Tripartite Social Summit – 22 March 2023 -  Intervention of Esther Lynch, ETUC General Secretary "Cracking Europe’s Competitiveness Code" [Check against delivery] President von der Leyen, President Michel, Prime Minister Kristersson, Vice-President,  Commissioner, Deputy Prime Minister, colleagues,

The European Central Bank today decided to increase its three key interest rates by 50 basis points.

The European Commission today published plans for the future of the single market which puts the EU on course for a race to the bottom and takes it even further away from Jacques Delors’ vision of a social Europe. The communications on the 30th anniversary of the single market and “long-term competitiveness of the EU” includes an arbitrary target of cutting “regulatory burden” by 25%.

Dear readers, As European countries count the cost of the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine, trade unions have scored successes in defending workers’ livelihoods, as illustrated for example in our top story in this edition, from Germany. Elsewhere, unions continue to negotiate for higher pay and improved conditions, such as reduced or flexible working hours and a better quality of life. Joining a union is of real benefit to working people. 

The European Commission today proposed a revision of the EU’s internal electricity market design. Commenting on the proposal, ETUC Confederal Secretary Ludovic Voet said: “Working people have been badly let down by the EU’s privatised energy market, which has exacerbated the energy price crisis causing misery for millions this winter. “A reform of EU energy policy which puts people’s right to clean and affordable energy before discredited liberalisation dogma from the 1980s is long overdue.

Employers are ignoring their responsibility for the safety of women workers during their commute to and from work, trade unions have warned on International Women’s Day. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and its affiliates today held a “Safe all the Way” protest outside Brussels Central Station to raise the alarm over this “blind spot” which leaves women at a higher risk of violence and harassment on their way to and from work.

MEPs have today voted for the explicit involvement of trade unions and workers’ representatives in defending human rights in corporate supply chains.

The Deputy General Secretary of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DISK), Fahrettin Engin Erdoğan, was among union leaders and members detained at a protest in Istanbul yesterday. The protest was organised by the DISK and the Confederation of Public Employees' Trade Unions (KESK) over reports of corruption hampering efforts to help victims of the country’s recent earthquake. Members of both unions were among more than 100 people detained.  

Dear Readers, We have just published the February 2023 edition of the ETUC newsletter. To read the document, please click here. Enjoy!

From working under missile fire to delivering humanitarian aid, Ukrainian workers today told of the heroic sacrifices they have made to keep their country running since Russia’s illegal invasion. Women and men working in all sectors of the Ukrainian economy shared moving personal testimonies about their experience of the war during an online event held by the European Trade Union Confederation and International Trade Union Confederation to mark the first anniversary of the invasion.

After a delay of six years, the European Council has today finally cleared the way for EU ratification of the Istanbul Convention for action on violence against women. The Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention was launched in 2011 and is the world’s first joint binding effort to fight and prevent violence against women. The process of EU accession began in 2015 but has been blocked in the Council since 2017. Six EU member states have still not ratified the convention: Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia.

The General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) arrived safely in Brussels this afternoon after being ordered by the Tunisian Government to leave the country after taking part in a protest against its crackdown on trade unions and workers’ rights. Esther Lynch had travelled to Tunisia as part of a delegation of international union leaders to show solidarity with the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), whose members are being subjected to a campaign of harassment by the country’s government.

European trade unions are throwing their weight behind tomorrow’s protests in Tunisia over the authoritarian crackdown on workers’ rights and democracy by President Kais Saied. ETUC general secretary Esther Lynch has travelled to Sfax for a protest organised by the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) in response to a campaign of arrests, sackings and harassment of trade unionists in the country.

The EU has today laid the ground for action if the UK government breaches its commitment to workers’ rights under the Brexit deal.

Wages don’t reflect the rising cost-of-living and are unlikely to catch-up in the near future, the European Commission has warned today. The Commission’s winter 2023 economic forecast says:

The conclusions of the European Council call on the Commission to “immediately mobilise substantial EU funds and means to s

The price of a pizza is rising up to nine times faster than wages in Europe, showing the need to stop speculation on food prices and deliver pay rises which match the rising cost of living.

European leaders must ensure subsidies for green industry come with social strings attached. The EU’s response to the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act will be discussed by heads of government at the European Council today.  While the European Commission has published plans to keep industry in Europe by matching US subsidies for clean-tech, the EU is so far being left behind when it comes to social conditions to ensure public money is used for the common good. The Inflation Reduction Act includes:

Window cleaners will not be put at a higher risk of deadly falls after trade unions convinced manufacturers against lowering the safety standards for ladders.

A new European asbestos exposure limit will be too little and too late to protect workers from cancer, trade unions are warning today as the European Parliament publishes its report on the issue.

An unprecedented increase in interest rates will have a direct and harmful impact on working people, the European Trade Union Confederation is warning.

The European Commission yesterday presented a Communication on A Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net-Zero Age but has written a blank cheque by failing to put social conditions on billions of Euros worth of subsidies for European businesses. The European Commission announced yesterday details of its Green Deal Industrial Plan, which would see around 250 billion in EU funds, and billions more in national state aid to support clean tech companies.  

The European Parliament today voted by a large majority in favour of the report by MEP Dennis Radtke (EPP) on the revision of the European Works Council Directive. MEPs urge the European Commission to act as soon as possible in order to address the many shortcomings in the current legislation that prevent European Works Councils (EWCs) from effectively exercising their rights.

The European Parliament has taken an important step towards ending bogus self-employment and precariousness in digital labour platforms. Delivery riders, cab drivers, content creators, programmers, click-workers, engineers and carers are among 28 million workers who would benefit from the provisions in the Employment Committee’s report which passed its plenary vote today. MEPs voted to end the system of false self-employment used by platform companies to cut costs at the detriment of workers’ pay and conditions.

Dear Readers, We have just published the January 2023 edition of the ETUC newsletter. To read the document, please click here. Enjoy!