Pledge 67 – Lyon

The President of the Métropole de Lyon, Bruno Bernard, has re-affirmed in March 2021 the strong commitment made in 2019 on 5 principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights. He went even further and announced plans with 6 new commitments.

Lyon signed a Metropolitan Coherence Pact with 59 municipalities of the metropolitan area to guide each of their commitments on 11 of the 20 principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights.

Lyon goes further with 6 new commitments in 2021:

• on equal opportunities (principle 3): Lyon metropole has appointed vice-presidents dedicated to combat discrimination, to ensure equality between men and women, and also equality between territories. It is also implementing equal treatment and diversity mission through action plans within its human resources policy.
• on minimum income (principle 14): as of 2021, Lyon is piloting a minimum income scheme for young people aged 18-25 who are disengaged from the social welfare system. Lyon will offer an innovative support following an integrated approach by which young people receive an allowance and at the same time support to access training, housing and healthcare.  Special attention is paid to young people leaving child welfare (institutional care).
• on healthcare (principle 16): Lyon is supporting prevention in mental healthcare with an emergency grant to a qualified foundation to provide psychological support to adults and youth facing difficulties during the covid-19 crisis.
• on inclusion of people with disabilities (principle 17): Lyon is dedicating €2.8 million in 2021-2024 to support projects to develop inclusive housing to prevent isolation of elderly and people with disabilities.
• on long-term care (principle 18): Lyon is developing innovative tools to prolong the autonomy of the elderly, is supporting caregivers (‘helpers’) including the running of a centre for caregivers and is raising the profile of care professions.
• on access to essential services (principle 20): Lyon is committed to adopt a proactive approach to social services by investing in training social workers to address the needs of the most vulnerable people, piloting ‘drop-in’ services, and combating digital divide through a strategic plan for digital inclusion supported by more than €2.6 million from ERDF and ESF.

On the 2019’s commitments:

• on active support for employment (principle 4): Lyon committed in 2019 to support local employment through its ‘Charter of 1,000 Companies’. By 2021, Lyon has involved 1,071 companies to employ over 2,500 people. Next, Lyon is committed to improve the attractiveness of jobs in the new, green and digital sectors, create training pathways and coordinate a network of employers in the sector.
• on gender equality (principle 2): Lyon signed the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local life at the end of 2019 and since then has put in place an action plan supported by the ESF to develop a culture of equality within its services.
• on work-life balance (principle 9): Lyon has piloted teleworking since 2019, even before the pandemic, and has been investing in a caretaker service (administrative services, food, daily life) that benefits nearly 1,800 public employees, over 75% of whom are women.

• on childcare and support to children (principle 11): Lyon plans to invest €850,000 over 2021-2027, from municipal budget and ESF+ support, to strengthen support for less well-off parents in their educational role.
• on housing and assistance for the homeless (principle 19): Since its commitment in 2019, Lyon has launched 7,276 housing projects, the majority of which are social housing. The metropole is committed to continue its Housing First approach and to implement a new strategy to reduce squats and shelter the homeless.

The President of Lyon Metropole, Bruno Bernard, said: “I am pleased to renew today the commitment of the Métropole de Lyon to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights and to contribute to the new EU action plan. We firmly believe that metropolitan areas play a crucial role in balancing equality, social inclusion and environmental transition. We are glad that the European Union is proposing social actions, and we wish for more global and incentive policies in the future. To implement the principles on the local level innovative governance is essential together with a strategic approach based on proximity. This is the very purpose of our Metropolitan Coherence Pact signed with the 59 municipalities of our metropolitan area to guide each of our commitments on the 11 of the 20 principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights.”