President von der Leyen must commit to tackle economic and social insecurity from the workplace up. Working people are facing real problems that need EU action.
Some of the key problems to which working people urgently need solutions are:
- Jobs being lost or worsened in the green, digital and AI transitions;
- The epidemic of stress and burnout because of overwork, low pay and job insecurity;
- Public contracts going to companies that undermine workers' fundamental rights including right to collective bargaining
- Abusive subcontracting and intermediaries that obscure corporate liability, leaving people who work for them exposed and in danger.
Creating quality jobs should be a stated objective for this political term and that can only happen by giving working people back control over their lives through collective bargaining, backed up with legislative initiatives and investments to help workers succeed. The ETUC’s European election manifesto, Delivering a Fair Deal for Workers, sets out the steps needed to secure fair pay, investing in public services and developing an industrial strategy that will deliver more quality jobs.
Commenting ahead of the speech, ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said:
“Slogans about leaving no one behind are passed their sell-by date. Now we need clear action to make solutions real.
“It is urgent for the EU institutions to deliver for working people. That means ensuring people have a strong collective bargaining say to secure quality jobs with fair pay and conditions in every sector and every region.
“We need measures of a scale and urgency that matches the challenges faced by workers. People whose working lives are affected by AI, the digital and environmental transitions, must be given a real say through their trade unions over those decisions. There must be real options, with jobs and retraining on the table. Just transition in the world of work must become the reality.
“It is insecurity in the world of work that is largely driving the wave of anxiety and fear that people in Europe are experiencing. President von der Leyen must address the causes with a combination of employment Directives and investment programmes aimed to improve the situation of working people, their families and communities.
"It is time to reign in corporate power. Workers’ rights and collective bargaining must be protected and reinforced, not subject to deregulation attacks. In particular, we sound an alarm bell about ‘administrative burden reduction’ leading to deregulation or an inability to monitor and inspect compliance. It is of paramount importance that any initiatives around better regulation guarantee the protection and reinforcement of social standards and do not exert downward pressure on wages, collective bargaining, employment rights.”
