Dear Members of the European Parliament, Thank you all for being with us. It's great to see you in person and to organize this exchange at an important moment in the Directive's agenda to improve the working conditions of platform workers.

The number of workers in Europe being injured by machines has risen over the last decade, an ETUC analysis has found amid negotiations over the need for more safety checks.   More than 80,000 workers were injured, some fatally, operating machinery in 2019 – up from 75,000 when Eurostat records began in 2014.

Dear participants, Let me start by saying how happy I am to be in this Stakeholder event today. The work within the transatlantic dialogue has been really dynamic since Pittsburgh. And I am convinced that a strong involvement of stakeholders will make the TTC a continuing success with tangible results. The European Trade Union Confederation has been working hand in hand with the AFL-CIO. And we have also put forward a joint statement (which is available on our websites) highlighting our priorities for the work ahead. Cathy Feingold will also speak later today.

Platform companies are trying to trick workers out of choosing an employment contract by offering poorer quality private insurance. The European Commission's platform work directive has laid the ground for workers currently being falsely self-employed to be reclassified as employees, delivering on their right to sick pay, paid holiday or parental leave.

The conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe will be delivered to the Presidents of the EU institutions on Monday.  The European Parliament, the Commission and the Council must ensure that these Conclusions are respected and become reality. This means changes to policies, to work programmes, to the budget, as well as legislative initiatives, but it means also changes to the Treaties.

Dear Readers, We have just published the April 2022 edition of the ETUC newsletter. To read the document, please click here. Enjoy!

Message from our General Secretary Luca Visentini for #MayDay "ETUC is fighting for a fairer Europe for workers – a more social Europe - for collective bargaining for all and adequate minimum wages, for equal pay, for decent work, for equality between men and women. We are fighting for sustainable and inclusive growth, and a socially just transition to a climate-friendly economy. We are fighting to stop any return to austerity. Solidarity on May 1st"

Almost 30,000 people may lose their lives at work in the EU over this decade without action to make workplaces safer, trade unions are warning on International Workers’ Memorial Day.

Commenting on the migration policy proposed today by the European Commission, ETUC Confederal Secretary Ludovic Voet said:

With big business increasingly using vexatious legal threats known as ‘SLAPPs’ to silence trade unionists, the EU must include workers’ rights in a new directive designed to stop the tactic.

ETUC condemns the arrest and detention yesterday in Belarus of at least fourteen leaders and representatives of the country’s independent trade union movement.

The European Parliament has today paved the way for action needed to end Europe’s 13% gender pay gap. MEPs voted in favour of a report on the gender pay transparency directive which includes the following improvements to the European Commission’s draft proposal:

Dear Readers, We have just published the March 2022 edition of the ETUC newsletter. To read the document, please click here. Enjoy!

Food, medicine, beds, clothes and transport are among the emergency aid being provided to refugees from the war in Ukraine as part of a massive humanitarian mobilisation by trade unions. The ETUC and its national affiliates across Europe are providing millions of Euro for aid which is being delivered on the ground by unions in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.

Commenting on the publication of the European Commission's first circular economy package, ETUC Confederal Secretary Ludovic Voet said : "This is another missed opportunity to integrate a just transition in a much-needed climate policy. “Accelerating the shift to a circular economy is an opportunity to fight climate change, reduce our environmental impact and create new jobs while reducing our dependency on Russia. The package proposed today by the Commission therefore goes in the right direction. 

Commenting on the conclusion of the European Council summit, ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini said: “Around 9.5 million working people already had problems paying their bills and the energy crisis exacerbated by the war in Ukraine is likely to plunge millions more into fuel poverty. Meanwhile, energy companies are banking record profits.

VTC Tripartite Social Summit for Growth and Employment "A united tripartite response to the social and economic impact of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine" Opening speech of Luca Visentini, ETUC General Secretary (23 March 2022)  [To be checked against delivery] Esteemed authorities, Colleagues of the Social Partners,

Commenting on European Commission measures to deliver rights for Ukrainian refugees , ETUC Confederal Secretary Ludovic Voet said: “Refugees from all over the world are preyed upon by bad employers and landlords who exploit their vulnerability to increase profits. “Thankfully the temporary protection directive – used for the first time now but not during the 2015 migrant crisis -  means refugees from Ukraine have the right to equal pay and conditions at work which trade unions have long called for all refugees to benefit from.