On 16 October 2024, a delegation of trade union representatives met with employers and key figures of the European Commission. Jarkko Eloranta, Vice-President, European Trade Union Confederation, made the following intervention (to be checked against delivery). Dear President,Dear Vice-President,Dear Commissioner,Dear social partners, As we approach the new Commission mandate, it is important that we see key elements of the outgoing mandate remain strongly on the agenda.

Trade unions are calling on EU member states to waste no time in putting the platform work directive into action at national level. Millions of workers have been forced into bogus self-employment by platform companies, meaning they miss out on their most basic rights as workers such as the minimum wage or sick pay.  The directive adopted today by the EU Council will mean: 

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Emilio Gabaglio, one of its founding fathers and longest standing leaders.  Born into a working class family in 1937, Gabaglio studied economics in Milan before returning to his home town of Como to begin his working life as a secondary school teacher. During this time he joined the Italian Confederation of Trades Unions (CISL) and rose to become head of its international department. 

A return to austerity when we desperately need to increase investment would take Europe down a road to ruin, the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) warned in Rome today. Speaking at a European conference against austerity organised by the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), Esther Lynch recalled how the austerity measures put in place after the 2008 financial crisis were a catastrophe for working people.

Citizens say better living standards should be the priority for Europe in the new mandate,

The scale of the action required by Europe’s new housing commissioner designate is laid bare today by new Eurostat da

The European Union must stop fuelling a race to the bottom in pay and working conditions by making public contracts dependent on respect for workers’ rights.Thousands of essential workers are mobilising in Brussels for a Uni Europa demonstration for a progressive reform of the EU public procurement directives. Public procurement, or the contracting of private firms by public authorities to deliver goods and services, amounts to two trillion Euros - around 14% of the EU’s GDP.Lowest cost

The decision of two far-right groups in the European Parliament, Patriots for Europe and Europe of Sovereign Nations, to nominate notorious union-buster Elon Musk for the Sakharov human rights prize lays bare their anti-worker agenda. 

Delivery workers say the platform work directive could stop them being treated as a “slave to an algorithm” if it is properly implemented by national governments. The directive is expected to be given the final green light by the Council shortly, meaning member states need to begin putting its improvements into their national law. 

The danger of the European Commission’s decision to delay action to protect workers from asbestos is highlighted today by new data showing cases of asbestos-related cancer are rising.

Company restructuring is no longer an exceptional circumstance. It has become a daily reality faced by trade unions and workers and a regular feature across all sectors and activities. It can also be very difficult to navigate. 

The alarming contraction in economic activity in the Eurozone shows why the European Central Bank (ECB) needs to lower interest rates further and faster.  The eurozone is facing its first economic contraction in seven months, with the composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) published this week falling below the critical threshold of 50.The development signals shrinking activity in both manufacturing and services sectors and highlights the fragility of the economic situation, particularly in Germany and France. 

The European Commission has announced plans to downgrade the importance of its Jobs and Social Rights portfolio - less than 24 hours after workers marched to the European institutions to demand action to protect jobs.Every European Commission since the 1970s has included a Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs (or Jobs and Social Rights as it has been called since 2019).But the post would be eliminated in the plans for the new Commission published today, instead being made part of a ‘People, Skills and Preparedness’ portfolio.

The threat to tens of thousands of European industrial workers’ livelihoods, including more than 3000 jobs at Audi and its subcontractors on the doorstep of the European institutions, shows the urgent need for the EU to deliver an industrial deal that will protect and create quality jobs. Trade unions will march in Brussels today to demand political action in response to a threat from carmaker Audi to cut jobs at its plant in Brussels which will affect thousands of workers.

The European Central Bank (ECB) today announced a small 0.25 point cut in interest rates.The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) warns this move does not match the scale of the action required to boost investment set out this week in the Draghi report on competitiveness.The Draghi report warned high interest rates could contribute to public debt becoming “unsustainable” and “negatively affect investments” in the green and digital transitions.Commenting on the decision, ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said:

The ETUC’s call for a major shift towards more EU investment has been backed by Draghi, but trade unions warn that specific measures will be needed to ensure the investment creates quality jobs in all sectors and all regions. Trade union involvement will be key. Social dialogue and collective bargaining must be at the centre of the solution for European competitiveness. We call on the President of the European Commission to convene a social partner working group to discuss the report and the way forward. 

The number of firefighters was cut in a dozen EU member states last year despite a rising risk of fires caused by climate change, an analysis of new EU data by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has found. Eurostat figures published today show that there were 362,400 firefighters in the EU in 2023, which is an increase of 3,200 on the previous year. 

The “ethos of exploitation” which caused one of Europe’s most notorious industrial disasters is still leading to the deaths and injuries of migrant workers almost seven decades later, the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) warned today.

EU member states should follow the UK Government in tackling age-based pay discrimination by eliminating lower rates of statutory minimum wages for young people.

The number of workers who can’t afford a week’s holiday has increased by more than two million, an analysis of EU data for the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has found.An estimated 39.7 million working people (15%) could not afford a week’s holiday away from home, either in their own country or abroad, in 2022 – up from 37.6 million (14%) in 2021.The biggest increase in holiday poverty came in France, where almost a million more hardworking people were forced to stay at home. The biggest percentage point changes came in Ireland (+3.8%) and France (+2.5%).

The European Central Bank has today announced interest rates will remain unchanged despite the fact that it says “most measures [of underlying inflation] were either stable or edged down in June.”Responding to the decision, ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said: “Today’s decision shows the ECB has no clear strategy of how to deal with profit-driven inflation.   

Trade unions are challenging Ursula von der Leyen to commit to quickly turning her promises to working people into directives with the necessary funding to make them a reality. The political guidelines published by Ursula von der Leyen include the following positive pledges:  

Even countries with low levels of debt are at high risk of adopting austerity measures under plans approved today by EU finance ministers.

President von der Leyen must commit to tackle economic and social insecurity from the workplace up. Working people are facing real problems that need EU action. Some of the key problems to which working people urgently need solutions are:

Commenting on the outcome of the European Council, ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said: “It is good news that the far-right have been frozen out of the decision on the EU’s top jobs. Cooperation with far-right forces in the European Parliament must also be rejected. “However, the best defence against the far-right is to ensure that every job in Europe is a top job: quality jobs with fair pay and conditions and collective bargaining in every sector and every region.