At today’s Tri-Partite Social Summit - with Presidents Juncker and Tusk, Prime Minister Ratas of Estonia, and the Labour Ministers of Estonia, Bulgaria and Austria - Luca Visentini, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation called for fast proclamation of an ambitious European Pillar of Social Rights and proposed a series of initiatives including:    

In light of new evidence, trade unions and labour organizations are today renewing their calls to the European Commission to make good on its promise to launch a trade investigation into Bangladesh as a result of its government’s continued failure to make urgently needed reforms to the law and practice governing trade union rights in the country’s Ready Made Garment industry.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) urges the Employment and Social Affairs Committee of the European Parliament to adopt today the compromise package proposed by the co-rapporteurs. If adopted today and confirmed by the plenary next week, this package will become the official mandate for the European Parliament to negotiate with Council during “trilogue” discussions. The ETUC has long been calling on MEPs for a revision to ensure posted workers receive equal pay or the same work in the same place as a local worker.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) strongly supports its Italian members, CGIL, CISL and UIL in their efforts to have the 'Ius soli and Ius culturae' bill adopted by their national chamber by the end of this legislative term. The ETUC considers citizenship to be a fundamental right, in the spirit of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, and that children’s interests should come first.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) welcomed the publication today of the 2017 Gender Equality Index by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), showing some small improvements in gender equality in Europe since 2015.

Background paper ETUC project “Safe at home Safe at work” - Trade unions’ strategies to prevent, manage and eliminate workplace harassment and violence against women   Recommendations   Ten things that unions can do to tackle harassment and violence against women work   Prioritise social dialogue between employers and unions, in jointly agreeing policies, procedures and awareness raising amongst managers and workers.

The ETUC welcomes the European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships presented by EU commissioner Marianne Thyssen today.

Speech by Luca Visentini, ETUC General Secretary  Check against delivery

Dear Readers, We have just published the September 2017 edition of the ETUC Newsletter. To read the document, please click here. Enjoy!

Commenting on European Commission’s announcement today on the Written Statement Directive, ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini said “The ETUC welcomes the European Commission taking forward its proposal for a revision of the Written Statement Directive. The European Commission’s proposals are a decent basis for discussion. The ETUC has engaged constructively from the outset in this debate, and will be warning the Commission to keep clear of time-wasting by anyone who wants to kill this proposal.

Workers in 11 central and eastern EU countries are paid up to €944 less per month than workers in Germany when costs of living are taken into account, according to a study published today by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI).   Shockingly, the difference in net monthly wages, when adjusted for the composition of the workforce and structure of the economy, is larger than when only costs of living are considered.   

Tomorrow, Thursday 21 September, the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will be provisionally applied: over 90 percent of the deal’s provisions will begin taking effect tomorrow, but matters such as investment protection and the new investment court system, requiring unanimous approval by EU member states, will have to wait. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has been pressing with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) for improvements throughout the long negotiations.