Madam President of the Commission, Mr President of the Council, Mr Prime Minister, Honorable commissioners and ministers Dear Colleagues, Let me first remind you that the ETUC and the trade union organizations in Europe have called for an ambitious and large-scale recovery plan to respond to this unprecedented crisis that we will have to face. The Next Generation EU proposal responds to this request and we welcome it. Now it is necessary that this proposal be approved quickly so that the various measures can be deployed quickly.

The digital transformation of the economy is a multifaceted topic with large implications for labour markets, the world of work and society at large. It is dealt with in a variety of ways by EU member states, due to different social and economic situations, labour markets and industrial relations systems and existing initiatives, practices and collective agreements.

Brussels, 16 June 2020 Adopted at the Extraordinary Executive Committee meeting of 9 June 

Adopted at the Executive Committee Meeting of 9 June 2020 The social impact of the COVID-19 crisis makes it necessary to substantially amend the Commission proposal on revised Employment Guidelines

Measures fall short of protecting posted workers in the outbreak of COVID-19 Posted workers in the EU face particular challenges in view of the COVID-19 outbreak and the measures imposed, not only in terms of border restrictions on the free movement of workers and services, but also in terms of emergency measures introduced to mitigate and protect workers and businesses from negative consequences of the crisis. Posted workers are at particular risk of being left behind.

On 13 May 2020, the European Commission issued a Communication on a phased and coordinated approach for restoring freedom of movement and lifting internal border controls. This guidance document is complemented by specific Guidelines on the progressive restoration of transport services and connectivity.

LGBT workers still suffer from discrimination in the world of work and in the society due to their sexual orientation. In times of Covid, as in other crises, these rights are even more under threat, due to lack of legislative protection and underrepresentation in workplaces and society in general.

Economic and social policies to date have focused excessively on fiscal discipline rather than on public investment in health and care, this crisis clearly showing that this was to the detriment of the people in general.  This fiscal discipline focused on austerity, cuts and privatisation; as a result, aging was seen as a cost on the country’s budget and financing of the health sector dwindled. ETUC has been denouncing the weakness of the health care systems in Europe for many years. 

The ETUC Women’s Committee stands beside women from across Europe who are fighting to fulfil their rights to safe, legal and fully comprehensive reproductive healthcare. The ETUC Women’s Committee particularly supports Polish women who are protesting against a bill, submitted through the citizens’ initiative which aims to introduce a full ban on abortion. The bill is currently being discussed in the Polish Parliament.

Trade Unions are always here continuing to fight for… This year we celebrate a Labour Day out of the norm. Generally, thousands of workers would have taken to the streets to celebrate this day, but, this year, this will not be possible due to the current COVID-19 crisis.

28/04/2020 : Letter to the European Commission on the Youth Guarantee  Dear President von der Leyen, Dear Commissioner Schmit, In recent weeks every aspect of our life as we know it has been turned around. The European Union is once again under scrutiny and we are under strong pressure to demonstrate to the citizens that it can offer strategies on how to overcome the consequences of the pandemic.

The ETUC to make access of companies to EU and national public funding during and after the COVID-19 outbreak conditional to the respect of tax obligations and workers’ rights Member States are providing direct public support to companies facing the COVID-19 outbreak. The European Union has pledged many different financial instruments to assist the Member States in their action to support economic activities of companies and provide income replacement to workers.

The COVID-19 outbreak has shown us how vulnerable we are to an epidemic, and how devastating the effects can be: on life, on health, on society, on our economy.  It has demonstrated very clearly the importance of protecting working people (and all people) from disease, especially at the workplace.