This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2011) |
The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) was set up by the European Union in late 2006 to support to workers (not companies or institutions) who have been made redundant as a result of trade liberalisation, so that they can either remain in employment or find a new job quickly. It provides counselling; job search and mobility allowances; new ICT skills and other forms of training; entrepreneurial support, including micro-credits.
Since 2007 EGF has received more than 100 applications from 20 EU member states for programs that would support more than 100,000 workers who either lost their jobs due to globalization (56%) or as a result of the global economic and financial crisis (44%). The hardest-hit industries were in automobile manufacturing (22.5%), machinery and equipment (13.5%), textile and apparel (12%), computers, mobile phones and ICT (11.6%) and construction (9.6%).[citation needed]