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. 

STATEMENT SIGNED BY ETUC AND 50+ CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS Democracy – Inclusion – Justice – Solidarity – Sustainability April 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic is demonstrating all too well that unequal societies go hand-in-hand with human suffering, fragile economies and delicate democracies.

Joint* statement on whistleblowers and COVID-19

Less than one month after the start of lockdowns in many EU countries due to COVID-19 outbreak, the number of additional unemployed workers has crossed 4 million, with hundreds of thousands of companies closed and many unlikely to survive the emergency. At the same time, measures to support companies facing difficulties and to provide workers suspended from work with short-time work arrangements and income compensation have been put in place in most Member States, making it possible to save millions of jobs.

European Social Partners' letter to the attention of Mrs Ursula Von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, Mr Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President, Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President, Nicolas Schmit, Commissioner on the situation in Poland  

Respect for human rights and fundamental values should be guiding the Union in all its internal as well as external actions. In everyday life as well as in times of crises, the universality and indivisibility of human rights must be upheld to ensure human dignity at both global and local level.

Dear Presidents, The COVID-19 emergency is hitting working people in Europe hard. Those who work in activities of general interest, such as health care, transportation, agriculture, food production, and many other services are exposed to contagion and are poorly protected. In many cases their working conditions have been worsened.

To the Video Conference of the Members of the European Council     Statement of the European Social Partners ETUC, BusinessEurope, CEEP, SMEUnited on the COVID-19 emergency  

Call to EU institutions and national governments to protect workers now and in the future.   The ETUC Youth Committee is deeply concerned about the spread of coronavirus throughout Europe, particularly in countries such as Italy.  Such concerns relate to the repercussions this is having on the lives of thousands of people, as well as on economic activities, employment and the social dimension and resilience of the entire European Union. 

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the Pan European Regional Council of the International Trade Union Confederation (PERC) welcome the European Commission’s proposals for a renewed Eastern Partnership with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. Both trade union organisations welcome the commitment of the European Commission to continue and deepen the Eastern Partnership with the six EU neighborhood countries.