Less than one month after the start of lockdowns in many EU countries due to COVID-19 outbreak, the number of additional unemployed workers has crossed 4 million, with hundreds of thousands of companies closed and many unlikely to survive the emergency.
At the same time, measures to support companies facing difficulties and to provide workers suspended from work with short-time work arrangements and income compensation have been put in place in most Member States, making it possible to save millions of jobs.
On 30 March 2020 the European Commission published Guidelines on the exercise of the free movement of workers in view of the COVID-19 outbreak and the border restrictions that have been put in place by Member States. The aim of these Guidelines is to ensure that mobile workers, such as frontier, posted and seasonal workers within the EU, will be able to reach their workplace also in cross-border situations between Member States, in particular workers in critical occupations.
European Social Partners' letter to the attention of Mrs Ursula Von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, Mr Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President, Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President, Nicolas Schmit, Commissioner on the situation in Poland
The ETUC sent tow letters to Hugarian Prime Minister Orban and to European Commission President Von Der Leyen about the legislation passed in Hungary on 31 March.
Letter to Prime Minister of Hungary
Letter to President of the European Commission
Brussels, 30 March 2020
To Executive Committee
For information to ETUC Member Organisations
Dear Colleagues,
Please see attached the position paper on the 2020 European Semester - Autumn Package adopted at the Extraordinary Executive Committee on 9-10 March 2020.
Stay healthy,
Liina Carr
Confederal Secretary
Letter sent to: Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; Charles Michel, President of the European Council; Prime Ministers/Head of State; David Sassoli, President European Parliament; Andrej Plenković, President of the Government of the Republic of Croatia; Mario Centeno, President of the Eurogroup; Christine Lagarde, President European Central Bank
Concerns: Emergency measures to save jobs and protect workers’ rights in the European Union
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 Presidents,
The COVID-19 emergency is hitting working people in Europe hard.
Those who work in activities of general interest, such as health care, transportation, agriculture, food production, and many other services are exposed to contagion and are poorly protected. In many cases their working conditions have been worsened.
Brussels 25 March 2020
Road Map of the ETUC on Negotiations on a New Partnership with the UK
Adopted at the Executive Committee meeting of 9-10 March 2020
To the Video Conference of the Members of the European Council
Statement of the European Social Partners ETUC, BusinessEurope, CEEP, SMEUnited on the COVID-19 emergency
Call to EU institutions and national governments to protect workers now and in the future.
The ETUC Youth Committee is deeply concerned about the spread of coronavirus throughout Europe, particularly in countries such as Italy. Such concerns relate to the repercussions this is having on the lives of thousands of people, as well as on economic activities, employment and the social dimension and resilience of the entire European Union.
