Trade unionists and green campaigners staged a protest in Brussels today to tell the European Commission to ‘slam the brakes’ on its Omnibus package which is driving Europe towards deregulation that will weaken workers’ rights and environmental protections.  

The number of people in the European Union who can’t afford to keep their home warm increased by 16 million during the cost-of-living crisis – and the majority of them were in work. In 2019, an estimated 7% of the European population could not afford to put the heating on, equivalent to 30.7 million people, including 13.4 million people in work.But the latest figures show that the share of people living in energy poverty increase to 10.6% in 2023 - 47.5 million people, including 23.7 million people in employment. 

The Clean Industrial Deal must include measures to restore workers’ confidence in the green transition, trade union leaders stressed in a meeting with the European Commission today.

A new poll showing young people want the EU to prioritise action to address the cost-of-living, jobs and training demonstrates why the European Commission needs to deliver the traineeship directive.The EU Youth Survey published today by the European Parliament shows that the priorities of people aged between 16 and 30 are:

There is overwhelming public support for EU action to address the risks and maximise the benefits of artificial intelligence in the workplace, a new EU poll shows.A European Commission survey of 26,000 people about their attitudes to the use of artificial Intelligence and the future of work published today found:

Workers are largely missing from the 2025 work programme published today by the European Commission, which is too narrowly focused on gambling that ‘simplification’ alone will improve competitiveness rather than making the necessary investments.

The ETUC is calling for the revision of public procurement rules to be used to make it easy for national authorities to prioritise companies that have a collective agreement and invest in the workforce.

European trade unions condemn the ‘unjustified’ tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump and call for a smart response from the EU which protects European jobs and industries.The 25% tariffs on foreign steel and aluminium announced by Trump will have negative consequences for European workers and companies, as the US is the second largest market for EU steel makers.

Corporate lobbyists will outnumber representatives of trade unions and NGOs by five to one at today’s simplification roundtable on European Commission plans to weaken laws protecting workers and the environment that are needed to prevent tragedies like the Rana Plaza disaster.

On World Cancer Day, trade unions are calling on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to finally deliver on her promise of legislation to better protect workers from asbestos-ridden buildings. 

A demonstration of industrial workers worried about their futures taking place in Brussels this week shows the urgent need for the European Commission to bring forward a Just Transition Directive.

Trade unions are calling on the European Central Bank (ECB) to stop putting jobs at risk by preventing investment and instead go further and faster in cutting interest rates.The ECB today announced another 0.25% cut in interest rates, which does little to relieve the pressure it put on workers and companies by holding rates at record levels for most of last year.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) cannot endorse the Competitiveness Compass if it continues to undermine jobs, rights and standards. While the Compass published today by the European Commission recognises that quality jobs are an important part of a competitive economy, that is undermined by a focus on deregulation.  

Trade unions are calling on politicians to stand up for the high standards that make Europe great after business groups called for Trump-style deregulation to coincide with the US President’s Davos speech. 

The ETUC is calling on the European Commission to make quality jobs a central objective to its competitiveness plan and warns against an approach based on low pay, long hours and bad conditions.  The Competitiveness Compass, which is set to be published next week, must have the protection and creation of quality jobs as a cardinal point. Trade unions expect it to lay the foundation to deliver a quality jobs package, including new legislation and investments, within the first half of this year. Social Europe is our competitive advantage

The Gaza ceasefire agreement reached between the Israeli government and Hamas marks a crucial step towards ending the violence that has caused immense suffering. The ETUC fully supports the ITUC and urges the EU and the international community to take decisive action to see through the commitments of both parties, address the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza and work towards and sustainable peace.

Chief executives of Europe’s top companies are paying themselves 110 times more than the average worker, an analysis by the European Trade Union Institute shows. 

The most important piece of workers’ legislation at EU level in a generation may be under threat following a non-binding opinion issued today.  Mr Emiliou, who was acting as Advocate General to the Court of Justice of the European Union, has today delivered a highly controversial opinion [Case C-19/23] on the case supported by two member states against the Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages. 

A new warning over Europe’s labour shortage issued today by the World Economic Forum (WEF) shows why the European Commission must make it a priority to deliver a plan for quality jobs.

Workers in multinational companies are another step closer to having a stronger say in their workplaces after the European Parliament today adopted its position on the revision of the European Works Council (EWC) Directive. The vote in favour of the trilogue mandate – which the far-right 'Patriots' group tried to prevent - is a crucial step in addressing longstanding barriers to effective transnational workers’ representation, trade union rights and strengthening democracy at work.

The European Commission is wrong to celebrate a “remarkably resilient” labour market at a time when tens of thousands of workers are threatened with redundancies.  

Figures showing that there would be very small financial savings from a deregulation policy with high social costs disappeared from a European Commission document before its publication. 

EU member states have a ‘moral obligation’ to immediately enforce the ban on goods produced through forced labour which takes effect today. While members states have up to three years to implement it, the evidence from the International Labour Organisation shows there is no time to waste: - There are 28 million people in forced labour around the world, including 3.3 million children - 236 billion US dollars is the level of annual profit generated from forced labour in the world

Less than two weeks before Christmas, Belgian trade union members demonstrated today against the grinch-like austerity plans being drawn up by the country’s future government.  The demonstration in Brussels organised by all three Belgian trade unions and support by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) comes during negotiations over the programme of the next government.

Commenting on the 0.25 point cut in interest rates announced today by the European Central Bank (ECB), ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said: “Interest rates have been too high for too long. That has put further financial strain on workers and put jobs at risk by preventing companies from investing.