Brussels, 27/02/2009
ETUC demands New Social Deal in Europe
Workers, through no fault of their own, are paying a very high price for the reckless and greedy excesses of the business world especially the banks; unemployment is soaring, precarious work and poverty are spreading, purchasing power is falling, and public debt is increasing.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is therefore on the offensive for a new social deal in Europe with the following key five point plan:
- An expanded recovery programme to provide more and better jobs, to protect employment in key industries, to invest in new, sustainable technologies, and to maintain vital public services.
- Better pay and pensions, stronger welfare states, higher benefits to protect the purchasing power and effective participation rights needed to boost economies.
- An end to the recent decisions of the European Court of Justice favouring market freedoms over our fundamental rights and collective agreements by confirming the social objectives of the internal market, and guaranteeing equal treatment and equal pay for ‘posted’ migrant workers.
- Effective regulation of financial markets, a fair distribution of wealth, and no return to casino capitalism or to the “business as usual” of the past 20 years in financial markets
- A European central bank committed to growth and full employment, not just price stability.
Support ETUC’s European days of action on 14, 15 and 16 May 2009, and join the ETUC demonstrations in Brussels, Berlin, Prague and in Spain (city to be confirmed).
Declaration for download
To download the ETUC Declaration ‘Fight the crisis: put the people first’ in PDF format, please click on the respective link below.
- EN (16Kb PDF)
