DISK members arrested while holding a meeting about May 1 On April 21 the Turkish police burst into a peaceful gathering of trade union representatives who were organizing their activities for May 1 in a hotel near Taksim Square, Istanbul. The police intervened with tear gas & shields, injuring people and 12 DISK members were detained, some of them members of the board. ETUC firmly demands the release of the detained Trade Union members.

Commenting on the outcome of the vote today on the Enforcement of the Posted Workers Directive – in which MEPs rejected all amendments designed to strengthen enforcement - Bernadette Ségol, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, said  “At best, the European Parliament has failed to strengthen the enforcement of what are weak and  minimum rights for those working temporarily in other member states.” “At worst it undermines the ability of those member states who do try to enforce this Directive to do  so in future.”

The European Parliament must strengthen the enforcement of the Posted Workers Directive, or reject the compromise text reached in trialogue, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) told MEPs.   The European Parliament debates tomorrow (April 15), and votes the day after (April 16) on, the Posted Workers Enforcement Directive – the enforcement of rules on the rights of EU workers employed for a limited period in another member state. The ETUC believes that the text must be strengthened.  

MEPs are being urged by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) to vote for equal treatment of workers in the same workplace – against employers bringing in workers from other parts of the world in order to pay less.   The European Parliament votes tomorrow (April 15) on the ‘Intra-Corporate Transfer’ Directive – which sets out the rules for the transfer of workers within a company to the EU from outside the EU.

Speech given by Bernadette Ségol, General Secretary of the ETUC Paris, 10/04/2014   Check against delivery   Thank you for inviting me to this conference on an important and increasingly political subject. I must say that when I was asked to address the question “what is the lowdown on the negotiating positions?"  I wondered whether you shouldn’t be asking the successors to the Washington Post’s Woodstein dream-team. 

Today, the Spring Alliance - bringing together European trade unions and environmental, social and  development organisations[1] launched its new manifesto “A better Europe now” which aims to present a positive vision of Europe “that puts people and planet first”.

The European Commission’s draft Directive on a ‘single member limited liability company’ is a charter for avoiding tax and national labour rules warns the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). While the European Commission presents the Directive as a means of helping small business to trade across the single market, the ETUC points out that there is nothing to stop large companies setting up single member subsidiaries to avoid tax and labour regulations.   The ETUC says the Directive has two major faults in that it 

Speech given by Bernadette Ségol, General Secretary of the ETUC 2 April 2014, Autoworld, Brussels Check against delivery

  Commenting on today’s Euro demonstration for a new path for Europe, Bernadette Ségol, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, said     “50,000 people from 21 countries across Europe made a huge effort to come to Brussels to demonstrate peacefully against austerity, against unemployment and for new policies to create jobs and growth.

Comments on Brussels Euro-demonstration  - 04/04/2014 - #NewPathDemo Photos of the Euro-demonstration ETUC European Voice Wrap  

  Tomorrow, the European Trade Union Confederation is holding a Euro-demonstration in Brussels demanding the end of austerity and proposing a new path for Europe, for investment, quality jobs and equality. At least 40,000 workers from 21 European countries will to take the streets of Brussels to express their dissatisfaction with the economic situation and the economic policies being pursued. 

On April 4 some 40,000 trade unionists from all over Europe will march through the centre of Brussels to the EU quarter. For some Belgians this might seem yet another inconvenience caused by Brussels being home to the EU institutions – like the traffic chaos caused by the arrival of Prime Ministers for European Summits, or the security surrounding the recent visit of President Obama.

Commenting on the proposal for a recast Directive on occupational pension funds (IORP), Claudia Menne, Confederal Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), said “The ETUC is sceptical of the need for change. Pensions need stable rules that work long-term.  The vast majority of occupational pensions are purely national. There needs to be a much more detailed assessment of the long-term impact of the proposed cross-border rules. ”