Senator Murray: Is this the same offer that was discussed in the Senate and the House of Commons, the offer from management that we compared to the wages the government plans to impose with this bill?

clear information: such information must be given to employees on the risks and rights attached to opting into an EFP scheme, including any vesting period: the decision to join an EFP scheme should be based on the informed consent of an employee, given in the full knowledge of their entitlements, obligations and the underlying risks as well as taxation effects when joining a scheme and the conditions which apply when they leave the company or the scheme under any circumstances;

5. Highlights the lack of national legislative measures favouring the development of EFP schemes; notes, in this connection, the differences between EU-15 and EU-13 countries as regards their levels of participation in EFP schemes; recognises the link between the introduction of legislative measures at national level in favour of EFP schemes and the number of employees participating in such schemes;

Realistically, exclusion from an existing salary scheme is probably inevitable.

This annual revision is also important in view of the substance of the issues dealt with: definitions of the terms ‘employed person’ and ‘self-employed person’ when these cannot be established on the basis of national legislation (Annex I, Section1), definition of ‘member of the family’ when national legislation does not permit a distinction to be drawn between family members and other persons (Annex I, Part 2), special schemes for self-employed persons excluded from the scope of the Regulation (Annex II, Section 1), special childbirth or adoption allowances excluded from the scope of the Regulation (Annex II, Section 2), special non-con ...[+++]tributory benefits supplied solely to persons on the territory of the Member State of residence, thus constituting an exception to the rule of exportable benefits (Annex II a), existing bilateral conventions which were in force before the implementation of the Regulation in the Member States concerned (Annex III), legislation under which the amount of invalidity benefit is independent of the length of insurance periods (Annex IV, Section A), cases where the calculation of benefit may be waived because it will not yield a higher amount (Annex IV, Section C), special procedures for implementation in certain Member States (Annex VI), and schemes that provide only for family allowances or supplementary or special allowances for orphans (Annex VIII).

One only has to look, for example, at the fact that for at least one more legislature some re-elected Members can keep open the option of enjoying a different system of remuneration.