ETUC condemns the arrest and detention yesterday in Belarus of at least fourteen leaders and representatives of the country’s independent trade union movement.

The European Parliament has today paved the way for action needed to end Europe’s 13% gender pay gap. MEPs voted in favour of a report on the gender pay transparency directive which includes the following improvements to the European Commission’s draft proposal:

Dear Readers, We have just published the March 2022 edition of the ETUC newsletter. To read the document, please click here. Enjoy!

Food, medicine, beds, clothes and transport are among the emergency aid being provided to refugees from the war in Ukraine as part of a massive humanitarian mobilisation by trade unions. The ETUC and its national affiliates across Europe are providing millions of Euro for aid which is being delivered on the ground by unions in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.

Commenting on the publication of the European Commission's first circular economy package, ETUC Confederal Secretary Ludovic Voet said : "This is another missed opportunity to integrate a just transition in a much-needed climate policy. “Accelerating the shift to a circular economy is an opportunity to fight climate change, reduce our environmental impact and create new jobs while reducing our dependency on Russia. The package proposed today by the Commission therefore goes in the right direction. 

Commenting on the conclusion of the European Council summit, ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini said: “Around 9.5 million working people already had problems paying their bills and the energy crisis exacerbated by the war in Ukraine is likely to plunge millions more into fuel poverty. Meanwhile, energy companies are banking record profits.

VTC Tripartite Social Summit for Growth and Employment "A united tripartite response to the social and economic impact of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine" Opening speech of Luca Visentini, ETUC General Secretary (23 March 2022)  [To be checked against delivery] Esteemed authorities, Colleagues of the Social Partners,

Commenting on European Commission measures to deliver rights for Ukrainian refugees , ETUC Confederal Secretary Ludovic Voet said: “Refugees from all over the world are preyed upon by bad employers and landlords who exploit their vulnerability to increase profits. “Thankfully the temporary protection directive – used for the first time now but not during the 2015 migrant crisis -  means refugees from Ukraine have the right to equal pay and conditions at work which trade unions have long called for all refugees to benefit from.

A majority of citizens believe the EU’s break with austerity rules during the pandemic should be made permanent in order to create more jobs and tackle climate change, new polling shows. A central part of the EU’s economic rules had to be suspended when Covid-19 hit to allow countries to invest in healthcare and jobs and a survey of 5,000 people in five member states found 58% of people say member states should continue to have more flexibility of borrowing.

Dear readers, Following Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine, trade unions across Europe have called for peace and declared their solidarity with the Ukrainian workers and their families whose lives and livelihoods are being destroyed by war. In this edition of National UPdates we look also at how trade unions are defending workers in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, amid rising living costs. 

Commenting ahead of the Versailles meeting of EU leaders today, Luca Visentini, General Secretary of the ETUC said “What is most urgently needed now are initiatives to stop the war and relieve the suffering of the Ukrainian people, and emergency measures to reduce energy prices and to protect jobs and businesses.

Workplace measures have been largely overlooked in EU plans to crackdown on violence against women despite women workers reporting high levels of abuse. The European Commission has today launched a draft directive on combating violence against women which contains many much-needed measures and the ETUC applauds the fact Commissioners have marked International Women’s Day with action rather than just words.

Ukrainian trade unions are providing food and shelter to people after the Russian invasion amid attacks which have left people’s homes, workplaces, and infrastructure badly damaged.