Resolution adopted at the Executive Committee meeting of 21-22 October 2014   Key messages: ·   The ETUC calls for a Directive introducing a new and integrated architecture for workers’ involvement in European company forms. Building on the existing EU acquis, the Directive should set high standards on information and consultation, and introduce ambitious minimum standards on workers’ board level representation as an additional source of workers’ influence. 

Adopted by the Executive Committee at its meeting on 21-22 October 2014 Economic policies followed until now to tackle the economic and social crisis have failed. They brought about low growth and deflation, increased precarious work and unemployment, particularly youth unemployment, rising poverty and inequalities. Divergences within and between countries increased.  Competition has been extended to all fields, including taxation, workers’ rights, workers’ wages, workers’ protection, working conditions, and social protection. 

Ahead of EU-US trade negotiations the American and European trade unions – AFL-CIO and ETUC  have issued a Declaration of Joint Principles.

Adopted at the ETUC Executive Committee 12 June 2014 The ETUC Executive Committee reiterates how important it is that the interests of workers are represented when considering the issue of standardisation. It makes reference to the resolution adopted on 5 and 6 June 2013 and to the ETUC’s role in European standardisation within the framework of the new legislative context defined in Regulation No. 1025/2012.

Adopted at the meeting of the ETUC Executive Committee on 12 June 2014   The result of the elections demonstrates the growing distance between workers and citizens with the EU institutions and their leaders.  It is a clear signal that austerity policies imposed by national governments during the last five years failed.  

Adopted at the ETUC Executive Committee on 11-12 March 2014 Undeclared work is a serious form of social dumping and it is high time that concrete action is taken at EU level in order to prevent undeclared work and to protect undeclared workers. The EU needs better enforcement of existing labour laws and standards as well as a stronger role in promoting more, and better, cooperation and coordination between the different national administrations.

Adopted at the ETUC Executive Committee on 11-12 March 2014       Background   Work-based learning, which is generally associated with apprenticeships for young people and dual systems of vocational training, is part of the policies supporting the transition from school to the labour market. It is integrated into broader education and training policies linked to labour market issues. [1]  

Adopted at the ETUC Executive Committee on 11-12 March 2014 Summary The Executive committee endorses the Report “Towards a Legal Framework for Transnational Company Agreements”[1] as a solid basis to support trade union demands for clearer and more transparent rules for transnational negotiations with multinational companies

 Key Messages   To ensure a full recovery, Europe needs structural investments, fair pay and decent working conditions for all workers. The ETUC therefore calls on the Spring European Council to adopt a new direction as, without a radical shift in policy, the European Semester 2014 will do nothing to secure a sustainable recovery.

Adopted at the Executive Committee 11-12 March 2014   Europe 2020 not yet fit for purpose In the very beginning, the Europe 2020 strategy, like its predecessor the Lisbon Strategy, relied on instruments which were not efficient, in particular, the open method of coordination. Then economic governance structures were established to better coordinate economic policies, and Europe 2020 had to fit into this new governance architecture, which was not conceived to help it reach Europe 2020 (namely employment or social) objectives.

Adopted at the meeting of the Executive Committee on 11-12 March 2014     The European Council of 21 March 2014 will address industrial policy, energy and the fight against climate change. On 22 January 2014, the European Commission published two communications entitled "For a European Industrial Renaissance" and "A policy framework for climate and energy in the period from 2020 to 2030". The aim of this declaration is to remind Europe's political leaders of some key elements of the ETUC's position on these issues.  

Resolution adopted by the ETUC Executive Committee at its meeting on 11-12 March 2014 On 29 September 2010, Spain’s main unions the CCOO and UGT (Comisiones Obreras and Unión General de Trabajadores) called for a general strike to express their opposition to the policies implemented by the national government regarding labour issues, which represented a sharp decline in the rights of workers. The right to strike is a fundamental right enshrined in the Spanish Constitution, which must be protected especially when exercised.

Brussels, 03-04/12/2013 - The dramatic events in Lampedusa provoked a wave of indignation throughout Europe and worldwide. It is one of the recurrent tragedies involving migrants on the border of Europe, notably in the Mediterranean Sea. - The Southern routes of migration will be fed by wars and persecutions and natural events hitting the population in Africa and in the Middle East. The political instability of such areas reduces margins of cooperation with origin/transit countries.