The Porto Social Summit (07/05/21) is happening in a context of a deep social and economic crisis in the EU.

Over 10 years since the economic peak of the crisis and the implementation of draconian EU neoliberal policies, the measures in the face of COVID-19 are exacerbating the socioeconomic situation.

The consequences of EU policies and the absence of coordination and solidarity among Member States were exposed, while the measures necessary to support Member States in severe difficulty – and boost economic and social recovery – were not taken in time and at sufficient scale.

Once again, EU proclamations have not been accompanied by concrete action or policy shifts, or are denied by the reality that its policies impose.

Working people demand a clear break from policies based on austerity, privatisation and deregulation that have been devastating for the social and health system, hurting working people and their families.

They need effective policies that fight against exploitation, precarity, the deterioration of labour and social rights, poverty and social exclusion.

Working people demand a true policy shift from neoliberal to progressive policies, with the key objectives of full-employment, the right to work with rights, dignifying working conditions, higher wages and income for workers, pensioners and their families, better public services, and improved living conditions.

The Left in the European Parliament calls for:

• A genuine social convergence policy towards progressive labour and social policies aiming at achieving full-employment and fostering a general wage increase, as well as a minimum wage increase at Member State level, to value the income of the workers and their families, while fostering equality between women and men by eliminating the wage and pension gaps;
• The upward promotion of labour rights, defending collective bargaining and thriving for the eradication of precarious working relations;
• The reduction of working time without loss of income, while strengthening working time regulation and fostering the conciliation of work and private life;
• Promoting the transition to secure open-ended forms of employment and combatting atypical forms of work, including bogus self-employment;
• Concrete measures to address the situation of platform workers, guaranteeing them equal rights including the right to unionise, collective bargaining, decent wages, statutory sick leave, annual leave and social security protections, rejecting the creation of a differentiated workers status as being pushed by online corporations;
• Decisive action for wealth redistribution, in particular taxing billionaires and multinationals, strengthening health and social systems including the lifting of vaccine patents, combating in-work poverty with secure and well remunerated jobs, and guaranteeing labour protection under the green and digital transformations;
• Strong investment in public services, in particular healthcare, education, housing and child, elderly and homeless care;
• Strengthening the public social security systems and social protection, and fighting the increase in the retirement age;
• Prioritising the fight against poverty and social exclusion by setting an overarching European anti-poverty strategy, with ambitious targets and concrete measures for substantially reducing poverty and ending extreme poverty in Europe by 2030;
• Establishing a European legal framework to guarantee adequate, accessible Minimum Income schemes for everyone who needs them throughout the life cycle;
• A State response to ensure decent housing for all and guarantee access to universal, free and quality public healthcare and education systems;
• Concrete measures to ensure that people with disabilities can live independently, have adequate living standards and social protection and fully enjoy the right to decent work with dignifying pay;
• The repeal of the EU Economic Governance Framework and the replacement of the Stability and Growth Pact with a Sustainable Development and Employment Pact;
• A Social Progress Protocol, in order to ensure that workers’ rights are put above the neoliberal rules of the internal market.