The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) supports French trade unions in their protests on 17 December. The ETUC invites the French Government to consult, and take into account, the proposals of the French unions.   The French unions are unanimous in opposing any increase in the pension age and cuts in pension levels.

Yolanda Gil, from CCOO Spain, has been elected as the President of the Youth Committee of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). Along with the President, the Youth Committee has also appointed its "bureau", the steering body which implements the political decisions.

The ETUC is bitterly disappointed that EU has not adopted unanimously a carbon neutrality target for 2050. "Poland should have embraced the zero emissions target. It would have helped to convince workers and communities in Poland and elsewhere if the European Commission had included earlier this week a comprehensive and ambitious Just Transition strategy, with full details of the mechanism and fund, with the European Green Deal. This would have created more confidence in adopting the carbon neutrality target" said Ludovic Voet, Confederal Secretary of the ETUC.

ETUC supports the European and International Federations of Journalists and other organisations who have called on EU leaders meeting today to push the Prime Minister of Malta to guarantee that all investigations and legal proceedings related to the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia  are carried out efficiently, transparently and without interference. 

Dear readers,

Commenting on the ‘European Green Deal’ announced today, Luca Visentini, ETUC General Secretary said  “With Europe facing a climate emergency, we welcome the Commission bringing forward ambitious climate action. The huge scale of the change required could result in a rise in populism and climate denial unless it is managed in a genuinely fair way. “Climate action must be matched in its ambition by measures to ensure there is a socially just transition to a green economy for all workers and communities.

With the EU strategic framework for health and safety at work expiring in 2020, the first discussions on a new strategy will take place today at the European Employment, Social Affairs, Health and Consumer Affairs Council. Ministers from the EU member states are expected to adopt conclusions on a new EU strategic framework on health and safety at work, inviting the European Commission to present a new strategic framework for 2021-2027.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) together with the European Consumers Organisation (BEUC) and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) have come together to call on the Commission to build a Europe that protects people and ecosystems against chemical pollution.

Climate change is creating and exacerbating risks to workers, the ETUC warned delegates at the United Nation’s climate change conference (COP) today. On the second day of the event in Madrid, the ETUC held a joint side event with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung to highlight the consequences of climate change for the world of work.

Dear Readers, We have just published the November 2019 edition of the ETUC newsletter. To read the document, please click here. Enjoy!

On 28 November 2019, several organisations, including the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), extended the EU Roadmap on Carcinogens in Helsinki. The objective of this voluntary action scheme is to raise awareness amongst workers and employers about the risks of exposure to carcinogens.

Speech OPZZ 35th Anniversary Gala Luca Visentini   A warm thank you for inviting me to this important anniversary in the history of OPZZ. I take this opportunity to extend to you the congratulations of the whole ETUC. OPZZ is an important member of the ETUC, and the European movement has benefited enormously from the input of your trade union. Since Poland joined the European Union, you have made sure that the voice of workers from Central and Eastern European member states was well heard in the trade union movement.

Responding to the European Parliament’s approval for the new European Commission, ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini said: “The process of forming the new Commission has been beset by problems from the moment that lead candidates in the European elections were disregarded as potential presidents. "Now the Commission has finally got over the line, it’s time to get on with delivering the big promises it has made for its first 100 days.