Brussels, 23/01/2013

Brussels, 29/01/2013 The legislation, which has scarcely ever been invoked since the collapse of Greece's military dictatorship in 1974 and can lead to terms of imprisonment of up to five years, has now been used against striking metro workers in Athens.

Brussels, 28/01/2013 The new logo will be unveiled officially to mark the anniversary of the ETUC , celebrated today at the High Level Conference in Madrid. The Confederation’s mission is made explicitly clear by the highlighting of two words: Trade Union and Europe. The A and the E evoke ancient Greece, a reference to the origin of the word “Europe” and the dynamic image of trade unionism is also maintained. This logo will be easy to use and will immediately identify the nature of our organisation.

Brussels, 25/01/2013

Brussels, 25/01/2013

Brussels, 25/01/2013 The ETUC’s fortieth anniversary will provide an opportunity to discuss issues relating to the role of the trade union movement as an actor in the construction of Europe: What is its future? Which are the priorities for a social Europe? What role should citizens, workers and their trade unions play in an economic and monetary union? What should be changed in economic governance?

Brussels, 25/01/2013 REACH says that companies manufacturing or importing chemicals into the EU in quantities of 100 tonnes or more per year have to register them by 31 May 2013 and that companies using hazardous substances registered under REACH have to take steps to use them safely.

Brussels, 24/01/2013 Negotiators have claimed that their work will be finalised in the coming days and weeks, but unions on both sides of the Atlantic have made it clear that any agreement is only acceptable if based on a high standard, setting a benchmark for future agreements worldwide, and certainly not undermining existing conditions in relation to labour rights, public policy space and the provision of public services.

Brussels, 23/01/2013

Brussels, 17/05/2013

Brussels, 15/01/2013

Larnaca, 04-05 octobre 2012 Seul le texte prononcé fait foi

Brussels, 09/01/2013 Bernadette Ségol, ETUC General Secretary, has this to say: ‘2013 is set to be a difficult year. Europe is collapsing into crisis. Unemployment is hitting record heights, as we can see from the latest Eurostat figures. For the first time, the jobless total has gone above 26 million. We need to focus our efforts first of all on tackling unemployment, insecurity and inequalities. We can no longer pin our hopes for a change to the social situation on some theoretical improvement in the economic situation’.

Bruxelles, 19/12/2012

Brussels, 17/12/2012 The 27 States have postponed until 2013 important decisions which should have defined the roadmap for a political union. Only the banking union has moved forwards.

Brussels, 17/12/2012 The ETUC underlines the need to consider migrants first of all as human beings, to whom equal human and social rights must be ensured to the same extent as European citizens, as well as the right to free and fair mobility and to equal treatment in the workplace. This is the only way to fight social dumping and the exploitation of migrants, and to achieve a balanced and fair labour market in Europe.

Brussels,14/12/2012 There is an obvious link between long and irregular working hours and health problems related to work. The protection of the health and safety of workers must therefore remain the prime objective of any revision of the directive.

Brussels, 13/12/2012

Brussels, 13/12/2012 After initially attempting to play down the incident, the Tunisian government agreed to reopen negotiations, on 11 December, with the trade union leadership. The talks led to an agreement in which the government pledged to set up a joint commission of enquiry to identify those responsible for the violence being perpetrated against trade unions for over a year and to bring the culprits to justice within the space of no more than 40 days, in exchange for the calling off of the general strike announced for 13 December by the UGTT.

Brussels, 12/12/2012

Brussels, 11/12/2012 The gap between the emission reduction levels recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the one hand, and the commitments made on the other, continues to be a matter of grave concern. Although a global effort is needed to cut emissions by 50% by 2050 in order to keep global warming below two degrees centigrade, the current promises will inexorably bring us to a global warming level of four degrees.

Brussels, 10/12/2012 The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to EU last October was hailed by the ETUC. On that occasion, the ETUC reiterated the need to guarantee social stability in the Union. The first clear signal to that end must be the abandoning of austerity policies. In their place, the European trade union proposes a social compact based on social justice.

Brussels, 05/12/2012 Having been committed for several years to these issues, the ETUC has welcomed proposals such as the youth guarantee, a measure that should be continued and which should be considered as an investment. In view of the urgency and importance of the situation, this commitment should be backed by appropriate resources, in particular from the Social Fund and other structural funds.