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. ”

Tomorrow a delegation [1]of young European trade unionists will meet the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso to ask for a change in current austerity policies. In 11 EU member states youth unemployment is over than 25% and it is 50% or higher in Greece (57%), Spain (56%) and Croatia (52%).   Young people are struggling to find jobs, to further their education and have to migrate.

Austerity is not working, and a new path for Europe is urgently needed, European trade union leaders warned at an unprecedented union summit in Brussels today. “Real wages have fallen over the last five years in most EU countries” said Bernadette Ségol, Secretary General of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

Video available in several EU languages: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeE4Q3gvQB0HpEPTt7_-diPab3m1tpGht

Berkin Elvan died on March 11 after 269 days in coma as a result of being hit by a tear-gas canister when he was on his way to buy some bread during anti-Government protests in June 2013. The ETUC supports the mourning demonstrations which took place all over the country and condemns the repression and dispersion of many of these rallies.

This cartoon is part of the ETUC campaign "A New Path For Europe'.

A five-point plan for immediate measures to secure a peaceful and acceptable way out of the crisis in Ukraine was endorsed by the ETUC at their executive committee meeting on 11-12 March 2014.   Trade union organisations representing workers throughout the European continent call for:

European economic recovery remains fragile and could be derailed by rising debt burdens, the ETUC warned the European Commission, ECB, Finance Ministers and European employer organisations. The ETUC described the much-heralded  ‘recovery’ of the European economy as weak, and clearly insufficient with unemployment in 2015 still remaining at 11.5% (according to the ILO), at a  meeting of the European Macro Economic Dialogue .

Europe needs a revamped gender equality agenda and concrete actions to address persistent imbalances between men and women in society. Ahead of the European elections in May 2014, the ETUC uses the occasion of International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8 March to encourage women to vote and ensure that their voices are heard.  

Negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council on the Enforcement Directive have led to a very disappointing outcome. The European Parliament now has before it a draft legislation which will, if adopted, hardly advance the protection of posted workers and is nowhere near enough to stop on-going social dumping. The recognition that governments need to combat bogus self-employment is positive but far from adequate to meet the extent of the problem.

On the eve of the European Summit and a few months before the 2014 European elections, the European trade union intends to open the discussion on the major issues of the elections and on its proposals.  Pictures of the European trade union summit: More pictures available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/etuc-ces/sets/72157642541955913/   Bernadette Ségol's statement at opening introduction: "Austerity is not working":

Following campaigns by trade unions and civil society organisations in Europe, the Commission agreed to hold a public consultation on investor protection instruments that enable investors to sue governments for introducing democratically agreed policies which may affect their profits.  That mechanism, known as Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), which is under discussion in the TTIP trade and investment talks between the EU and US, has been strenuously opposed by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).  

Traineeships can admittedly be a springboard towards employment for young people.  Unfortunately, they can also constitute a trap, and that is why the European Parliament and the Council have launched a call for a “Quality Framework for Traineeships” (QFT).