Brussels 25/06/2019 CONO SUR TRADE UNION ORGANISATIONS COORDINATOR (CCSCS) EUROPEAN TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION (ETUC) JOINT STATEMENT ON NEGOTIATIONS FOR A BI-REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND MERCOSUR  

Brussels 24/06/2019 On 3 April 2019, the European Commission launched its Communication on “Further strengthening the Rule of Law within the Union. State of Play and possible next steps” (COM(2019) 163 final) [1]. It thereby invited the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council and the public at large to reflect on how strengthening the enforcement of the rule of law can make an essential contribution to the future of the European Union.

We are living through a crucial and challenging moment for Europe and the European trade union movement. The effects of unregulated globalisation, economic crisis and austerity; the changes in the economy and labour market due to climate change, digitalisation and automation; the attacks on workers’ and trade union rights and on the European social model; the growth of inequalities within and between countries; the issue of migration and mobility flows, often leading to

Circular to all ETUC member organizations.  Brussels, 8th April 2019 Dear colleagues, The ETUC is pleased to send you its new report, ‘New trade union strategies for new forms of employment’, which you will find enclosed. The survey was commissioned by the ETUC and carried out by Professors Countouris and De Stefano to explore options for new legal conceptual frameworks implied by the rise of ‘new forms of employment’, and in particular from the growth of forms of work that fall outside traditional labour and social security protections.

The European elections – 23-26 May 2019 – will be decisive for working people. The new European Parliament can either make the EU a better place, or undermine the European cooperation built up over many years. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) – with some 45 million working people in 90 trade unions in 38 countries – believes that a fairer Europe for workers is possible, based on democracy and social justice, quality jobs and higher wages, a socially fair and just transitions to a low-carbon and digital economy.

The sixth autonomous work programme of the European social partners supports the objectives of the 2016 quadri-partite statement on “A New Start for Social Dialogue1” to strengthen social dialogue at European and national levels; to foster the role and influence of national social partners in the European semester; and to step up capacity building support to national social partners, notably through the European Social Fund. The 2019-2021 Work-Programme addresses the six following priorities:

This leaflet provides a short sample of the many ways trade unions get involved in improving the quality and effectiveness of European Youth Employment policies at national level. The leaflet is available in the links below in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.

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.

In recent years, Transnational Company Agreements (TCA) have become an increasing practice in multinational companies (MNCs). This is the result of the internationalisation of industrial relations in which European and International trade unions on the one hand, and some MNCs, on the other hand, have found a common ground for action. Over the last decade, TCAs drew the attention of EU Institutions and ILO too.

Standards are present everywhere in our daily life. Initially associated with product safety and interoperability, their reach has extended to affect a wide range of issues such as occupational health and safety, competences and training, service provision and privacy at work. Many of these areas are right at the centre of trade union work.

Trade unions from Africa and Europe have followed with grave concern the negotiation and conclusion of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and regional groupings in Africa. The ITUC-Africa and the ETUC have called for in-depth changes to the content and guiding principles of current EPAs[1] to ensure they promote economic growth and sustainable development, guarantee respect for workers’ rights and universal access to public services and contribute to the full achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

22 million workers in the EU (10% of the total) are self-employed and have no employees. Across Europe, self-employed workers often have fewer rights than employees. For instance, in some countries they have no right to join a trade union and to benefit from union protection and support. This brochure gives an overview about: Why self-employed workers need better rights? What unions are doing? Which priorities for the future? Link to Report

Organising and protecting atypical workers better – especially self-employed workers – is an ETUC commitment.This research shows that union membership for the self-employed is widely accepted among ETUC affiliated organisations. Contrary to those who claim that trade unions are rigid organisations rooted in the industrial fabric of the last (or even 19th) century, this is a(nother) sign that unions are adapting to the dynamics of the labour market and do seek to better defend the rights of workers.

The UnionMigrantNet is a European network of contact points providing services to migrants, established, managed and supported by trade unions. 

The LABOUR-INT project aims to promote employment as a key part of the integration process of asylum-seekers and refugees in society. Building on the interest and capacities of businesses, chambers of industry and commerce, trade unions and migrant associations, it promotes multi-layered integration paths, from arrival up to the workplace.  If you would like to know more about the LABOUR-INT project, please click here. 

The recent upsurge of migration flows to Europe, consisting particularly of people seeking international protection, has made the need for effective and targeted integration policies ever more urgent. Regarding migrants’ integration into the labour market, a special emphasis is placed on the importance of early identification and validation of skills and qualifications. If you would like to know more about the LABOUR-INT project, please click here.

Report for the final conference of the project "Workers' participation - a key to fair digitalisation" by Eckhard Voss of Wilke, Maack & Partners.  Available in English, French, Polish, Spanish and Italian.

Report by Professor Jeremias Prassl of Oxford University for the final conference of the project "Worker participation:  a key to fair digitalisation".  Available in English, French, Italian and German  

 

Joint Recommendations addressing social partnership in employee training were adopted during a conference held on 19 June 2018 in Brussels. A report was also presented during the conference.

These are central to trade union activities so it is impossible today not to support them.