The European Commission must stand up to the attempt by US President Donald Trump to “intimidate” European companies out of complying with European equality law, the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) said today. At the Trade Unions Against Discrimination Conference in Berlin, Esther Lynch called on Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to defend Europe’s equality standards and demand that the US Government withdraw its threat to European companies.

Urgent message from the ETUC regarding the US Government letter “Certification regarding compliance with applicable federal anti-discrimination law” Dear Mr Norman Thatcher Scharpf, I am contacting you to ask for a meeting as a matter of urgency, to discuss the recent letter issued by the US to companies in Europe who have contracts with the US government. The letter requires companies to "not operate any programs promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws”.

Trade Unions Against Discrimination  While the topic of equality is very close to trade union hearts, there is a need to improve the intersectional dimension of discrimination in the world of work

The practice of paying people with disabilities below the legal minimum must be stopped as part of the rollout of the EU minimum wage directive. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is making the call during European Disabilities Week.

More than 45 years after the EU made equal pay the law, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today joined with trade unions to ensure it is finally made a reality for women workers. President von der Leyen spoke at the congress of the European Trade Union Confederation in Berlin, where more than half of delegates are women, and ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch called for the full and fast implementation at national level of the Pay Transparency Directive.

The British Trades Union Congress (TUC) has launched a Black Network – the first-ever national database set up to capture the contribution of black workers across the trade union movement and create a space for growth, empowerment and progress. “The TUC Black Network will be a powerful tool to connect, amplify and support the work of black activists, reps, organisers and trade union employees and officials,” says the Congress.  

A milestone agreement between Italian unions FIOM-Cgil, FIM-Cisl and UILM and Trieste-based Fincantieri, Italy’s largest shipbuilding group, sets new standards on diversity, inclusion, work-life balance and employee well-being.

The British Trades Union Congress is supporting Disability History Month, celebrated in the UK from November to December and focusing on disabled people’s struggle for equality and human rights across society.

LGBTIQ rights are trade union rights! ETUC position on the EU Strategy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, non-binary, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) equality 2020-2025 Adopted at the Executive Committee Meeting of 3-4 June 2021

ETUC remembers and honours the victims of the Holocaust. We reaffirm our opposition to antisemitism, racism and all forms of intolerance that can lead to targeting people with violence. We reaffirm our total opposition to Nazism and Fascism. We recall that among its first victims were many trade unionists. We remember that the first Nazi concentration camps were built to imprison political opponents. We reiterate our opposition to misogyny and homophobia.

Facebook’s founder and CEO will still sleep soundly tonight after the European Commission took only tentative steps towards stronger regulation of social media platforms in its Democracy Action Plan published today. The dominant market position of the digital giants, and business models that benefit from spreading content regardless of its veracity, seem to be disturbed only a little by the Plan. Instead, the Commission commits to

British trade union Bectu, which organises in the media and creative industries, is investigating the working conditions of fashion assistants. The union wants to uncover the scale of abuse among junior staff, as portrayed in the film ‘The Devil Wears Prada’.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions united with community and religious groups and civil society organisations in calling on all candidates in the February 2020 general election to conduct a respectful and truthful campaign.

Over the summer months, trade unions representing pensioners in Croatia launched action to stop older people being unfairly excluded from access to beaches and tourist resorts. According to the Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia (SSSH), local authorities in some popular tourist destinations impose such high fees for bus access and parking that they are out of reach for retired people. The Croatian Pensioners’ Union has branded charges of up to 1,000 kuna (€135) per day per bus in some seaside resorts as ageist and discriminatory.

European journalists’ trade unions have condemned the distribution of ‘LGBT-free zone’ stickers by the weekly paper Gazeta Polska. The ETUC-affiliated European Federation of Journalists says the stickers – featuring a black cross over the LGBT rainbow symbol – promote discrimination and violate the principles all journalists should adhere to.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is appalled that Polish newspaper Gazeta Polska distributed today ‘LGBT free zone’ stickers. Doing so could create unnecessary divisions and conflicts in workplaces and in society, as demonstrated by the violence against members of the LGTB community on Saturday. Producing such stickers could lead people to break the law by discriminating on grounds of sexual orientation, which is against EU and Polish law. It also disrespects fundamental human rights.

Euro Pride 2019 - ETUC stands with you  Video messages by Ludovic Voet and Isabelle Schömann, ETUC Confederal Secretaries

Members of the Belgian ACV-CSC union’s platform for LGBTQI members, LGBT@Work, joined the Belgian Pride celebrations in May, with the slogan: ‘All for One’. ACV-CSC LGBT@Work unites workers and activists who aim to promote non-discrimination and improve conditions for homosexual, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the workplace. They should have the right to express their sexual identity and to receive fair and equal treatment, as well as the same career and promotion opportunities as other employees.

ETUC statement “Trade unions call for MEPs to promote solidarity and the rights of all workers” Endorsed at the Executive Committee of 24 April 2019 The trade union movement stands for the rights of all workers, no matter what country they are from or their immigration status.

Trade unions cannot accommodate racist extremism. The constitution of Belgium’s FGTB union is explicit: “There is no place in the FGTB for racist, sexist, xenophobic or fascist ideas or behaviour.”

In Germany, trade unions have taken a stand against the growth of the far-right. Although so-called ‘populist’ parties have tried to woo working people, after the riots in Chemnitz in the summer the DGB union highlighted its opposition to extremism through the slogan #wirsindmehr: ‘we are more’, and posting pro-diversity and anti-racist materials on Facebook.  

The CFDT union in France has published a guide to help trade union activists to deal with religious diversity in workplaces. Le Fait Religieux en Entreprise offers information on the legal framework surrounding religious freedom, at national, European and international levels. This includes the 1905 law establishing France as a secular state – a principle later embodied in the French Constitution.

Journalists’ trade unions in Cyprus have joined together in a bid to overcome the longstanding social tensions that divide Greek and Turkish Cypriots and help media workers to be more aware of the sensitivities of neighbouring communities.

Trade union members working for the NH Hotels group in Belgium have set up a ‘Committee for a company without racism’ (Comité pour une entreprise sans racisme) as part of the 'Racism Game Over' campaign. The three Belgian organisations, FGTB, CSC and CGSLB, are taking part in an inter-union forum on 21 March to discuss the next move in the campaign.