Brussels, 17/06/2011
The ETUC demands that the finance ministers listen to the workers' voice and stop with using Europe to push wages, social benefits and public services down. The ETUC urgently wants a change of course in favour of a Social Europe. Economic governance needs to be replaced by the Governance of Fairness and Solidarity.
Bernadette Ségol, General Secretary of the ETUC says: “We should not make the mistake of targeting the wrong crisis. It’s not workers but financial deregulation and speculation that caused the crisis. The EU proposals to exit the crisis focus on cuts in wages, benefits and public investment. We reject this governance of austerity. This is the message we are sending to finance ministers but also to the European Parliament and the European Council who will be adopting the economic governance package on 23 and 24 June respectively”.
Another approach is possible. Governing Europe must mean strengthening and not destroying our social model of negotiation, public protection, and public services. The EU must take action to ensure a strong and sustainable recovery. The ETUC demands:
- Full respect for the autonomy of collective bargaining;
- Stable jobs with decent wages, protecting and increasing purchasing power;
- A Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) to discourage financial speculation and to strengthen our social protection systems;
- Eurobonds to stop financial markets from attacking the vulnerable Euro area members and to finance a European recovery initiative;
- An industrial policy to develop the low carbon economy of the future;
- A harmonization of the tax base for corporate profits, together with a minimum tax rate.