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EU ministers discuss measures of work-life balance in Tallinn

BC, Tallinn, 20.07.2017.Print version
Under the aegis of the Estonian presidency, EU ministers for social protection and labor are exchanging views and best practices at the Tallinn Creative Hub (Kultuurikatel) on Wednesday and Thursday on how member states can support people in finding ways to balance work and private life, informs LETA/BNS.

On Wednesday, the discussions focused on finding solutions that could give people better opportunities for starting a family and taking care of relatives while also being active in the labor market. On Friday, the ministers will discuss men's role in care responsibilities.

 

"On the one hand, people expect to receive flexible solutions in order to organise their time between work and family. On the other hand, of course, employers are mostly interested in earning a profit," said Estonia's Minister for Health and Labor Jevgeni Ossinovski.

 

"People usually prefer to work for an employer who offers them better solutions for reconciling work, family, and private life. In addition, this will make the employer more attractive to people looking for a job as well," he said.

 

The ministers exchanged views and best practices and explained the different measures taken in order to face the challenges that come with the new forms of living and working. Modern work-life balance measures require a harmony between the needs of the employees and the capacity of the employers.

 

"Our current work-life balance measures mainly address classical family types and working models, and usually women are the ones to carry the care burden. We need   men to take a bigger role in domestic and family related responsibilities if we wish to not let the potential of our highly educated women go to waste," Minister for Social Protection Kaia Iva said. "Europe has a lot to gain – financially and in terms of people's well-being – from a more equal sharing of care responsibilities."

 

A more equal sharing of the care burden would give women better opportunities to work. In addition, this would help to minimize the gender gap in employment, pay, and pension. The economic loss due to the gender employment gap amounts to 370 billion euros per year.

 

Furthermore, Estonia, and the two next presidencies, Bulgaria and Austria, signed a trio declaration on Wednesday which outlines how these three member states will promote gender equality in Europe for the next 18 months.






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