Following pressure from the trade union movement, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed today that there will be a commissioner for quality jobs and social rights.
Speeches delivered at Social Partners' Dialogue meeting on 16 Octber 2024
Speech by Esther Lynch, ETUC General Secretary
Speech by Jarkko Eloranta, ETUC Vice-President
On 16 October 2024, a delegation of trade union representatives met with employers and key figures of the European Commission. Esther Lynch, General Secretary, European Trade Union Confederation, made the following intervention (to be checked against delivery).
Dear President von der Leyen, Dear Vice-President Dombrovskis,Dear Commissioner Schmit, Distinguished colleagues, and friends,
Europe is facing a quality job and social justice emergency.
According to Eurobarometer, rising prices and the cost of living (42%) and the economic situation (41%) were the main topics that motivated European citizens to vote in the last European elections in June this year.
Given the level of concern, it is essential to restore trust. The European Union must demonstrate that it genuinely intends to deliver a fair deal for working people, their families and communities.
This must start with a plan to deliver quality jobs for every sector and every region.
Dear Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,I am contacting you following the announcement of the list of Commissioners designate and the publication of their proposed portfolios and mission letters. The European Trade Union Confederation is very concerned that – for the first time since the Seventies – there is not a member of the college of Commissioners whose title refers specifically to Labour and Social Affairs (or to “Jobs and Social Rights”).
The European Commission has announced plans to downgrade the importance of its Jobs and Social Rights portfolio - less than 24 hours after workers marched to the European institutions to demand action to protect jobs.Every European Commission since the 1970s has included a Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs (or Jobs and Social Rights as it has been called since 2019).But the post would be eliminated in the plans for the new Commission published today, instead being made part of a ‘People, Skills and Preparedness’ portfolio.
Trade unions are challenging Ursula von der Leyen to commit to quickly turning her promises to working people into directives with the necessary funding to make them a reality. The political guidelines published by Ursula von der Leyen include the following positive pledges:
President von der Leyen must commit to tackle economic and social insecurity from the workplace up. Working people are facing real problems that need EU action.
Some of the key problems to which working people urgently need solutions are:
Commenting on the outcome of the European Council, ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said:
“It is good news that the far-right have been frozen out of the decision on the EU’s top jobs. Cooperation with far-right forces in the European Parliament must also be rejected.
“However, the best defence against the far-right is to ensure that every job in Europe is a top job: quality jobs with fair pay and conditions and collective bargaining in every sector and every region.
Responding to the State of the Union Address, ETUC General Secretary Eshter Lynch said:
“Today’s speech was future-focussed. It commits the EU to build a future based on a fair and just transition with decent jobs. The challenges of guardrails for AI were recognised along with the importance of childcare for workers.
Trade unions have called on Ursula von der Leyen to address Europe’s growing ‘social justice emergency’ ahead of her State of the Union address.
In a letter to the European Commission President, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) highlights how workers have seen their purchasing power collapse at the same time as corporate profits and dividends exploded.
