Commenting on the European Commission’s renewed Industrial Policy Strategy, published today, Peter Scherrer, Deputy General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) said: “The ETUC has long called for a new EU industrial strategy, and welcomes the fact that the European Commission has now published ‘A renewed Industrial Policy strategy’.

The European Court of Justice today ruled that Ryanair workers based in Belgium could take legal proceedings before Belgian courts, regardless of the fact that Ryanair claimed that the contracts are “subject to Irish law” and “Irish courts had jurisdiction”. Welcoming the judgement, the European Trade Union Confederation’s Esther Lynch said “It is not for employers to choose which countries’ laws they wish to obey. The law of the land where the person is working should apply.”

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) joins with its global counterpart, the ITUC, in condemning the politically motivated campaign against the Georgian Trade Union Confederation (GTUC) and its President Irakli Petriashvili, launched by political forces aligned with the Georgian government. The ETUC works in partnership with the GTUC within the Pan-European Regional Council (PERC) of the ITUC and through the EU-Georgia Association Agreement.

Commenting on President Juncker’s State of the Union speech today, Luca Visentini, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation said “The speech painted a rosy picture of economic recovery and was too light on proposals for social justice. “His references to climate action and digitalisation for example expressed no concern about potential job losses, or the need to manage the social and employment impacts. That’s alarming and dangerous.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) welcomes the judgment today of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in favour of a worker's right to privacy and restricting employers' right to monitor workers electronic communications. The ETUC have intervened in support of the case because of its broader privacy and employment implications for workers.

MEPs are being urged by trade unions back an agreement, between the European Council and Parliament (and supported this week by the Parliament’s Employment Committee), to give workers more and better protection against occupational cancer.

Tomorrow Luca Visentini, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, will meet French Labour Minister, Muriel Pénicaud, to discuss the revision of the Posting of Workers Directive. It follows an earlier meeting between Luca Visentini and President Macron on July 21 https://www.etuc.org/press/trade-unions-meet-french-president-paris and meetings with Ministers from other countries on posting including the Estonian and Maltese Presidencies.

People working in countries in the east of the EU earn well under half of the average wage of people in the western, pre-2004 EU15 according to research published today. Workers in 10 east EU countries earn between 42% of west EU wages (in Estonia) to under 18% (in Bulgaria). Only in Slovenia do working people earn more than half, with wages at 60% of the EU 15 average. The east-west EU wage gap was getting smaller through the late 1990s and much of 2000s, but progress stopped in the 2008 economic crisis.

Commenting on the attack in Turku (Finland), Luca Visentini, General Secretary of the European trade Union Confederation (ETUC) said:

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) condemns the terrorist attacks that took place on Thursday, 17 August, on La Rambla de Barcelona - one of the most popular and visited streets in Europe at this year time – and in Cambrils. We express our solidarity to the victims and relatives, people of Barcelona and Spain as well as our Spanish trade union members. The ETUC stands with all workers of security forces, transport, social and health services which have attended to the victims of these cruel attacks with professionalism and care.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has written to the President of Kazakhstan and the EU’s Foreign Affairs Representative demanding justice for Larisa Kharkova, a leader of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Kazakhstan, who was sentenced in late July to 100 hours of forced labour, four years restriction on her freedom of movement and a five-year ban on holding any position in a public or non-governmental organization.

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