There is nothing more important for working people than to know that their children and elderly relatives are being properly cared for. Care, especially for young children and the elderly, is one of the fastest growing sectors in Europe. Care is estimated to employ some eight million people, representing about 5% of the overall workforce. The vast majority of care workers, 88.2%, are women.

Dear Readers, We have just published the September 2019 edition of the ETUC newsletter. To read the document, please click here. Enjoy!

A sustainable economy, quality jobs, climate action, fair minimum wages, ethical digitalisation and fair mobility and migration are among the subjects on which trade unions have urged MEPs to grill prospective European Commissioners over the next two weeks. From today, MEPs will be quizzing each member of Ursula Von Der Leyen’s proposed team before voting on whether to approve the new Commission.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) says the agreement of the Interior Ministers of France, Germany, Italy and Malta on a proposed voluntary scheme to relocate across the EU migrants rescued at sea is a step towards human decency in EU migration policy, albeit one fraught with difficulties.  

Raising the retirement age in an attempt to ensure the pension system remains sustainable as life expectancy grows is “unfair and ineffectual,” ETUC leaders said today as they launched a fightback against the policy. The ETUC launched a push for fair pensions at a two-day conference in Croatia, where the government recently raised the legal retirement age from 65 to 67 only to be forced into a u-turn by trade unions who gathered over double the number of signatures required for a referendum on the issue.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) united with activists today to demand urgent and concrete actions to stop climate change ahead of the UN Climate Summit in New York. As part of the global climate action week, an ETUC delegation took part in a major demonstration in Brussels organised by the Youth for Climate group. ETUC Confederal Secretary Ludovic Voet told the demonstration:

Dear readers, Welcome to the September 2019 edition of Workers’ Voice National UPdates. As the Climate Action campaign gathers strength, this month we focus on how trade unions around Europe are working with young people and civil society organisations to achieve climate justice. As usual, National Updates seeks out some interesting and even unexpected examples of how European unions are cooperating and working constructively with employers, governments and civil society to foster social progress.

ETUC annual EWC Conference (11-12 September 2019) “Stronger European Works Councils for More Democracy at Work” Live web streaming available! Review yesterday session here

On the 25th anniversary of the European Workers Councils Directive, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is calling on the new European Commission and Parliament to strengthen workers' democracy across the European Union. A statement calling for new EU initiatives for more -           and stronger European Works Councils

The distribution of Commission portfolios announced today is a hopeful sign that the EU can deliver social progress over the next five years – now it’s time for the right personnel to deliver the right policies. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) applauds the fact that the proposed Commission is gender balanced and places politicians who understand the needs of working people in key roles.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) will participate in the global climate action week to put pressure on world leaders to deliver urgent solutions to the worsening climate crisis, and is calling on national trade unions to take their own actions across Europe. Demonstrations will take place around the world between September 20 and 27 to coincide with the United Nation’s climate summit in New York, where heads of governments must take concrete action to deliver on the promises of the Paris Agreement.

As the world watches the Amazon burning in horror, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) urges the EU and the international community to act decisively to save the world’s largest rainforest. The ETUC proposes that action should include

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is appalled that Polish newspaper Gazeta Polska distributed today ‘LGBT free zone’ stickers. Doing so could create unnecessary divisions and conflicts in workplaces and in society, as demonstrated by the violence against members of the LGTB community on Saturday. Producing such stickers could lead people to break the law by discriminating on grounds of sexual orientation, which is against EU and Polish law. It also disrespects fundamental human rights.