At its June plenary session, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) devoted significant attention to social rights, worker protection, sustainable development, and the strengthening of democracy. Among other points, the Committee emphasized the importance of quality jobs, a fair mobility system, strong public services, and social protection.

One of the speakers at this active session was Tatjana Babrauskienė, the representative of the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation at the EESC.

In her speech, T. Babrauskienė stressed the need to amend provisions of Regulation (EU) 2021/691 to improve support for workers facing inevitable job losses due to restructuring and to enhance the effectiveness of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). She also emphasized the importance of strengthening support mechanisms for dismissed workers during restructuring processes. This includes retraining, assistance in returning to employment, income support, and other active labor market measures aligned with the goals of the EGF.

According to her, it is crucial to ensure that laid-off workers receive necessary individualized support and are able to transition to new employment opportunities.

The EESC endorsed T. Babrauskienė’s proposal and noted the critical importance of timely, personalized support, including skills development, re-employment services, income support, and mental health services. Special attention should be paid to workers’ digital and green skills.

The EESC:

• calls for continued eligibility for workers after their employment relationship has been terminated, follow-up applications and the inclusion of vulnerable or else excluded groups such as SMEs and subcontractor employees, older, disabled and low-skilled workers and the integration of social economy actors;

• recommends tailored support for regions most affected by restructuring and greater involvement of local authorities and social partners;

• urges sufficient funding for technical assistance, improved coordination across EU instruments (EGF, ESF+, JTF), robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks using qualitative and quantitative data and awareness-raising campaigns to ensure equitable and effective use of the EGF;

• stresses the importance of early and meaningful social dialogue, mandatory transition plans from beneficiary companies and full compliance with EU directives on information, consultation and collective redundancies.