Press Releases
NISSAN - HELP FROM EU - Stephen Hughes MEP
Stephen Hughes, North East Labour MEP, has today written to Peter Mandelson to urge the government to make an application to the EU's Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGAF) for money to assist workers losing their jobs at Nissan and in companies supplying Nissan.
The €500B per annum fund provides money to help redundant workers get back into the labour market. This can, for example, include job search assistance, personalised training, promoting enterprise or assisting self employment. It can also provide complementary wage allowances for workers over 50.
Commenting today Stephen Hughes said:-
"The rules require our government to make an application for money from the fund. The application will need to show a link between the job losses and significant changes in global trade patterns and that is clearly the case at Nissan. A rapid decline in European market share in a particular sector is cited as a specific criterion.
"The financial crisis and the recession it has triggered are global phenomena.
"If an application was successful it would provide financial assistance direct to workers through government, not to the companies or through regional or local authorities.
"It's also clear under the rules that workers losing their jobs in companies supplying parts to the Nissan plant could be covered by the application."
Further information on the fund can be found at the following link:-
http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c10155.htm