MEPs approve 1.8 mln euros in job-search aid for former retail employees in Netherlands

Some 1.8 million euros (1.9 million U.S. dollars) worth of European job-search aid has been approved in a Tuesday plenary vote by the European Parliament for 800 former retail workers in the Netherlands who have lost their jobs due to the economic crisis.

Passed overwhelmingly by 616 votes in favor to 73 against, with 6 abstentions, the payout from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) still needs to be approved by the European Council of Ministers on Feb. 17.

The workers in question were made redundant when six retail trade companies recently went bankrupt in the Drenthe and Overijssel provinces of the Netherlands.

The redundancies were caused by long-term effects of the global financial crisis, which European Commission data shows have hit the retail sector later than some other industries.

Some of the biggest retailers in the Netherlands went bankrupt by the end of 2015. The retail sector is one of the biggest in the regional economies of both the Drenthe and the Overrijssel provinces.

The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund contributes to packages of tailor-made services to help redundant workers find new jobs. It has an annual ceiling of 150 million euros. The measures co-financed by the EGF include active career guidance, job-search support, vocational training and training in transversal skills, promoting entrepreneurship and contributing to business start-ups. Endit