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.

Letters sent to President Sassoli and Leaders of the political groups in the European Parliament   The European Trade Union Confederation welcomes the adoption by the Council of the €750bn EU Recovery Plan, which we believe is particularly good news for the 60 million people in the EU who depend on the recovery funds for their jobs. It represents a very welcome change from the disastrous austerity-led response to the last crisis, from which Europe had not yet fully recovered when COVID-19 struck.

15 July 2020   The upcoming EU Pact on Asylum and Migration must present a turning point in European migration and asylum policies. The Pact should be ambitious and build on the lessons learned from the unprecedented crisis we are facing, while bringing forward a long-term strategy. We demand, in particular, that EU Member States urgently find a common agreement on asylum rules based on the principles of International asylum and sea rescue law, human rights, solidarity and shared responsibility.

Time is running out: Concrete and rapid actions needed to enforce rights to worker involvement in anticipating and managing the COVID-19 crisis impact Three months after the COVID-19 health crisis hit the world and thousands lost their lives, the European Union is now facing massive restructuring processes in different sectors. Social dialogue, collective bargaining and worker involvement in the workplace are key to shape responsible restructuring processes.

Introduction of the European Social Partners Framework Agreement on Digitalisation Esther Lynch, Deputy General Secretary On the occasion of the signing of the Agreement at the Tripartite Social Summit, 23rd June 2020

Dear colleagues, I would like to thank all of you for having made this virtual meeting of the TSS possible in the current difficult circumstances. This is a significant opportunity for social partners to contribute to the management of the emergency, to the return to work and to the implementation of the recovery strategies. The COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, if not properly and timely addressed, are at risk of generating economic recession, massive unemployment, deterioration of working conditions and rights, increased inequality and social exclusion.

Madam President of the Commission, Mr President of the Council, Mr Prime Minister, Honorable commissioners and ministers Dear Colleagues, Let me first remind you that the ETUC and the trade union organizations in Europe have called for an ambitious and large-scale recovery plan to respond to this unprecedented crisis that we will have to face. The Next Generation EU proposal responds to this request and we welcome it. Now it is necessary that this proposal be approved quickly so that the various measures can be deployed quickly.

The digital transformation of the economy is a multifaceted topic with large implications for labour markets, the world of work and society at large. It is dealt with in a variety of ways by EU member states, due to different social and economic situations, labour markets and industrial relations systems and existing initiatives, practices and collective agreements.

Brussels, 16 June 2020 Adopted at the Extraordinary Executive Committee meeting of 9 June 

LGBT workers still suffer from discrimination in the world of work and in the society due to their sexual orientation. In times of Covid, as in other crises, these rights are even more under threat, due to lack of legislative protection and underrepresentation in workplaces and society in general.

The ETUC Women’s Committee stands beside women from across Europe who are fighting to fulfil their rights to safe, legal and fully comprehensive reproductive healthcare. The ETUC Women’s Committee particularly supports Polish women who are protesting against a bill, submitted through the citizens’ initiative which aims to introduce a full ban on abortion. The bill is currently being discussed in the Polish Parliament.

Trade Unions are always here continuing to fight for… This year we celebrate a Labour Day out of the norm. Generally, thousands of workers would have taken to the streets to celebrate this day, but, this year, this will not be possible due to the current COVID-19 crisis.

28/04/2020 : Letter to the European Commission on the Youth Guarantee  Dear President von der Leyen, Dear Commissioner Schmit, In recent weeks every aspect of our life as we know it has been turned around. The European Union is once again under scrutiny and we are under strong pressure to demonstrate to the citizens that it can offer strategies on how to overcome the consequences of the pandemic.

The ETUC to make access of companies to EU and national public funding during and after the COVID-19 outbreak conditional to the respect of tax obligations and workers’ rights Member States are providing direct public support to companies facing the COVID-19 outbreak. The European Union has pledged many different financial instruments to assist the Member States in their action to support economic activities of companies and provide income replacement to workers.

The COVID-19 outbreak has shown us how vulnerable we are to an epidemic, and how devastating the effects can be: on life, on health, on society, on our economy.  It has demonstrated very clearly the importance of protecting working people (and all people) from disease, especially at the workplace.