Youth committee

The ETUC has a Youth Committee composed of young representatives from all ETUC affiliate organisations. Every two years, the committee elects the members of its Executive Committee (bureau), respecting a geographical distribution. The bureau coordinates activities and represents the committee at different events.

It aims to make the voice of young European workers and unemployed heard inside the trade union movement and wider society (among policy-makers at EU, national and local levels, employers’ organisations, NGOs and other stakeholders).

The overarching political document "The Future of Youth" (adopted by the Youth Committee in 2019)summarises the views and recommendations of the European youth workforce represented by the ETUC Youth Committee on a series of topics. It outlines the realities facing young workers concerning working conditions, the digital and platform economy, the challenge of the climate change, and transitions from the educational system to the labour market or further education (traineeships, apprenticeships, dual learning, entrepreneurship and mobility).

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  • 20.04.2021 Event

    Register | Social Summit - Youth Torch | 4th May 2021

    Brussels, 3 May 2021 To the members of the ETUC Youth Committee FOR INFORMATION: To all ETUC member organisations Dear colleagues, We would like to kindly remind you to register for the online gathering ahead of Social Summit in Porto.
  • 08.03.2021 Page

    Jobs saved in French aviation industry

    Trade unions in France have taken action to preserve hundreds of jobs in the struggling aviation industry since 2020. CFE-CGC, CFTC and FO, the three trade unions represented at the Airbus aerospace group’s helicopter production subsidiary, have concluded several agreements aimed at safeguarding the future of its two French sites.
  • 08.03.2021 Publication

    Engaging young people in trade Unions

    Recommendations on engaging young people in trade unions
    Following different projects with partners such us ETUI and ITC-ILO, and building on contributions from member organisations and individuals across Europe, ETUC Youth Committee in cooperation with FES presents a guide with recommendations on how to engage young people in the work of trade unions.  The guide explores existing good practices and new ways how to stop the trade union membership decline which is an existing threat in 27 out of 31 analysed countries. 
  • 15.02.2021 Press release

    Survey highlights plight of young people in pandemic

    ETUC Youth - Time for Quality Jobs
    11 months after the start of the pandemic, young trade union leaders say that young unemployed, those neither in employment or education or training, and workers in platform companies are not being helped enough by job and wage protection schemes and related emergency measures. These findings will be presented today to Commissioner Nicolas Schmit and the Portuguese President of EU Council of Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Ministers, Ana Mendes Godinho at an online conference ‘(How) Will Europe prevent a Lost Generation?’ attended by over 200 young people.
  • 30.10.2020 Document

    ETUC statement on Youth

    Time for Quality Jobs
    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%.
  • 23.03.2020 Document

    Young people shouldn’t learn the hard way!

    Cover
    Call to EU institutions and national governments to protect workers now and in the future.   The ETUC Youth Committee is deeply concerned about the spread of coronavirus throughout Europe, particularly in countries such as Italy.  Such concerns relate to the repercussions this is having on the lives of thousands of people, as well as on economic activities, employment and the social dimension and resilience of the entire European Union. 
  • 17.02.2020 Page

    Fashion industry glamour veils exploitation of young workers

    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’.
  • 17.02.2020 Page

    Unity is strength for young trade unionists

    Trade union collective bargaining is helping young workers in Belgium and elsewhere to obtain better pay and working conditions. In 2016 the Belgian government introduced unfair, sub-minimum wage levels for young workers, supposedly to create 1,000 new jobs in the wake of the economic crisis. But while the jobs never materialised, this austerity measure had a disastrous impact on the working and living conditions of some 45,000 young people, who suffered cuts in social protection and a drop in wages of up to 18%.
  • 13.03.2019 Event

    May 20th, Vienna: The future of trade unions in Europe – young, digital and organized

    Brussels, April 10th 2019 To: Members of the ETUC Youth Committee This is a reminder of the circular sent on March 13th and April 2nd. Dear colleagues, The day before the start of ETUC Congress, the ETUC - Youth Committee with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation organises the seminar "The future of trade unions in Europe – young, digital and organized", which will take place in the hotel Austria Trend Ananas on May 20th from 16h00 to 18h00. The seminar will be followed by a reception until 19:00.
  • 17.12.2018 Publication

    Boosting unions’ participation to guarantee quality transitions and employment to young people in Europe

    Cover of the report "Boosting unions’ participation to guarantee quality transitions and employment to young people in Europe"
    This report of the ETUC and its Youth Committee contributes to the following aims: Need for a pool of systematic knowledge on what is happening at European and national levels in implementation of EU youth employment policies, with a focus on trade union involvement; provision of comparable cross-national information on existing practices of trade union involvement in EU youth employment policies; creation of a practical toolbox (recommendations) on trade union involvement in youth employment policies.
  • 25.11.2018 Page

    Austrian pay deals benefit apprentices

    Collective bargaining in Austria has brought positive results for workers in the metal and railway sectors. A trade union agreement with the Association of Metal Industries will mean significant wage and salary increases of 3% to 4.3%, or at least €1,120 per year. Apprentices in particular will benefit from a pay hike of up to 16%. Some 6,600 apprentices in the metal-working industry will get an increase in their first year of €100 euros to raise their earnings to €719, rising to €920 in the second, €1,204 in the third and €1,590 in the fourth year of training.
  • 25.06.2018 Circular

    For Information : FOR INFO: ETUC Gender Equality Survey 2018

    Brussels, 25 June 2018 To all ETUC Member Organisations To the Members of the ETUC Women's Committee To the Member of the ETUC Youth Committee Dear colleagues, please find attached the report of this year ETUC Gender Equality Survey. The first part of the report looks at trends in female trade unions' membership and in unions' decision-making positions among ETUC confederations and ETUFs.

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