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Blog Dennis de Jong

20 January 2013

Dennis de Jong:

The struggle in Brussels over equal pay for equal work

The negotiations in the European Parliament over the proposal for improved enforcement of the posted workers’ directive, which governs the rights of workers employed by their firms to work outside their usual country of residence, is hotting up. For the SP and other left parties the battle has in the end come down to the question of enforcement of the rule of equal pay for equal work, which implies also no more lodging of Eastern Europeans in sheds and neither underpayment nor extortion via abusive employment agencies. For many right-wing parties the emphasis is certainly not on these aspects. On the contrary, they want employers saddled with as little surveillance as possible, because otherwise the free movement of services would be endangered. This division is symbolic of the enduring furious struggle for Europe’s soul. Do we want a Europe given over to the ‘free’ market, or a Europe in which human dignity occupies centre stage? The SP, of course, would choose the latter.

13 January 2013

Dennis de Jong:

A Social Agenda for Europe – but which one?

It was all over Dutch television this weekend: more and more people are demanding a social agenda for Europe. Clearly a social agenda is needed, as is demonstrated by figures published this week by the European Commission which show that within the EU one in every four young people is unemployed, while one in four people is at best in danger of falling into poverty, or is already living in poverty. This can’t continue. But Eurocrats would not be Eurocrats if they didn’t immediately deduce from this that Brussels must have more power. One of the TV discussions centred on contracts between the member states and the European Commission regarding social reforms, in exchange for which countries would receive more money. If that’s Europe’s social agenda, we’d better be on our guard. A social agenda could also, however, consist of less austerity fetishism and more giving priority to social rights. That seems to me a much better way out of the crisis and out of the catastrophe that is hitting more and more ordinary people in Europe.

6 January 2013

Dennis de Jong:

Another €30.000 refunded – will anyone follow suit?

Each month every Euro-MP receives €4,299 for ‘general expenses’. From this you may, for example, buy office equipment or cover the travel and hotel costs incurred by guest speakers. There is no need, however, to account for any of this spending. On 25th January I will make another attempt in the European Parliament’s Budgetary Control Committee to address this. Every cent of taxpayers’ money should be accounted for.

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