Left MEPs stand in solidarity with their 60 colleagues in the catering services at risk of losing their jobs. We call on the administration of the European Parliament to assume its heightened responsibility, in the midst of the pandemic and social crisis, to guarantee their jobs.

After months of uncertainty Compass Group, the company the Parliament contracts for the provision of catering services, has announced that it is laying off over 500 of its workers, including 60 employed in the Parliament’s cafeteria, sandwich bar, canteen and restaurants. We know many of them personally and we know that without them the Parliament would not be able to function. They are essential workers in every sense of the word, several of whom have been working in the European institutions for up to 30 years. The Left group will raise the problem at the Conference of Presidents and the Bureau of the European Parliament.

MEP Marc Botenga (PTB, Belgium) demands that the Parliament administration intervene:

“Under its outsourcing policy, the Parliament has a contract with Compass Group, whose workers do not enjoy the same rights and conditions as the workers it directly hires. We vehemently oppose the firing of our colleagues, essential workers of the Parliament, especially under the current harsh social and economic crisis. Considering that several member states have temporarily suspended dismissal procedures, the Parliament must lead by example and stand by its workers.

“The Parliament has the budget and policy options to guarantee their job security. We demand that the administration hold urgent negotiations with Compass Group with the aim of preventing the layoffs. Furthermore, the Parliament must consider the option of direct employment for catering staff, in the same vein as other services it has recently brought in-house,” Botenga concluded.

Read here the letter MEPs Manon Aubry, Martin Schirdewan, and Dimitrios Papadimoulis sent to the President of the European Parliament on this issue.

201215_Letter_GUENGLAubrySchirdewanPapadimoulis_Sassoli