To make life even more difficult, new government changes mean employers can now pay migrant workers 15% less than the average Canadian worker.

15. Takes note of the headline target on employment rate for men and women; regrets that the quality of employment is not taken into account in this objective; reiterates that high quality employment should be a key priority of a 2020 strategy and that a stronger focus on well-functioning labour markets – both national and European – and on social conditions is vital in order to improve employment performance; calls, therefore, for a new legislative agenda to strengthen workers’ rights and working conditions, including a revision of the posting of workers directive and new or revised directives on minimum income schemes, working time, abusive individual ...[+++] dismissals, information and consultation, union recognition, cross-border collective agreements, equal treatment of atypical workers, equal pay, and labour inspections; furthermore believes that the new strategy must give much more emphasis on job quality and decent work, including the fight against precarious and undeclared work and the creation of conditions for reconciliation of work and private life; as well as ensuring that people who are currently excluded from the labour market can gain access; calls on the Commission to change its practice of considering this area only as being subject to Commission communications, and to propose flagship legislative initiatives to protect workers’ rights as a matter of urgency;

Breweries in Madeira already benefit under the provisions of Article 4 of Council Directive 92/83/EEC which allows Member States to provide for the application of reduced rates of excise duty which must not be less than 50% below the standard national rate on beer produced by small independent breweries whose production does not exceed 200.000 hectolitres.

Council Directive 92/84/EEC which was adopted immediately after the adoption of POSEIMA, allowed Portugal to impose in the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira a reduced rate of excise duty on rum, eau-de-vie and certain liqueurs produced in these regions which under no circumstances may be less than 50% of the normal national rate of excise duty on alcohol.

They are also liable to cause distortions of competition as they allow businesses in the Member States concerned to undercut the prices of businesses in other Member States which apply the standard rate or they allow them to maintain higher profit margins because of the advantage they enjoy in terms of VAT rates.

Such guarantees enable insures to borrow at rates lower than the normal market rates or make it possible for them to borrow money at all.