ILC – ILO – Geneva, 9 June 2017 Speech of Luca Visentini – General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY   Thank you chair. Ladies and gentlemen,   The Report of the ILO Director General this year addresses climate change, while another report analyses the labour migration. They could seem two completely different topics, but they are not.

Commenting on the attack in London, ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini said   "The ETUC is appalled by this vicious and senseless attack. We are in solidarity with London, and our hearts go out to the victims, their families and loved ones.   "We salute the security, medical and other workers dealing with this cowardly attack.   "European countries must stand together against terrorism, we must not be intimidated."

Commenting on the withdrawal of the USA from the Paris Climate agreement, ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini said “There are no jobs on a dead planet.”

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

Over 400 trade union leaders from all over Europe at the ETUC Mid-term Conference in Rome today agreed that "this is the moment for trade unions to be more active than ever in efforts to manage globalisation, digitalisation and climate action to ensure that working people are not left on the scrap heap".

ETUC Mid-term Conference Dear friends, Comrades, Buongiorno a tutte e tutti !

Responding to the European Commission’s legislative proposal on public country-by-country reporting (CBCR) by multinationals due to be voted on the ECON and JURI committees at the European Parliament on 30 May, the European Trade Union Confederation and civil society organisations urge the European Parliament to extend transparency to company activities in all countries on a worldwide basis.   

ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini said  "I am horrified by the loss of life and injuries in Manchester last night. The thoughts of the European trade union movement are with the victims and their loved ones. "We are grateful as ever to the emergency workers dealing with the aftermath of this horrific incident."

Commenting on the ‘country specific reports’ issued by the European Commission today, ETUC Deputy General Secretary Katja Lehto Komulainen said  “It is progress that the European Commission is calling for more public investment and higher wages in some countries including Germany. It is very damaging for the Commission to be pressing again for yet more austerity and budget cuts in other countries, and to limit pay rises and increased public investment to countries with budget surpluses is a real missed opportunity.

EU economic policy-making – known as the ‘European Semester’ - comes to a climax with the annual ‘Country Specific Recommendations’ which are due to be published today by the European Commission.   The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) supports the emphasis placed this year by the European Commission on tackling inequality, and expects the ‘Country Specific Recommendations’ to feature concrete proposals to do so.   In particular, the ETUC expects the European Commission draft Country Specific Recommendations to  

Commenting on the European Commission’s ‘Reflection Paper on Globalisation’, ETUC Confederal Secretary Liina Carr said: “It has taken a long time for the European Commission to acknowledge that globalisation has to be fairer. Better late than never! Trade unions have long been calling for a fairer distribution of the benefits of globalisation, and finally we see this confirmed in the Commission’s Reflection Paper on Harnessing Globalisation.

Wage inequality between pay in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, and pay in Germany, is bigger today than it was in 2008.    According to figures in a Working Paper ‘Why central and eastern Europe needs a pay rise’, published today by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) and written by Bela Galgoczi:

Public Hearing ECON/EP 3 May 2017 Speech by Katja Lehto-Komulainen Deputy General Secretary ETUC   Mr. Chairperson, Members of the Committee, Ladies and Gentlemen,   There are two main fields where the current European Commission promised to deliver and which our trade union members are very interested in: social field and fiscal field