Members of the European Parliament echo calls from civil society, public service providers and workers to fully exclude public services from trade agreements.

As the EU digests the contents of the Donald Tusk’s proposed deal with the UK on EU membership, the European Trade Union Confederation said that robbing-low paid workers of their rights would help neither the UK nor the EU. “What Europe needs is investment and decent pay for workers” said Luca Visentini, ETUC General Secretary “not robbing low-paid migrants of their rights.”

The European Parliament will debate in Plenary on Monday, and vote on Wednesday, on its opinion on TISA – the Trade in Services Agreement. This Agreement has been in negotiations since 2013 with over 20 members of the WTO including the EU, USA, Japan, Mexico and Turkey. The ETUC is not against TISA, which could boost trade and economic activity, but has concerns about the impact on public services and workers’ rights. Key issues for ETUC in the report, and the Agreement are

The tax proposals put on the table by the European Commission today represent two steps forward and two big steps backward according to the European Trade Union Confederation. Two small step forwards Obligatory sharing of information on how much tax multinational companies pay Establishing the principle in European law of paying tax on profits where they are generated Two steps backward

Dear Readers, We have just published the January 2016 edition of the ETUC Newsletter. To read the document, please click here. Enjoy!

With youth unemployment over 22% across the EU*, and a shocking 53% in Spain*, European trade unions are demanding that funding for the EU’s Youth Guarantee is extended.  Youth representatives of the European Trade Union Confederation and European sectoral trade union Federations will meet European Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Marianne Thyssen on Thursday 21 January at 17:00h to press the Commission to continue funding the Youth Guarantee beyond 2016.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) supports the Spanish trade unions (CCOO and UGT) in calling for the prosecution case to be dropped against 8 trade unionists who each face sentences of up to 8 years and 3 months. The case relates to events outside an Airbus factory in Getafe, near Madrid, in September 2010 during a general strike to protest against Government changes to labour law. The workers’ demonstration was attacked by riot police and several people were injured. The Spanish trade unions argue that

Commenting on the European Commission’s  announcement today of its priorities for dealing with the refugee crisis in 2016, Luca Visentini, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, said    “Europe needs to show humanity, solidarity and responsibility to the refugees. They are risking their lives to escape war and poverty. The Commission seem more concerned not to criticize the member states, however badly they are behaving, instead of proposing effective solutions to an emergency which will grow during 2016.”

On the eve of a discussion in the College of European Commissioners on giving ‘Market Economy Status’ to China, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) underlines the risk to European industry and jobs.  “The European Union has clear criteria for market economy status” said ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini “and China clearly does not meet them. What’s more, it would open the EU to unlimited dumping of Chinese goods on our market which would be catastrophic for European manufacturing and jobs.”

ETUC welcomes the agreement reached today between trade unions and employers in central government administrations. The agreement sets out common minimum standards for the rights of workers and their trade union representatives to be informed and consulted. Workers will be better placed to deal with their employers when these seek changes in the work place. It gives workers a say when the employer proposes restructuring, or changes in working time. It also allows workers to propose health and safety or work/life balance improvements.

Commenting on the lack of new initiatives from the European Council to tackle the refugee crisis, Luca Visentini, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, said: “EU leaders are completely failing to step up to the scale of the humanitarian crisis inside and outside the EU. It is deeply disappointing, and makes life more difficult for the refugees and communities struggling to host them, that our leaders have done little more than agree to carry out previous decisions.

Dear Readers, We have just published the December 2015 edition of the ETUC Newsletter. To read the document, please click here. Enjoy!

The ETUC and its British (TUC) and Italian affiliates (CGIL, CISL, UIL) deplore the social implications of the call for a two speed Europe as outlined by Foreign Ministers Gentiloni and Hammond in their joint article published on 15 December (see link below).