The DGB and its member unions are strongly committed to social justice, better working and living conditions for workers and citizens. Their fight for co-determination and a full democratisation of the economy and society is exemplary and a real source of inspiration for the European trade union movement. The DGB has been successfully fighting for gender equality at work and in society. At the 2022 federal congress, 49,9% of delegates were women and Yasmin Fahimi was the first woman elected as DGB president. 

Dear Readers, We have just published the September 2024 edition of the ETUC newsletter. To read the document, please click here. Enjoy!

Dear Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,I am contacting you following the announcement of the list of Commissioners designate and the publication of their proposed portfolios and mission letters. The European Trade Union Confederation is very concerned that – for the first time since the Seventies – there is not a member of the college of Commissioners whose title refers specifically to Labour and Social Affairs (or to “Jobs and Social Rights”).

On the occasion of the International Day of Older Persons on 1st October 2024, the European Federation of Retired and Elderly People (FERPA) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) wish to recall and underline the role and place of retired people in Europe. Pensioners and older people are still excluded from all decision-making processes that affect their living conditions and social rights. Their consultation, recommended by the UN and UNECE, is still far from being applied.

The European trade union movement expresses its deep concerns and opposition to the Italian Government’s plans to restrict the right to peaceful protest, a pillar of any democratic society. Article 12 of the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights states clearly that “everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly”. The Italian Government’s plans to criminalise dissent would clearly be a violation of the Charter, as well as Italy’s own Constitution.