Commenting on the ‘country specific reports’ issued by the European Commission today, ETUC Deputy General Secretary Katja Lehto Komulainen said
“It is progress that the European Commission is calling for more public investment and higher wages in some countries including Germany. It is very damaging for the Commission to be pressing again for yet more austerity and budget cuts in other countries, and to limit pay rises and increased public investment to countries with budget surpluses is a real missed opportunity.
EU economic policy-making – known as the ‘European Semester’ - comes to a climax with the annual ‘Country Specific Recommendations’ which are due to be published today by the European Commission.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) supports the emphasis placed this year by the European Commission on tackling inequality, and expects the ‘Country Specific Recommendations’ to feature concrete proposals to do so.
In particular, the ETUC expects the European Commission draft Country Specific Recommendations to
Commenting on the European Commission’s ‘Reflection Paper on Globalisation’, ETUC Confederal Secretary Liina Carr said:
“It has taken a long time for the European Commission to acknowledge that globalisation has to be fairer. Better late than never! Trade unions have long been calling for a fairer distribution of the benefits of globalisation, and finally we see this confirmed in the Commission’s Reflection Paper on Harnessing Globalisation.
Wage inequality between pay in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, and pay in Germany, is bigger today than it was in 2008.
According to figures in a Working Paper ‘Why central and eastern Europe needs a pay rise’, published today by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) and written by Bela Galgoczi:
Public Hearing ECON/EP 3 May 2017
Speech by Katja Lehto-Komulainen Deputy General Secretary ETUC
Mr. Chairperson, Members of the Committee, Ladies and Gentlemen,
There are two main fields where the current European Commission promised to deliver and which our trade union members are very interested in:
social field and
fiscal field
Luca Visentini, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, writes
May 1 is our day. It is the day we celebrate the achievements of working people, labour, and their trade unions.
Only through trade unions will working people get justice and a fair deal. Strong unions mean effective collective bargaining. Collective bargaining - reaching a fair deal with employers - brings better wages and working conditions for everyone, and reduces the gender pay gap.
Everyone’s health and safety at work matters – for workers, his or her family and loved ones, and for employers.
With over 168,000 people dying every year from work-related accidents and diseases, and over 3 million reported accidents at work (those resulting in at least four days’ absence from work), health and safety at work is a very serious issue for everyone.
But some workers and risks are still overlooked when it comes to health and safety. Consider the facts
Commenting on the package for a ‘European Pillar of Social Rights’ published today by the European Commission, Luca Visentini, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) said:
“People are fed up with worsening living and working conditions, and for that reason the ETUC wants a strong European Pillar of Social Rights. It’s time for the EU to show that it cares about its citizens. The pillar includes proposals which are long overdue.
Commenting on BusinessEurope’s ill-founded criticisms of the forthcoming European Pillar of Social Rights, Luca Visentini, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation said
“We strongly support the initiative of the Commission to give workers an improved right to paid parental leave.
Every spring, Forbes magazine releases a list of the world’s billionaires – a list that has been growing almost every year of this decade.
The 2017 list features 445 billionaires from the countries of the EU. Their combined net worth, according to the magazine, is over €1.3 trillion.
The ETUC expressed its sadness at news of an incident in Stockholm in which a lorry has driven into people on a street in the centre of the city.
The General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, Luca Visentini, said “I am shocked that we have another vehicle assault on randomly selected pedestrians. My thoughts are with the victims and their families, and with the emergency service workers dealing with the incident.”
Participation in the new European Solidarity Corps must be clearly distinguished from the long-term employment of young people, insists the ETUC Youth Committee, in advance of today’s decision in the European Parliament, and a stakeholder forum on 12 April.
MEPs vote on a resolution aimed at strengthening the European Solidarity Corps (ESC), while warning against blurring the distinction between volunteering and quality jobs for young people. The ETUC welcomes and supports this approach.
