Today, the EU’s basic humanitarian values are challenged by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers. More than 80% of them are fleeing violence and conflict in countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Some 20% are women and one-third children. We are confronting an ongoing humanitarian disaster. In April and May alone, the Italian Navy saved thousands of refugees in the Mediterranean, but hundreds more died.

This 2016 edition is intended as one contribution to an assessment of what the EU current policies have achieved, or above all what they have not achieved, and hence as an evaluation of the extent to which the European Union is prepared for the future. All four chapters of this report conclude on a negative note, and each puts forward suggestions for some appropriate policy changes.

The following report aims at contributing to the European trade union movement’s opinion-building on the review of the EWC Directive. It summarizes the results of a survey carried out on behalf of the ETUC and the European Trade Union Federations industriAll, UNI Europe, EFFAT, EPSU, EFBWW and ETF between autumn 2015 and spring 2016 in the context of the ETUC’s EU-funded project “ETUC Action for Workers’ Participation”.

The European quality framework for apprenticeships was launched during a conference held on 14 April 2016 in Brussels. This framework consists of 20 quality criteria, which have been developed in a bottom-up approach through engaging with experts at national and European levels over the course of 4 joint sectoral seminars and 20 national country visits. Other language versions of the publication will follow shortly.

Four case studies on the use of letterbox companies and conduit entities to avoid labour laws, social premiums and corporate taxes

Videos of the ETUC Project "Restructuring in Europe" dedicated to - Facts & Figures, Forms & Reasons 

A focus for trade union action during the Dutch Presidency of the EU January 2016 - June 2016 Trade unions throughout Europe support the initiative of the Dutch Presidency to update the EU Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive. We need to act now to ensure that the discussions lead to the type of changes that will protect workers from work related cancer in all industries, occupations and countries in Europe.

The ETUC as well as the ETUFs during the last two decades have been actively involved in the EU level debate on how to improve frameworks conditions for trade unions, employee representatives as well as individual employees in contexts of corporate restructuring – in regard to anticipation and also the handling and management of restructuring operations both at national as well as cross-border level. In various occasions, in trade union run studies and cooperation projects, in bilateral as well as trilateral dialogue structures and events at EU level it has been highlighted and stressed by European unions that there is a need for a substantial strengthening of workers’ rights in order to model and shape a fair handling of corporate restructuring and strengthen the capacity to anticipate change.

ETUC REPORT ON NATIONAL TRADE UNIONS INPUTS FOR THE EARLY-STAGE CONSULTATION ON COUNTRY REPORTS 2016

This is a propitious time for the publication of the Syndex study, which will help inform European trade unions about the state of play in the economic relations between two of the major world players and feed their discussions towards elaborating ETUC policy on the issues.

The 2015-2017 work programme of the european partners 'partnership for inclusive growth and employment'

The ETUC togheter with OSHA and ECHA published a leaflet dedicated to workers’ reps in companies manufacturing, importing or using chemicals. The REACH Regulation requires companies manufacturing or importing chemical substances into the EU, Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein in quantities of one tonne or more per year to register them with ECHA. If information on the hazardous properties of the chemical is unavailable, it should be generated and safety data sheets should be updated if needed.

Adoped by the 13the ETUC Congress - Paris 29/9 - 2/10/2015