Workers' legal protection

The economic crisis brought to light a massive failure of corporate governance, not only in the banking sector but also in large companies. Strengthening the role of European Works Councils and workers’ representatives in company boardrooms could help prevent such disasters in future. However, loopholes in EU law enable companies to by-pass the workforce when taking important policy decisions. The ETUC demands tougher EU-wide legislation to protect workers and promote their interests, and binding sanctions against companies that break the rules or fail to consult workers’ representatives.

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  • 19.06.2018 Document

    EPSCO Council Ministers: Make the European Pillar of Social Rights real – Adopt a meaningful general approach for the Work-Life Balance and Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Directives

    To the EPSCO Council Ministers Make the European Pillar of Social Rights real – Adopt a meaningful general approach for the Work-Life Balance and Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Directives Dear Minister, I am writing to you in view of the discussions taking place in EPSCO on 21st June, on the Commission’s proposals for two Directives aimed at achieving the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, recently proclaimed by all Member States.
  • 19.06.2018 Press release

    EPSCO Council: Make the European Pillar of Social Rights real

    ETUC
    ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini has written to all Employment Ministers urging them not to dilute the Commission proposals and “adopt a meaningful general approach” on the 2 Directives up for discussion at the EPSCO Council on Thursday. The letter states that the Directives on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions and Work Life Balance are both “crucial to working people across Europe and their trade unions.”
  • 22.05.2018 Document

    ETUC letter on the proposal for a directive on the company law package to Commissioner Thyssen

    In an open letter on the recently presented proposal for a directive on the company law package, to Commissioner Marianne Thyssen, the ETUC is asking for the safeguarding of workers' rights on information, consultation and participation. "The Commission has to deliver for companies and workers alike," says Peter Scherrer, ETUC Deputy General Secretary. Re: Company law package Dear Commissioner Thyssen,
  • 11.01.2018 Press release

    LuxLeaks case – EU Directive needed

    Commenting on the overturning of the sentence on LuxLeaks whistleblower Antoine Deltour by a Luxembourg Court, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) called for better and EU-wide protection of whistleblowers. “People should be able to expose wrong-doing without fear of retribution,” said Esther Lynch, ETUC Confederal Secretary. “It is good that Antoine Deltour has had his sentence overturned, but he should not have been prosecuted in the first place.
  • 23.11.2017 Press release

    EU Eastern Partnership must improve workers' rights

    The EU’s Eastern Partner countries - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine – whose Heads of Government/State will be in Brussels on Friday 24 November for the EU’s Eastern Partnership Summit, have a very poor record of implementing workers’ rights.
  • 25.09.2017 Press release

    Written Statement Directive - ETUC Comments

    Commenting on European Commission’s announcement today on the Written Statement Directive, ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini said “The ETUC welcomes the European Commission taking forward its proposal for a revision of the Written Statement Directive. The European Commission’s proposals are a decent basis for discussion. The ETUC has engaged constructively from the outset in this debate, and will be warning the Commission to keep clear of time-wasting by anyone who wants to kill this proposal.
  • 05.09.2017 Press release

    ECHR rules in favour of workers' right to privacy

    The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) welcomes the judgment today of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in favour of a worker's right to privacy and restricting employers' right to monitor workers electronic communications. The ETUC have intervened in support of the case because of its broader privacy and employment implications for workers.
  • 01.09.2017 Page

    Airline staff win right to be heard in national courts

    The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has welcomed the European Court of Justice ruling that Ryanair staff in Belgium can take complaints to national courts, rejecting the company’s claim that it is subject only to Irish law. “This is a significant step forward, that will play an important role in vindicating the rights of workers across the sector and beyond, into the future,” said an ICTU spokesman.
  • 01.09.2017 Page

    UK court ruling restores workers' access to justice

    In August, British trade union UNISON won a landmark court case protecting workers’ access to justice and protection against ill-treatment in the workplace. Four years ago, the UK government introduced fees of up to €1,340 for anyone who wanted to pursue a complaint against an employer in an employment tribunal, thereby blocking poorer workers’ access to a fair hearing and imposing huge costs for trade unions. The move led to a 79% drop in tribunal cases.
  • 07.07.2017 Press release

