Brussels, 27/04/2009 To mark its solidarity with its Turkish affiliates, ETUC is supporting the various demonstrations that will take place in Turkey on 1 May and calls on the Turkish government to respect the right to demonstrate on Labour Day and to make sure that there is no repetition of last year’s incidents.

Brussels, 28/04/2009 ETUC General Secretary John Monks said: ‘This is certainly not a victory for social Europe. We regret that it was not possible to reach an agreement that would have meant genuine social progress in Europe; for that, the individual opt-out should have clearly been put on hold and be recognised as a temporary exception that does not have its place in health and safety legislation. Also, the situation of the millions of European workers with on-call duties in sectors such as healthcare should have been properly safeguarded.

Brussels, 28/04/2009 ‘The appeal made by the trade unions at the Summit in Lisbon in 2007 has not been taken into account by those negotiating the strategy. Ignoring the message from the union movement would be all the more unacceptable in the current crisis. The promotion and protection of decent work is clearly one of the key responses to this crisis,’ said ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder.

Brussels, 27/04/2009

Brussels, 01/04/2009 It is unacceptable for workers and citizens to shoulder the burden of a crisis they did not cause. The European trade union movement has been warning European authorities that social unrest would develop and accelerate without Europe-wide coordinated measures to stop and reverse the recession of the European economy. Fundamental European rights – notably, freedoms, including the free movement of workers, equality and solidarity – are deeply challenged by the crisis.

Brussels, 22/04/2009 Commenting on the death of Jack Jones on 21 April 2009, ETUC General Secretary John Monks said:

Brussels, 08/04/2009

Brussels, 02/04/2009

Brussels, 02/04/2009 This vote significantly improves the initial proposal for the directive and addresses ETUC’s key concerns, notably patients’ rights and the scope of the directive, which is now limited to cross-border patient care and does not include freedom of movement of service providers. Improvements should nevertheless also be made:

Brussels, 01/04/2009 ‘In the view of ETUC, health and safety at the workplace must be priorities and are to be implemented long the lines of the precautionary principle. In this way, we can achieve a socially responsible and acceptable development of nanotechnologies. We do not want to repeat the errors of asbestos and GMOs.’ With its call for the application of REACH, ETUC relies on the principle of reversal of the burden of proof and thus the manufacturer’s liability. Both workers and consumers need transparent information.

Madrid, 01/04/2009 Employment first Candido, delegates, friends, I bring thanks and greetings from the European Trade Union Confederation to the UGT Spain. I bring you thanks because you are one of the most loyal and constant supporters of the work of the ETUC. You are not a fair weather friend. You are a companion and a comrade for all seasons – and I know that, on behalf of the ITUC, Guy Ryder feels the same way.

Brussels, 31/03/2009 These figures show that fiscal and monetary policy in Europe is not doing enough to support the economy.

Brussels, 31/03/2009 Chemicals bring benefits with which our society could not do without and there is no denying that the EU chemicals industry also contributes to our economic prosperity in terms of trade and jobs. However, European workers pay a high price for the use of chemicals in workplaces. About one in three of the occupational diseases recognised each year in Europe is due to the exposure to hazardous chemicals, according to the ETUI study REACHing the workplace.