The European Commission (EC) has confirmed disbursement of €840,000 from the European Globalization Adjustment Fund (EGF) to help 300 workers made redundant in the textile sector of the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia to find new jobs, following the approval from the European Parliament and European Union's (EU) Council of Ministers, reports Europa Press.
The EU Council of Ministers of the 28 member nations and the European Parliament okayed the EC's decision to provide the aid to the unemployed textile workers in the region, after the European Parliament's Budget Committee gave its approval for the plan, last month.
The EGF aid aims to provide relocation support to workers who were laid off from 198 small and medium-sized businesses in the textile sector of Valencia. The workers were dismissed from the firms owing to the economic crisis in Spain and increased competition from textile products manufactured in the international market, especially China.
The assistance would help to pay for measures such as individual counseling and guidance, skills assessment and outplacement, general training and retraining, individual professional training, promotion of entrepreneurship, incentives for relocation, etc.
The aid would cover half of the total expense of €1.68 million, whereas the remaining half would be granted by the Spanish Government. Earlier this year, Spain had requested assistance from the EC to help the dismissed textile workers find new jobs.
The EGF contributes to packages of tailor-made services to help redundant workers find new jobs. The annual ceiling of the fund is €500 million. 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 get their costs reimbursed by the EU when their applications are finally approved.
