“Trade unions and employers play a major role in making work safe for women, and helping to eliminate harassment and violence against women,” said Luca Visentini, Secretary General of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). “Collective agreements have shown to be a most effective means to combat this scourge.”  

The European Trade Union Confederation celebrated the 2017 World Pride at a trade union conference, hosted and co-organised by the Spanish trade unions CC.OO and UGT, on ‘The Rights of LGBTQI* People in the Workplace’, which took place on 29-30 June. The conference was an opportunity for the ETUC and its affiliated organisations, represented via the LGBTQI* rights trade union network, to strengthen their cooperation in the fight for human rights, trade union rights and equality for all workers.

Scotland loves football, and it should be a game that welcomes everyone. The British train drivers’ union ASLEF is one of the trade unions taking action to ‘Show Racism the Red Card’, and kick race-hate out of the beautiful game. Members in Scotland have collected money to pay for printing of materials, visits to schools to talk to children about racial tolerance, and events involving footballers themselves. “The backing we get from ASLEF never ceases to amaze us,” said SRtRC campaign manager Nicole Hay.

ETUC position on single market strategy for Europe    Adopted at the ETUC Executive Committee on 16-17 December 2015 Key points The conflict between the exercise of fundamental rights and economic freedoms and the development of unfair competition in the single market can no longer be ignored. The ETUC recalls the importance of quality jobs, the principle of equal treatment between all workers at the same workplace and urges the EU institutions to adopt a social progress protocol.

Key Issues Good work-life balance has a positive impact on the well-being of workers. It can also contribute to achieving major EU policy goals: stimulating employment (especially among women and older workers) and growth; promoting children and youth development; and eventually achieving gender equality.

Statement from the ETUC Mobility, Migration and Inclusion Committee Stop discriminating against refugees on grounds of nationality! The ETUC has received information from informal and informal sources around the so-called ‘Balkan route’ of entry to the EU that since 19 November 2015, the states of FYROM Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia have been allowing only Syrians, Iraqis and Afghanis to enter their countries.

We, the European trade union movement, stand in solidarity with the people of France, and the French trade unions following the murderous attacks on innocent people in Paris. We, trade unions throughout Europe, condemn without reservation these barbaric murders. There can be no justification for the deliberate, cold-blooded taking of people’s lives, for causing injury and trauma, for bringing grief to the family and friends of the victims. We commend the bravery of the police, security and emergency services, and ordinary citizens, during and after the attacks. 

In Poland, trade unionists have taken action to help migrant Ukrainian workers to improve their working conditions and increase salaries, aiming for equal pay for Polish and foreign workers by 2017.

Adopted at the Executive Committee Meeting of 17-18 June 2015 Introduction

A thunderclap action on social media calling for an end to racism at work, organised by the Belgian CSC trade union, reached 105,678 supporters in March.

ETUC’s recommendations to the national governments and to the European Union on how to overcome obstacles to the mobility of frontier workers in Europe  Adopted by the ETUC Executive Committee at its meeting on 10-11 March 2015

Brussels, 19/12/2013 According to a recent report by the European Commission, the pay gap between women and men in the European Union continues to remain. ETUC express its disappointment at the lack of ambition from the commission, and its unwillingness to undertake concrete measures to fight the gender pay gap. The findings of the report are alarming. Despite a slight weak downward trend, in recent years, the gender pay gap exists at various levels in all 28 Member States. For example, on average, women also work 59 days unpaid per year.

Brussels, 17/12/2013 Migrant workers continue to face uncertainty in the labour market ahead of national workers; with evidence of wage discrimination, social dumping, and lower opportunities in the access to market. Some employers are also taking advantage of the economic crisis with cases of abuse and exploitation (especially in the agriculture and construction sectors).

Brussels, 03-04/12/2013 - The dramatic events in Lampedusa provoked a wave of indignation throughout Europe and worldwide. It is one of the recurrent tragedies involving migrants on the border of Europe, notably in the Mediterranean Sea. - The Southern routes of migration will be fed by wars and persecutions and natural events hitting the population in Africa and in the Middle East. The political instability of such areas reduces margins of cooperation with origin/transit countries.

Brussels, 08/11/2013 The deal offers a set of rights and equal treatment measures for the benefit of seasonal migrant workers. Member states will be called to introduce faster and more transparent procedures to release permits. Migrants will have right to an accommodation that ensures an adequate standard of living at affordable costs.

Brussels, 23/10/2013 The current multi-faceted crisis exploded five years ago essentially in the financial sector; it triggered an economic and then a sovereign debt crisis. To combat this crisis EU leaders have adopted and implemented policies through brutal austerity measures and internal devaluation. This exacerbated the crisis, destroyed functioning economic structures, reduced consumption, increased inequalities and poverty, attacked wage levels, dramatically raised unemployment, jeopardised social cohesion and the support to the EU project.

Brussels, 22-23/10/2013 For quality jobs, equality and democracy in Europe! From 22 to 25 May 2014, elections will be organised in each Member State of the European Union (EU) to elect the MEPs who will sit in the next European Parliament (EP). In particular, the European Parliament has the power to approve or reject European laws, decide on the European budget and choose the President of the European Commission.

Brussels, 03/10/2013 “We are horrified by the death of hundreds of migrant people – including children and pregnant women – that happened today off the coast of Lampedusa. Too often the hope of a better future turned into tragedy. We cannot accept that current European migration policy lacks any form of solidarity among Member states in this field. Without a change of course, it will be impossible to prevent further tragedies like this one” said Bernadette Ségol, ETUC General Secretary.

Brussels, 02/10/2013 The ETUC and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) sent a joint letter to Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, warning him that when the EU takes the floor at the UN High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development on 3 and 4 October it cannot be hesitant in calling for respect for the most important conventions and international standards that grant protection to migrants globally.

Brussels, 02/05/2013 “This proposal by the Commission was both expected and needed, all the more given the increase in serious problems linked to discrimination and unequal treatment in Europe notably as a result of the application of transitional measures for the new Member States as well as and the increasing xenophobia in more and more Member States” stated Luca Visentini, ETUC Confederal Secretary.

Brussels, 05-06/03/2013 {{INTRODUCTION }} European migration policy is being deployed in a new institutional environment in which the European Parliament can intervene as co-legislator. It has opened doors to the greater involvement of civil society in a consultative role, from which the ETUC has benefitted as well.

Brussels, 06/03/2013 Introduction

Brussels, 13/03/2013 The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) congratulates the European Parliament on the adoption, yesterday, of three important resolutions on gender equality and women’s rights, focusing on the impact that the economic crisis is having on women, the elimination of gender stereotypes and the situation of women in North Africa.

Brussels, 07/03/2013 On 8 March 2013, International Women’s Day (IWD), women worldwide will again demand for a basic, but yet fundamental right: equality between women and men. On this important occasion, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) warns that women are paying a double price for the crisis. Time has come for a real change of direction.