The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) condemns the threats and insults by Bosnian Serb politician Milorad Dodik against journalist Tanja Topic. Currently a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dodik called the journalist a German agent and ‘quisling’. It is the latest in his campaign of threats and insults against journalists who is he disagrees with.

The Lithuanian Industry Trade Union Federation (LPPSF) has welcomed a court judgement confirming the right to be part of a trade union.  The case involved the Transachema company, where 80% of workers became members when the trade union started to organise in 2018. However, the union’s attempts to start collective bargaining procedures were met by a year of delaying tactics from management.  

Companies from countries that allow gross exploitation of workers and flout basic internationally recognised rights should not be allowed to compete in the EU single market says the ETUC. Tomorrow the European Commission will publish a draft regulation on distortive foreign subsidies. The ETUC says that using forced or child labour and not respecting basic rights like the right of workers to organise constitutes an unfair competitive advantage (as well as being morally repugnant) and should be considered a subsidy from a non-EU Government that does not prevent it.

Presentation by Esther Lynch, Deputy General Secretary UNI Europa Conference "Forward through Collective Bargaining" - 28 April 2021   Thank you President. What a great Conference! 

Over half a million people around the globe have demanded a strong EU law to hold corporations accountable for their impact on human rights, including trade union and workers’ rights, and the environment. These demands were made as part of the public consultation launched by the European Commission to get the input of citizens and organisations on the new EU legislation on corporate accountability that is due to be published in June 2021.

ETUC Statement adopted at Executive Committee in their meeting 9th December 2020 in support of the FGTB/ABVV trade union leaders and activists condemned for exercising their rights to collective action ETUC is gravely concerned by the recent condemnations of FGTB/ABVV leaders and activists by the criminal courts in Belgium for exercising their fundamental right to take collective action in defense of the rights and interests of the workers they represent.

ETUC condemns the arrest of leaders of our Turkish affiliate DISK today. We demand the immediate release of Arzu Cerkezoglu and Adnan Serdaroglu and other arrested trade union leaders, and without charge. Some union leaders met at the headquarters of the Turkish trade union DİSK this morning to commemorate May Day. The police surrounded the building and arrested 20 leaders including General Secretary Arzu Çerkezoğlu and President Adnan Serdaroğlu using violence. It is believed to be the third time the leaders have been arrested this year. 

Dear Prime Minister, Dear Minister, The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has been informed by its Croatian affiliates, SSSH and NHS, that the Croatian Ministry of Labour and Pension System is drafting an Act on regulating labour relations in the circumstances of the COVID-19 epidemic and by which bring some important changes to fundamental social rights as they are currently enshrined in the Croatian Labour Code. The law would amongst others “temporarily”:

Respect for human rights and fundamental values should be guiding the Union in all its internal as well as external actions. In everyday life as well as in times of crises, the universality and indivisibility of human rights must be upheld to ensure human dignity at both global and local level.

Dear editor,  While fully respecting the editorial freedom of Magyar Nemzet, we are shocked at the publication of the article as ‘the left has targeted workers by trade unions too’ (6 April 2019) as a ‘news’ article.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) have expressed deep concern over a campaign of violence against the Greek national trade union GSEE, perpetrated by a minority Stalinist faction which is attempting to disrupt the GSEE’s work. 

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) calls on the UN International Labour Organisation (ILO) – which marks its 100th anniversary in June – to redouble its efforts to ensure decent work in a global economy radically changed by free trade and deregulation, climate change and digitalisation. With 16 million unemployed and 21.5 million in working poverty in the EU, the ETUC is working to persuade the ILO to adopt a bold and forward-looking Declaration at its centenary conference in June to deliver a decent future of work.

This is a call for a subcontractor to provide expertise as part of the implementation of the ETUC project on “Securing Workers Rights in subcontracting chains”. Deadline for submission of bids: Friday 26 April 2019. All detail are in the PDF attached 

Brussels, 8 January 2019 To the ETUC Netlex members                         Dear Colleagues, You are invited to the next ETUC Netlex Conference to take place on 20 and 21 February in Stockholm. The meeting will start on 20 February in the morning and will end on 21 February in the afternoon. This year’s annual NETLEX conference will be held under the topic:

Dear comrades,   The warmest greetings from the ETUC and congratulations for the very important anniversary you are celebrating today. The right to strike is a fundamental human and social right, and an essential tool for trade unions to build their power for achieving stronger rights and better working conditions for working people. The right to strike has been recently under attack in several countries, particularly in Spain, and I would like to pay tribute to the extraordinary efforts you put in place to defend it.

As few as 3-4% of the 600,000 clothing and footwear workers in South-East Europe are organised into trade unions. With minimal collective bargaining coverage, wages in some of the countries are as low as €200 per month, falling behind even the earnings of Chinese workers.

Trade unions have secured an agreement with Anglo-Dutch multinational Unilever that commits the company to respect trade union rights.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) supports LOT Polish airline workers and their union. Sixty seven flight attendants  and pilots were dismissed on 22 October for taking part in industrial action against the dismissal of a leader of a trade union of flight attendants and against precarious working conditions.

Considering that the 20th EU-Ukraine Summit is held in Brussels on the 9th of July 2018, and that the meeting of the Council of the EU-Ukraine Association is planned in December, the European and Ukrainian trade unions believe that urgent measures should be taken, with the support of the European Commission, to improve the social and economic situation in the country, and to increase the effectiveness of social dialogue and adherence to the fundamental ILO Conventions.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) today condemned the European Commission’s proposal to restrict the right to strike in air traffic control.   It demanded that the Commission removes all references to restricting the right to strike from its initiative on “Aviation: open and connected Europe” published on June 8.   The Commission proposal included