysis: Is Europe any better than the US when it comes to racism? Available at: https://www.euronews.com/2020/06/04/analysis-is-europe-any-better-than-the-us-when-it-comes-to-racism

[16] Euronews (4 June 2020). Analysis: Is Europe any better than the US when it comes to racism? Available at: https://www.euronews.com/2020/06/04/analysis-is-europe-any-better-than-the-us-when-it-comes-to-racism

[17] The Guardian (11 March 2020). European colonial powers still loth to admit historical evils. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/11/european-colonial-powers-still-loth-to-admit-historical-evils [Accessed 16 June 2020].

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