The EU has voted this week to pump funds of nearly €350K into the Czech Republic in a bid to support 634 individuals who all lost their jobs with global consumer giant Unilever.
On 15th February 2011, the European Commission adopted a new proposal on whether money from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund should be used to help the Czech Republic. The funds were earmarked to help Unilever’s redundant workers find new employment after the company washed their hands of them.
The application was approved by the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday 5th April and amounts to almost €350K. This will be taken out of a total EGF budget of €5 million which is there to support the entire EU for the year.
The money will go to all 634 of the workers made redundant from Unilever during the period from 16th September 2009 to 16th January 2010.
Nikki Sinclaire, MEP for the West Midlands, is furious, commenting:
"British people are being thrown out of work as jobs are exported to other EU countries and yet taxpayers are being asked to help fund retraining for foreign workers when they lose their jobs".
Worse still, Unilever itself has been currying favour with MEPs by sending
them each a wooden gift box filled with their products and other branded goodies.
Nikki added:
“They cannot buy my vote and it is in poor taste that Unilever can spend around €20K on freebies for MEPs. I also noted that British Labour and Lib-Dem MEPs voted in favour of this bail-out. It must be just their cup of tea”.
ENDS
Editor’s note
Nikki Sinclaire pictured with the Unilever MEP sweetener box containing:
- PG Tips
- Unilever rain poncho
- Deodorant
- Branded Pedometer
- Dove soap
