For a Social and Ecological Economy

Part II

 

Reinforce Citizen’s and workers' rights

• Employees and citizens must have the right to challenge the monopoly of the main market players in what regards strategic information and decisions. This is essential to allow for a real change in political power and strengthen democracy in effective terms.

• The EL rejects all attempts to extend working time or boost total flexibility and individualization of work. We also reject the attacks against collective agreements and labour regulations.

• We defend a maximum average of 40 hours weekly working time, and at the European wide level we struggle for 35h weekly (all better national regulations should be preserved). 

• The EL demands:
  - A minimum wage equivalent to 60% of the average salary in each country. This must be implemented without endangering collective agreements.
  - A minimum income for unemployed people.
  - A minimum pension linked to the minimum wage and automatically adjusted to price evolution.
  It is necessary to guarantee a life with dignity.

• Flexible retirement age should be possible.

• Migrants regulations should focus on people and not on companies own interests, which are only looking for cheap labour and force millions of people to feed the black work market.

• We reject expulsion measures. Instead, we propose a regulation allowing for work permits and employment research.

 

Environment, food and countryside

• Climate and social questions are linked. Therefore, the current economic and social crisis cannot be separated from the challenges of climate change and reorienting our patterns of production and consumption.

• We are in favour of a new treaty, according to the 4th Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and sticking to the 2007-09 action plan in the EU, as well as to the implementation of all signed commitments:
  - Reduce global emissions by 30% compared to 1990 and 80% by 2050.
  - Increase of renewables use by 25% until 2020.
  - Reduce primary energy consumption by 25% in 2020 and by 2% each year, including a per capita limit.
  - An efficiency rate obligation must be introduced in industry and for energy intensive goods production.
  - EU subsidies must be linked to criteria such as energy efficiency and use of renewable energy.

• Kyoto cannot be reduced to a quota’s trading scheme. A new paradigm based on cooperation instead of competition is necessary. The funding of clean technologies, adjustment policies and transfer of technology to poorer countries are necessary.

• Access to water is a human right and must be guaranteed.

• Environmental policies must assure development of renewable resources, transformation of landscapes, food supply, and preservation of biodiversity: these are existential challenges and obligations in face of the future generations.

• The EL demand active steps towards:
  - Waste reduction;
  - Water protection;
  - Replanting;
  - Preventing desertification.
  
• These steps must be integrated in all policies and particularly in agriculture, energy and climate protection.

• The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) must be subject to a substantial review. It must assure the right of people to decide on their own agricultural policy everywhere in the world, by fully respecting the environment.

• Rural policy need to be comprehensive: sector based policies, support of biodiversity and rural employment, particularly for young people and women.

• CAP’s budget must be reoriented to the needs of rural areas, small producers, disadvantaged and mountainous areas.

• Agriculture in the 21st century should follow the principles of multifunctionality, protection of plant multiplicative material and the right of farmers to use their own seeds. 

• GMO’s should be banned in food production.

• Denominations of origin must be protected (also in non-European markets).

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This is an informal synthesis of a section from the EL Electoral Platform, which is available here in 7 national versions and languages.

 

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