French workers’ victory over the new recruitment contract (CPE) reinforces trade union influence in Europe, John Monks tells the CGT Congress
European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) General Secretary John Monks addressed the 48th Congress of French affiliate the Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) in Lille today, in the wake of the French trade unions’ success in overturning the government’s recent Contrat première embauche (CPE) law.
“The way the French trade unions achieved their objective makes the ETUC optimistic,” John Monks will tell delegates. “Working in unity, together with young people and students’ organisations, the movement shows how much influence it can have. I was glad to offer the ETUC’s support.”
But the trade unions’ role is not merely to oppose change, he pointed out. “We are going on the offensive with a strategy of positive proposals,” says John Monks. Other recent events such as the revision of the ’Bolkestein’ Services Directive following the ETUC demonstration in Strasbourg, and agreement with European employers on a new social dialogue programme covering such ’hot’ topics as migration and relocation, demonstrate that the unions’ message is as important as ever.
The ETUC’s objective is to promote strong trade union organisations around the world, able to defend the interests of workers whether in the Balkans, in Ukraine and Russia, or elsewhere.
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