Brussels, 18/05/2012

Brussels, 25/01/2012

Brussels, 28/11/2011 Commenting on the OECD’s projections and proposals the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) General Secretary John Evans said, “the OECD figures even in a “muddling through” scenario present an unacceptable economic and social prospect. Without waiting for a further deterioration the countries that the OECD itself has identified as having the fiscal space should give stimulus to aggregate demand to kick-start the global economy”.

Brussels, 23/11/2011 However, our economies, our jobs, our social systems and indeed our single currency itself continue to be pushed to the brink of collapse by irrational financial market speculation. The situation is urgent and we cannot afford to wait for the outcome of a Green paper. The ETUC therefore calls upon the European Central Bank (ECB) to act right now and do what any other well-respected central bank around the world would do: Stop the madness of financial speculation and contagion by confronting the markets with a wall of finance and liquidity.

Brussels, 28/09/2011 Today the European Parliament adopted a package of six legislative measures which will serve as a framework for budgetary decisions in each of the Eurozone member states.

Brussels, 22/07/2011 “EU leaders have, at long last, admitted that austerity is not working and that a growth strategy is necessary. Unused structural funds should serve for growth and jobs. Trade unions should be involved”, said Bernadette Ségol, ETUC General Secretary.

Brussels, 20/07/2011

Brussels, 13/07/2011 Employment and social cohesion, the real lives of millions of Europeans are at stake. “It is time to show a strong sense of European leadership and to take the right decisions to change direction - this situation is not an inevitability, it is the results of a lack of political control of the markets” said the ETUC General Secretary, Bernadette Ségol.

Brussels, 28-29/06/2011 ETUC Declaration for download To download the ETUC Declaration, please click on the icon below.

Brussels, 23/06/2011 The ETUC insists that the Parliament and the Council focus on the following issues in the coming two weeks: - Clauses to safeguard wages and collective bargaining must be maintained and strengthened. The regulation on macroeconomic imbalances should contain a clear reference to article 153 (5) of the Treaty.

Brussels, 22/06/2011

Brussels, 23/05/2011

Athenes, 19/05/2011 With the approval of the Athens manifesto the ETUC asserts that wages are not the enemy of the economy but its motor and that the autonomy of social partners in collective bargaining must be respected, denouncing the danger of the “Euro Plus pact”.

Brussels, 28/04/2011 ETUC Resolution for download To download the ETUC Resolution, please click on the icon below.

These encroach on the autonomy of social dialogue and on trade union / employer negotiations. Publishing wage indicators and systematically linking these up with ‘economic governance’ will in practice come at the expense of the bargaining position of trade unions and workers. There will be a race to the bottom.

London, 26/03/2011 Friends, brothers and sisters, I am bringing to you all the warm & fraternal greetings of the European trade union confederation & the 60 million workers behind it. In London today/ in Berlin, Brussels, Riga, Madrid last week, in Budapest soon, workers & their families citizens of Europe are marching the streets for an alternative. You marched the streets & the European workers marched the streets of London with you for social justice & fairness. You want, need & deserve jobs, good jobs.

Brussels, 23/03/2011 The European Commission's annual growth survey and the competitiveness pact proposed by Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy present proposals that put dangerous downward pressure on salaries and social rights.

Brussels, 14/03/2011

Brussels, 11/03/2011 ETUC Resolution for download To download the ETUC Resolution, please click on the icon below.

Brussels, 10/03/2011 The ETUC is strongly opposed to the way the concept of EU economic governance is being developed and to the current proposals on the so-called “Competitiveness Pact”. European trade union movement finds it totally unfair that working people are paying for the follies of financial markets. The current proposals are to exert downward pressure on wages, to interfere in collective bargaining and the autonomy of the social partners. If this approach is confirmed, the whole concept of social Europe is being placed in increasing jeopardy.

Brussels, 04/03/2011

Brussels, 14/02/2011 - President, welcome this opportunity to become involved in the discussions which are leading to a new system of extended economic governance system in Europe. - This is a matter of the greatest importance for the future of the EU - Get it right and there is the prospect of a more highly integrated EU economy with fiscal co-ordination to match the single monetary policy of the euro area.

Brussels, 14/02/2011 It is deeply unfair now to shift the burden completely to wages and workers, while those that profited from speculation are free to go about their business as usual. The ETUC warns it will not accept a system of economic governance or a change in the European Treaty turning wages into the single instrument of adjustment.

Brussels, 04/02/2011 The ETUC identifies the danger that cutting minimum wages and abolishing wage indexation systems in a few countries will only be the start of a process undermining wage formation systems and the bargaining position of workers and trade unions across the whole of Europe. The ETUC stresses that wage competition is a zero sum game; what some gain in the short run, others lose and, in the end, the whole of Europe suffers because demand is squeezed out of the internal market.

Dublin, 19/01/2011 Thanks for the invitation to come back a second time to the IIEA. Last time, we were talking about referendums and treaties and the reasons for Ireland to vote yes to a European future. As someone who believes strongly in a European future, I am only grateful that Ireland does not have to have a referendum on Europe now, in relation to the current crisis. In fact, Ireland has had a great deal of support from the EU especially the liquidity funding from the ECB, but it is also taking heavy punishment from the EU and IMF.