Last week the ETUC issued a short statement ‘European Summit - What trade unions expect’
https://www.etuc.org/press/european-summit-what-trade-unions-expect#.V3PLrPl97cs
But what did the Summit actually deliver for workers?
What we asked for
What we got
Comment of ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini
The European Trade Union Confederation mourns the senseless massacre of innocent travellers and workers at Istanbul Airport yesterday evening, and has sent a message of solidarity to its members in Turkey.
UK referendum
The ETUC calls for Brexit vote to be a wake-up call to the EU to offer workers a better deal.
Specifically, the ETUC calls for decisive action to
ensure this is not the start of the break-up of the European Union, and does not damage jobs and workers’ rights.
tackle working people’s deep discontent in the EU by creating a fairer and more equal society, investing in quality jobs, good public services and real opportunities for young people.
Migration
The ETUC calls for
Commenting on the results of the UK referendum on EU membership, Luca Visentini, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, said
“This is a dark day for Europe, for the UK and for workers. It must be a wake-up call for the EU to offer a better deal for workers.
The European Trade Union Confederation has called for the immediate suspension of the EU-Turkey Agreement on refugees following the fatal shooting by Turkish border guards of children, women and men trying to escape Syria, and amid reports from human rights organisations that over 60 Syrian refugees have been shot at the border this year.
Luca Visentini, ETUC General Secretary, said “International law requires nations to offer shelter to refugees. It seems that today’s EU does not care about international law, or indeed about human life.”
European and International trade union organisations have expressed their shock and anger at the news that Arzu Çerkezoğlu, General Secretary of their Turkish affiliate DISK, has been arrested at Istanbul airport as she was about to take a flight to Germany to visit a relative in hospital.
Police claim that she was arrested because she allegedly insulted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a speech she made on 31 August last year. The ETUC, ITUC and European Public Services Union are demanding her immediate release and the withdrawal of the bizarre charge against her.
The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) – taking place today in Luxembourg – will focus on key issues for the European trade union movement, as Ministers will endorse the establishment of National Productivity Boards (NPB), agree on new legislation on corporate tax avoidance and discuss the introduction of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT).
A high-level conference took place in Rome today, organised by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) with the support of the three Italian unions CGIL, CISL and UIL, and attended by trade unionists from 22 countries including the General Secretaries of CGT France Philippe Martinez, CCOO Spain Ignazio Toxo and ETUC President Rudy De Leeuw of FGTB Belgium.
They underlined trade union support for a humanitarian and European response to the many men, women and children seeking shelter from conflict in the EU.
ETUC Deputy General Secretary Peter Scherrer will present the prestigious Silver Rose Press Freedom Award to Uğur Güç, President of the Journalist Union of Turkey (TGS), in a ceremony in the European Parliament today.
The award is made annually by SOLIDAR, the European network of 60 Civil Society Organisations working for social justice worldwide. This year’s winner is a distinctively political choice supporting jailed journalists and promoting solidarity between journalists in Turkey and abroad.
Today’s EU employment figures for the first quarter of 2016, issued by Eurostat, show a very slight improvement over the last three months of 2015. The number of people in work increased by 0.3% in the euro area and the EU28.
At a high-level conference on standardisation in Amsterdam today, the European Trade Union Confederation, the European Commission and other stakeholders signed a joint initiative on standardisation. The event took place within the Commission’s Single Market Forum.
The OECD’s latest forecast for 2016, issued today, highlights Europe’s continuing high unemployment, low demand, low inflation and low investment, and acknowledges the need for wage increases and more public investment in surplus countries.
Veronica Nilsson, Deputy General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, commented “Like the ETUC, the OECD understands that more public spending and higher wages are needed to drive demand and economic growth.”