    EU wage austerity condemned by Council of Europe

    The reduction of the minimum wage for workers under 25 – as part of the austerity programme imposed on Greece by the EU and other creditors – has been condemned as “excessive”, and “discrimination on grounds of age”, and contrary to the Council of Europe European Social Charter (ESC). The judgement was delivered by the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR), the main monitoring body to the European Social Charter, following a complaint by Greek trade union GSEE and supported by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).
  • 27.06.2017 Press release

    Work shouldn't hurt

    The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is launching a call for the EU and national governments to do more to support workplace health and safety reps to tackle back, neck and shoulder pain.   Back, neck and shoulder pain (alongside pain in other joints such as hands, elbows and knees) - known collectively and technically as musculoskeletal disorders (or MSDs) – are the most common work-related disease in Europe. The most common causes are repetitive hand or arm movements, and sitting for long periods of time.  
  • 19.06.2017 Press release

    ETUC backs two EU reports on online platforms & collaborative economy

    The European Parliament on 15 June 2017 adopted two important reports on online platforms and the collaborative economy. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) worked closely with MEPs to make sure that trade union demands were taken on board. The Parliament’s message stresses trade unions’ concerns on safeguarding workers’ rights in the digital economy, calling on the European Commission and/or Member States:
  • 30.03.2017 Press release

    ETUC and ITUC: IMF attacks on Greek workers' rights are unacceptable

    The International and European Trade Union Confederations called on the International Monetary Fund to stop insisting that Greece undertake even more pension cuts and labour market deregulation before the Fund will agree to a new loan programme, or to signing off on disbursements by European institutions.  
  • 27.03.2017 Press release

    Brexit: ETUC in call to Barnier to protect workers' rights & jobs

    With the UK Government expected to trigger article 50 this week, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has called on EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier to ensure “a social and economic agreement that protects jobs, living standards and workers’ rights, and not a free trade deal built on a platform of lower pay, tax and standards.” The ETUC called for  
  • 06.03.2017 Press release

    EU social partners sign agreement on active ageing

    After nine months of negotiations, EU employers and trade unions approved a framework agreement on active ageing and an intergenerational approach. The agreement is to ensure a healthy, safe and productive working environment and work organisation to enable workers of all ages to remain in work until legal retirement age. It is to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and experience between generations at the workplace and takes into account the changing national demographic and labour market realities.
  • 20.12.2016 Press release

    Balancing the challenges of work and private life

    The European Trade Union Confederation believes workers must be able to combine their working and private lives in a way that meets the needs of parents, children, carers and dependants. Evidence shows that a fair ‘work-life balance’ is good for workers, employers and society in general. Steps are also necessary to redress the gender inequality which persists across Europe, making it harder for women to enter the labour market, forcing them to make up for inadequate social care, and depriving them of equal pay and economic independence.
  • 01.12.2016 Page

    Protection for cross-border commuters

    Living in one country and working in another is not unusual in European border regions. The Dutch FNV and German DGB trade unions are uniting to provide legal protection for members This assistance could benefit thousands of workers crossing between Germany and the Netherlands. The cooperation agreement, signed in Krefeld in November, is "a good and important signal in these times," said DGB President Reiner Hoffmann. "It can serve as a blueprint for further agreements of this kind."
  • 23.11.2016 Press release

    New EU rules on insolvency must provide better protection for workers

    The ETUC has cautiously welcomed the European Commission’s proposal for a new Directive to  protect companies that are insolvent or nearly insolvent. The new rules, giving a period during which the company can explore all opportunities to provide for its survival, will stop creditors from forcing a company into insolvency and provide much needed breathing space for a Restructuring Plan to be put in place, helping to save some of the 1.7 million jobs lost to insolvency in the EU every year.
  • 17.11.2016 Press release

    More than 1 in 3 workers have difficulty making ends meet

    Eurofound 6EWCS
    According to the European Working Conditions Survey launched today more than one third of workers report some or great difficulty in making ends meet. This is the reality behind the rosier picture painted by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions which highlights an “increasingly skilled workforce, largely satisfied with work”. However, the study also reveals that
  • 17.10.2016 Press release

    Whistleblowerprotection.eu

    ETUC joins over 40 trade unions and civil society organisations in calling for improved protection for workers who blow the whistle on wrongdoing.