EU plans to give 3 mln euros aid for redundant Finnish, Irish workers

The budgets committee of the European Parliament on Thursday decided through a vote to provide over 3 million euros (about 3.28 million U.S. dollars) aid for redundant Finnish and Irish workers to find new jobs.

According to the decision, Finland should get 2.6 million euros to help 1,200 redundant Finnish IT workers to seek jobs while Ireland should get over 400,000 euros for 108 redundant Irish aircraft repair workers.

The aid will be allocated through the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF), whose annual ceiling is 150 million euros to help redundant workers find new jobs with tailor-made services.

Sixty-nine Finnish computer programming firms let staff go over the autumn of 2014 and the spring of 2015, after Nokia and Microsoft software development orders ceased and global competition accelerated, a statement said.

Therefore, Finland applied for 2,623,200 euros in EGF aid which covers 60 percent of the overall costs of reintegrating the workers into jobs.

PWA International, an aircraft repair and maintenance firm in the county of South Dublin, closed in June 2015, leading 108 workers lost their jobs at the company and at one of its suppliers.

This is the third Irish application in the jet engine repairs sector to date, and it amounts to 442,293 euros in aid to help workers re-enter the job market.

To take effect, the aid has to be approved by the European Parliament as a whole on Dec. 15.

Through the EGF, redundant workers are offered measures such as support for business start-ups, job-search assistance, occupational guidance and various kinds of training. In most cases, national authorities have already started the measures and will have their costs reimbursed by the EU when their applications are finally approved. Endit