European Trade Unions stage successful Euro-demonstration: 75 000 people march in Brussels
“European governments, listen to the unions”, was the main message of 75 000 trade unionists who marched in Brussels, Saturday 19 March. These thousands of unionists responded to the call of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) to send a clear message to the Spring Summit due to be held this week. Demonstrators from all over Europe marched for the defence of employment and social rights and to show their opposition to the Bolkestein directive. European leaders will have to take this massive mobilisation into account and give Europe a social direction.
"The European trade union movement was very well represented during this Euro-demonstration," declared John Monks, General Secretary of the ETUC. We now want European leaders to listen to our message at the Spring Summit this week: the message of 75 000 European trade unionists asking governments to give a social direction to Europe and better meet the daily concerns of European workers.”
The 75 000 demonstrators wanted to express their vision of Social Europe and to ask the EU to change its course. The European trade union movement is not opposed to reforms so long as they promote progress for all.
Banners expressed these claims in all the languages of the countries represented.
European trade union leaders [1] from all over Europe addressed the demonstrators, reaffirming their commitment to a Europe of high social standards, not of the Bolkestein Directive.
[1] Jacques Voisin, CFTC; Valeria Fedeli, FSE-THC; Marius Petcu, CNSLR-FRATIA; Fritz Verzetnisch, OGB; Alain Olive, UNSA; Dusan Semolic, ZSSS; Robert Weber, LCGB; Joao Proença, UGT-P; Bernadette Segol, Uni-Europa; José Maria Fidalgo, CCOO; Candido Mendez, UGT; John Monks, CES; Carola Fischbach, EPSU; Jean-Claude Reding, CGT-L; Brendan Barber, TUC; Lodewijk De Wall, FNV; François Chérèque, CFDT; Michael Sommer, DGB; Francine Blanche, CGT; Guy Haaze, CGSLB; Xavier Verboven, FGTB; Luc Cortebeeck, CSC.
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