Responding to the expert panel report on breaches of labour commitments under the EU-Korea trade agreement, ETUC Deputy General Se

The European Parliament has now recognised the need for a ‘right to disconnect’ and called for EU action to make that right a reality for working people in the EU. ETUC Deputy General Secretary Esther Lynch said “We now expect the European Commission to come forward with legislation so that working people can enforce their right to disconnect from work outside working hours.

Women doing jobs requiring the same levels of skills, education and physical effort as jobs done by men are still being paid less despite over 45 years of EU equal pay legislation. A comparison of wages in the manufacturing sector found that women producing white goods are paid significantly less than men making cars even though both jobs require the same competencies. In Germany, women in the white goods sector doing manufacturing jobs of equal value to men in the car industry are paid on average €865 per month less (gross).

Three rulings in three countries on the rights of delivery riders shows why EU action is needed to end the scandal of platforms not accepting their responsibilities as employers. A court in Spain found over 700 Deliveroo workers were falsely self-employed, an Italian court found the platform discriminated against riders who take sick leave and the Belgian government found Uber’s working conditions were incompatible with self-employment.

Reacting to the Financial Times report on UK Government plans to diverge from the Working Time Directive, ETUC Deputy General Secretary Esther Lynch said: “This is the first major test of the Brexit deal. “The reported plans would be in clear breach of level playing field rules and the EU must prepare to take swift action and retaliatory measures if necessary.

In view of the upcoming Plenary session of the European Parliament, the ETUC is part of a coalition of 36 civil society organisations (CSOs) which have launched a Joint Appeal to the European Institutions calling for the inclusion of  enforceable human rights clauses in the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI).

Commenting on the EU-UK deal Luca Visentini, ETUC General Secretary said “There is no form of Brexit that will improve the lives of working people.“ “Although President von der Leyen says fair competition and a level playing field are ensured, it would mean very little if long-drawn out arbitration was the main way to deal with disputes. 

Dear Readers, We have just published the December 2020 edition of the ETUC newsletter. To read the document, please click here. Enjoy!

Almost a  quarter of member states provided little or no income support for self-employed or precarious workers during the Covid crisis – despite the EU making funds available for such support. Income and job support measures, delivered with the help of the EU’s €100 million SURE scheme, supported 42 million workers at the height of the crisis in May.

At today's EU Council meeting, member states agreed to revise the EU’s 2030 climate targets to at least -55% reduction of GHG emissions compared to 1990. Responding to the development, ETUC Confederal Secretary Ludovic Voet said:

The number of people considered to be ‘working poor’ has increased in the majority of member states over the last decade, reveals a major new report on Europe’s economy to be launched today.  An analysis of Eurostat data found that the percentage of workers at-risk-of-poverty increased in 16 member states between 2010 and 2019 despite the economy improving during that period. Hungary, the UK, Estonia, Italy and Luxembourg suffered the biggest rises, with their in-work at risk-of-poverty rate increasing by between 58% and 27%.

Responding to today’s launch of the European Climate Pact, ETUC Confederal Secretary Ludovic Voet said: “Workers are on the frontline of changes in the economy needed to protect the environment and they need to be formally involved in the design and delivery of the European Green Deal.   "Any initiative to help build awareness of the need for climate action and engage citizens and workers in the process is welcome.