Dear Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis, We, the ETUC and its Spanish members CCOO and UGT, would like to communicate to you our deep concerns regarding the interference of services of the European Commission in the Spanish Government’s work on the Spanish National Plan for Recovery and Resilience. In our view, such political pressure aimed at determining content and milestones of the NRRP dealing with collective bargaining structures and reduction of job instability goes beyond the mandate that the RRF Regulation grants the European Commission.

ETUC’s position on an EU initiative on Individual Learning Accounts Adopted at the Executive Committee Meeting of 3-4 June 2021 Background

The ETUC salutes the enormous efforts that have been made by citizens and organisations to ensure that multi-national companies are required by the European Union to report country by country on their economic activities. This is vital to ensure that multinationals pay their fair share of tax in the countries where their profits are generated, and do not engage in clever accounting to end up declaring only where taxes are very low.   Today the European Union is in final secret negotiations to agree a deal on public country by country reports (pCBCR).

On 21 April 2021, the European Commission presented its long-awaited proposal on the regulation of artificial intelligence. The regulation is the follow-up to the 2020 White Paper process, in which the ETUC also participated. The proposed regulation builds on the internal market rules regulating the development and placement of products and services using AI in the EU single market. The regulation does not address liability. In this context, the Commission refers to the revision of the Product Liability Directive which is foreseen in the second half of the year.

The ETUC Collective Bargaining and Wage Coordination Committee strongly supports the call by UNIEuropa for Amazon to recognise the right of their workers to unionise and begin collective bargaining negotiations.

Dear President, The 11 May 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of the opening for signature of the Council of Europe’s Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention). On 11 May 2011, ten years ago, ten EU Member States signed the Convention, paving the way to ratifying it thereafter. We very much welcome your statement today, committing to present legislation on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence by the end of this year.

Check against delivery  President Costa, von der Leyen, Sassoli, Heads of State and Government, Esteemed authorities, Colleagues from the Social Partners and Social Platform, We meet today, three years and a half after the Social Summit in Goteborg, where you proclaimed the European Pillar of Social Rights in the presence of the European Social Partners.

The European Commission published today an update of its New Industrial Strategy that was adopted in March 2020. The aim of this update is to better identify the challenges and lessons coming from the COVID19 crisis, to further accelerate the green and digital transition, to strengthen the resilience of EU’s single market and to improve the strategic autonomy of the European Union.

Women are at greater exposure to the consequences of the economic crisis resulting from the pandemic. This Recovery needs to put the achievement of equality at the centre.  We are calling for   1. More support for trade unions so that they can spearhead the fight for gender equality. When women join together in their trade union they can bargain for a better deal, increased pay, more security, training, health and safety, a say over working hours, fairer promotions, more paid leave and a decent pension.

ETUC and WWF statement in response to the European Commission’s ‘Better regulation: Joining forces to make better laws’

Another unusual labour day. This year we might be better equipped to bring online celebrations to workers but too many current challenges haven’t been solved, yet. 

With 1 in 3 people working from home, and those at the workplace taking special precautions, COVID-19 shows the life and death importance of health and safety at work.

Introduction Although there has been European law on equal pay for women and men for 45 years, the gender pay gap in the European Union is still unacceptably large at over 14%. At the current very slow rate of progress, pay equality will not be achieved across the European Union until the next century (2104) and will never be reached in some Member States.

ETUC reply to the First phase consultation of social partners under Article 154 TFEU on possible action addressing the challenges related to working conditions in platform work Resolution adopted at the virtual Executive Committee meeting on 22-23 March 2021 Main messages

ETUC position in reply to the public consultation on Green Paper on Ageing Adopted at the virtual Executive Committee Meeting of 22-23 March 2021

ETUC Resolution for a More Sustainable and Inclusive Competition Policy Adopted at the Executive Committee of 22-23 March 2021  Including the addendum on Public Procurement adopted at the Executive Committee of 4 June 2021 ETUC KEY MESSAGES

ETUC position on the Assessment of the Action Plan implementing the EPSR + Roadmap to the EU Social Summit in Porto Adopted at the virtual Executive Committee Meeting of 22-23 March 2021 SUMMARY The ETUC welcomes the Action Plan implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) and backs the call addressed to Member States, EU institutions and social partners to endorse the Action Plant to keep the EU social agenda prominent in all the policy areas of the EU.

Adopted at the Executive Committee Meeting of 22 March 2021 I. Setting the scene: why both labour mobility and migration should be fair

ETUC’s DECENT WORK & SUSTAINABLE GROWTH INDEX Decent work and sustainable growth are one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals which the EU signed-up to in 2015. The report prepared for the ETUC by a team of researchers of the highly respected Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development ASviS, led by Prof. Enrico Giovannini, measures progress towards the goal on three measures: economic wellbeing, employment quality and labour vulnerability (merged also into one overall index). 

Dear President, Dear High Representative, The ETUC totally condemns the bloody repression by the Myanmar military which has trampled over democracy and the legitimate protests of the people of Myanmar and killed over 100 people including children in the deadliest day since the illegal coup two months ago. In addition to gun and grenade attacks on people in several cities, airstrikes against its own people have caused many citizens to flee the country for Thailand.

ETUC resolution on “Fit for 55” package Adopted at the virtual Executive Committee meeting of 22-23 March 2021 Summary of key messages

ETUC Resolution on 2021 – Year for More Democracy at Work Adopted at the Executive Committee of 22-23 March 2021 Background

Statement of the ETUC Collective Bargaining and Wage Coordination Committee Last week, the EU Council's legal service finally delivered its opinion on the Directive on adequate minimum wages in the EU. The opinion confirms what trade unions have been saying all along: a Directive is possible and the proposed Directive is drafted on the correct legal base, i.e the protection of working conditions (Article 153(1)(b) TFEU in conjunction with Article 153(2) TFEU).

ETUC Position on enhancing validation of non-formal and informal learning Adopted at the virtual Executive Committee meeting of 22-23 March 2021 Background