Letters sent to Bulgarian, Croatian, German, Hungarian and Italian Ministers of Labour and Finance
Call to extend emergency measures to non-standard workers (including self-employed)
Dear Ministers,
Statement adopted at the Executive Committee meeting on 09-10 December 2020
ETUC Revised Statement on the second Covid-19 wave: Emergency measures and Recovery Strategy
To mark International Migrants Day on 18 December, ETUC honours and thanks all workers, migrant and local, who continue to risk their lives to provide essential services and keep vital sections of the economy going through the COVID19 pandemic.
13% of key workers in essential jobs in the EU are migrants. Up to 1/3 domestic and care workers, & labourers in construction & mining, all key workers, are foreign born.
At the occasion of the World Day for Human Rights and the SOLIDAR Silver Rose Award ceremony, the ITUC, the ETUC and SOLIDAR, reiterate their support and solidarity with the struggle of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) to promote social justice, human rights and workers’ rights in the country.
ETUC Statement adopted at Executive Committee in their meeting 9th December 2020 in support of the FGTB/ABVV trade union leaders and activists condemned for exercising their rights to collective action
ETUC is gravely concerned by the recent condemnations of FGTB/ABVV leaders and activists by the criminal courts in Belgium for exercising their fundamental right to take collective action in defense of the rights and interests of the workers they represent.
ETUC Letter to EU Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier
Level playing field guarantees in the EU-UK deal
Dear Michel,
We understand negotiations are reaching their limits in terms of timing and of what is feasible or acceptable for the EU on the remaining critical issues of fisheries, governance and the level playing field.
Adopted by the Women’s Committee
The ETUC Women’s Committee stands beside women from across Europe who are fighting to fulfil their human rights, and namely their reproductive rights and their right to safe, legal and fully comprehensive healthcare in any circumstance[1].
Introduction
As part of their autonomous work programme 2019-2021, on 17 September the European Social Partners organised a meeting on childcare provisions in the EU. This was part of a series of meetings bringing together EU and national social partners and experts to discuss how to improve the performance of labour markets and social systems. As a result, we have published the following statement:
General remarks
On 25 November, the European Commission has tabled a legal proposal for a regulation of the European Data Governance. The ETUC welcomes this legal proposal aiming at setting up the rules for a fair transfer of data among major actors in the digital economy, including governments and companies. The EC puts forward a “European way of processing data” among data intermediaries, built upon European legislation with a strong focus on not creating anti-trust practices among providers of data sharing services, to avoid monopolies.
Ahead of the video conference of the members of the European Council on 19 November 2020, the European social partners urge member states to endorse the agreement found on the European recovery fund and Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021-2027.
The agreement found as a result of the trilogue on the recovery fund and the so-called MFF (the EU's long-term budget) is essential to help the EU economy recover from the damage the COVID crisis continues to inflict.
GENERAL OVERVIEW
The European Parliament and European Council have fulfilled their political responsibility in agreeing on a long-term budget for the EU and the temporary recovery instrument ‘Next Generation EU’. It is an increased budget which comes alongside a substantial Recovery Plan and represents a much better response than the one to the previous crisis.
Following the Council Conclusions on Minimum Income, it is time for the European Commission to respond with courage and propose a legally binding EU framework for Minimum Income
The COVID-19 pandemic and its social and economic repercussions have hit young people in Europe particularly hard. The latest Eurostat figures show skyrocketing youth unemployment figures across the EU: In August 2020, 43,9 % young people aged between 15-24 years in Spain were unemployed, 39,3 % in Italy and 32,1 % in Greece. The EU average lies at 17,6%.
Petition
More Democracy at Work is a must!
European workers are now facing the massive social and economic consequences brought by the pandemic. An inclusive recovery and just transitions can only be achieved together in democratic manner, including the guarantee that all workers have a say and are effectively involved in the day-to-day life of their workplace.
Dear Ministers,
As the European Union shows readiness to implement an ambitious Recovery Plan, Europe must emerge from the COVID-19 outbreak avoiding massive unemployment, a recession and a rise in inequality and social exclusion, and build a socially fair and inclusive recovery.
Brussels, October 6 2020
Statement Adopted at the Executive Committee Meeting of 23 September 2020
ETUC’s assessment of the EU Recovery Plan and MFF
The emergency is not over
Ahead of the Special Council meeting of 1 October 2020, the ETUC strongly encourages EU leaders to propose an EU sustainable industrial strategy that delivers for the people and the planet.
What is the way out of the Covid-19 crisis?
On 7 September 2020, the European Social and Economic partners (ETUC, BusinessEurope, CEEP, SMEunited and EuroChambres) and the European Commission - represented by Commissioners Johansson and Schmit - renewed their commitment to the European Partnership for Integration Offering opportunities for Refugees to integrate the European Labour Market with a
The COVID-19 outbreak has exposed and exacerbated the deplorable working and living conditions of hundreds of thousands of seasonal workers in the EU, the vast majority of whom are cross-border and migrant workers. The pandemic is a wake-up call to recognise the pressing need to improve the conditions of vulnerable yet essential workers in sectors such as agri-food. The lessons learnt should pave the way for actions to address the shortcomings of the current legal framework in times of crises as well as in everyday working life of seasonal workers.
Letter sent to the Presidents of the European Commission, European Council and European Parliament - Presidents von der Leyen, Michel and Sassoli.
Dear President
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the Pan-European Regional Council (PERC) are following closely and with great concern the current situation in Belarus, after recent presidential elections. The ETUC and PERC demand the immediate release of trade unionists detained for having taken part in peaceful protests against falsified elections, notably Nikolai Zimin, former chairman of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union and Maxim Sereda, chairman of the UMTO the Independent Trade Union of Miners.
The ETUC and PERC denounce:
Brussels, 30 July 2020
To the Executive Committee
Dear all,
Please find below the final version of the statement on the Conference on the Future of Europe after the discussion and amendments of July Executive Committee meeting. The statement has already been sent to the European Parliament, Commission and Council to influence the negotiations for a joint declaration of the 3 institutions to launch the Conference on the Future of Europe.
Adopted at the Executive Committee Meeting of 2-3 July 2020
Negotiations on the future relationship between the EU and UK resumed on 29 June after the UK declared its intention not to extend the transition period.
Both the EU and the UK are entering a global recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially leaving millions of people in long-term unemployment.
This will be exacerbated if there is no deal. If the negotiations fail and a deal is not reached and ratified before the end of 2020, the UK will be trading with the EU under WTO rules.
