02-09-2025

EFFE has contributed to the European Commission’s consultation on the new Action Plan for the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), welcoming the initiative and its ambition to achieve the EU’s 2030 social targets. In its response, EFFE highlights the essential yet often invisible role of Personal and Household Services (PHS) in advancing fair working conditions, gender equality, and access to care. With over 10 million mostly female and migrant workers, the PHS sector is crucial for Europe’s social and economic resilience but remains largely excluded from formal systems. EFFE calls for the formal recognition of PHS within the EPSR framework, stronger social dialogue, targeted measures to tackle undeclared work, and investment in professionalisation and decent working conditions. Recognising and supporting this essential workforce, EFFE stresses, is vital to realising the Pillar’s principles and building a fairer, more inclusive Europe. At the same time, the European Care Alliance submitted a Common Position on Principle 18 — Time for an Ambitious Action Plan for Long-Term Care — reaffirming the need for stronger European action to ensure quality, accessible, and sustainable care for all.