EU retraining grant scheme to end

UP to 1,250 Aviva workers facing redundancy will lose out on retraining grants from the EU while money for TalkTalk employees hangs in the balance.

This comes on top of fears that only half of the €60 million received to date for 13,500 Dell, Waterford Crystal, SR Technics and construction workers will be claimed mainly because of administrative problems.

Ireland lost its battle to preserve the EU’s crisis fund when a number of countries objected to the scheme.

Ireland has been the largest beneficiary of the fund designed to help retrain people who are out of work as a result of the crisis or help them to start their own businesses.

There were plans to look for funds for thousands more people who have been laid off from the retail sector and banks. An application cannot be made for the Aviva workers until they have been laid off and this is due to happen in June.

Any applications not in by the end of the month will not qualify — unless it can be proven that the jobs have been lost to countries outside the EU.

Making a case for retaining the fund as it is, Junior Minister Ciarán Cannon said the government was willing to increase its contribution from 35% to 50%.

He appealed to member states to “show solidarity with workers whose futures are threatened by redundancy and the changing nature of the labour market in Europe”.

After wards he said he was very disappointed by the fact that eight countries ensured the scheme could not continue past the end of December.

Independent MEP Marion Harkin branded the decision “a disgrace”. “What a negative signal this sends to people struggling to cope. The crisis is still on — it’s difficult to explain this decision.”

Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Denmark objected because they believed the EU should not be paying out money for workers who have lost their jobs as a result of national conditions.

Latvia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic were also against on the basis that the money should be paid out under a different fund that would mean their governments would have to contribute a much smaller sum to any EU funds.

In total the EU has paid out around €400m to more than 80,000 EU workers.

The scheme was originally designed to help where companies relocated jobs to cheaper economies outside the EU.

Ms Harkin said they might be able to win some concessions if they go into conciliation with the Council representing the member states.