The President of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, “should focus on policy changes to boost recovery instead of making stupid comments”, said Katja Lehto-Komulainen, Deputy General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is warning the European Commission that the EU is in the ‘last-chance saloon’ to tackle popular resentment towards the EU.
Next Monday – January 23 – the European Commission will reveal its latest thinking on social policy and legislation at a conference “The European Pillar of Social Rights: going forward together” with President Juncker and Commissioner Thyssen.
The European Commission this week proposed a “Services Package” of measures aimed at “making it easier” to provide services across Europe.
European trade unions note that the Services Package shows improvements, but does not address some fundamental problems raised by the unions, including in our December red card.
New EU exposure limits will save lives, but a more ambitious strategy to eliminate occupational cancers is urgently needed. The ETUC today greeted the European Commission's proposal to introduce five* new binding occupational exposure limits (BOELs) for carcinogens as decades overdue.
ETUC Confederal Secretary Esther Lynch said: “Current exposure limits are based on very old evidence, sometimes dating back over 40 years, and given the high number of work related cancer deaths each year these limits are manifestly failing to save lives.”
The ETUC and many others regret the death of Mathias Hinterscheid, who for almost 40 years was a leading figure in the trade union movement in Europe. Just a few weeks ago, he was honoured for completing 70 years of trade union membership in Luxembourg.
The European Trade Union Confederation expresses its condolences and solidarity to the victims and their families following the horrible attack on 1st January in one of Istanbul's most famous nightclubs. NO to violence and terrorism.
European trade unions have agreed to make 2017 the year of pay rise for European workers.
“It’s time for our recovery” said ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini. “Profits and executive pay have long recovered from the crisis, but white and blue collar workers’ wages have still have not got back to pre-crisis levels. One in three workers is struggling to make ends meet.”
The European Trade Union Confederation, meeting in its Executive Committee with national trade union leaders, agreed that
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.
The European Trade Union Confederation today expressed its condolences and solidarity with the people of Germany following last night’s horrific attack in Berlin.
ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini said "Our thoughts are with all the victims - the dead and the injured, their families and their loved ones - and with the workers who are dealing with the situation."
On 16 December 1966, the United Nations General Assembly adopted two international treaties that would forever shape international human rights: The International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
The ICESCR lays down the right to work, just and fair working conditions and freedom of association, and recognises the right to strike.
On its 50th ETUC General Secretary, Luca Visentini, said
Excluding undocumented workers from contributing to and benefitting from education and other public services costs EU citizens far more than including them, says a brochure published for the International Migrants Day (December 18) by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and Union MigrantNet.
Estimates for the number of undocumented migrants in the EU range from under 2 million to almost 4 million. It is unknown how many are in undeclared work.
What is clear is that undocumented workers are
The European Trade Union Confederation and its Youth Committee warned EU leaders meeting today in Brussels that the proposed European Solidarity Corps – on the agenda for today’s summit - should not divert funds or focus away from tackling youth unemployment.
“The European Solidarity Corps could be a good thing if it’s really supports volunteering and not cheap labour” said Thiébaut Weber, Confederal Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation. “It should not be paid for by money allocated for the Youth Employment Initiative or apprenticeships”.
The Labour Mobility Package for the coordination of social security for workers who take up free movement within the EU, is a complex and highly technical legal package which offers some improvements, but does not deal with all the disadvantages faced by mobile workers says the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).
Proposals that mark an improvement include
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has elected Katja Lehto-Komulainen as its Deputy General Secretary, replacing Veronica Nilsson who is standing down for family reasons.
Katja Lehto-Komulainen is Finnish, has long experience of working at the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) and was Head of International Affairs.
Commenting on EU employment figures that show an 0.2% increase in employment in the 3rd quarter of 2016 compared to the 2nd quarter, and a 1.2% in the euro area and 1.1% increase in the EU28 compared to the 3rd quarter of 2015, Veronica Nilsson, Deputy General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, said
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the third edition of our National UPdates newsletter illustrating how trade unions at national as well as EU level are working constructively with other partners in society, including employers, governments and civil society organisations, for social progress and justice in Europe.
National UPdates will be sent to your mailbox quarterly.
To read the document, please click here.
Will an “EU Services Card” (previously known as ‘Services Passport’) be included in an ‘Internal Market Package’, due to be unveiled by the European Commission next week?
The idea is supposed make it easier for businesses to provide services across borders, but is opposed by trade unions and employers.
Trade unions say it
The ETUC is calling on Eurogroup Finance Ministers meeting on 5 December not to impose further damaging “reforms” to Greece’s labour market and Greek workers’ rights following an urgent appeal by Greek trade union GSEE.
Discussions are ongoing between the Greek Government and Greece’s creditors, with the IMF pushing for further deregulation of the already highly deregulated labour market.
Key issues include creditors demanding
As the EU-Georgia Association Council prepared to hold its third meeting in Brussels (2 December), trade unionists from both sides demanded action to improve industrial relations and advance the rights and interests of working people in Georgia.
Today, 29 November, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) met Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, to present him with the 158 MEP Pledges of support for trade union rights in Europe.
158 MEPs from 24 countries, and 5 political groups, have signed an ETUC pledge to respect and promote trade union rights in all their work on EU legislation and policy initiatives – see https://www.etuc.org/campaign/turights .
Trade Unions are fully determined to eliminate violence against women through collective agreements, and their proper implementation with employers, at national, sectoral and company levels.
On 22 November the European Commission published it proposals for applying the UN Sustainable Development Goals, not only in its external development and cooperation policies, but also within Europe.
The ETUC supports the Sustainable Development Goals, welcomes the role played by the European Union in developing and adopting them, and welcomes the fact that they will apply to Europe as well as to other countries.
