EU member states could be forced to collectively cut their budgets by more than 100 billion Euro next year under the Council’s plans to reintroduce austerity measures. France (26bn), Italy (25bn), Spain (14bn), Germany (11bn), Belgium (8bn) and the Netherlands (6bn) would have to make the biggest annual cuts to meet the deficit reduction targets within four years. Member states could request to extend the cuts over a seven year period but risk to be in exchange for commitments to harsher anti-worker economic reforms.

The Council under the leadership of the Belgian presidency of the EU must deliver a strong platform work directive as a first step towards ending precarious work and returning to the social Europe envisioned by Jacques Delors. That is the call Esther Lynch, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), made in Namur at the first meeting of employment and social affairs ministers under the Belgian presidency, welcoming the focus put on quality jobs and on the European Pillar of Social Rights.

The EU Council today failed to approve the outcome of trialogue negotiations on the platform work directive. Responding to the decision, ETUC Confederal Secretary Ludovic Voet said: “A balanced agreement giving the most basic rights to platform workers is being held up for no good reason based on the objections of a small minority. "This sends the wrong message to hardworking taxi drivers and delivery workers during their busiest period of the year.

The benefits of collective bargaining to work-life balance are revealed this Christmas in EU data which shows workers in countries with the highest levels of coverage enjoy up to a month more leisure time - without loss of pay - every year than other workers. An analysis to coincide with the holidays by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) of Eurofound data on collectively agreed working time for full-time workers found that:

Dear Readers, We have just published the December 2023 edition of the ETUC newsletter. To read the document, please click here. Enjoy!

EU finance ministers have today finalised the Council’s position on the reform of the EU’s economic governance rules. 

The European Commission is moving to postpone the review of the crucial chemicals regulation, REACH, to the next Commission. Coupled with the news that it has cancelled the initiative on asbestos screening, this is a major blow to efforts to protect people’s health at work. The postponement was hinted at by Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius and confirmed by DG GROW in a letter received by ETUC this week. The review was due by 2022. In delaying it until after the current mandate’s end, the Commission has failed to live up to its responsibility.

The ETUC welcomes the news that accession negotiations will open with Ukraine and Moldova. The decisions to grant candidate status to Georgia and to open negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is reached are also important. We call on the governments to work closely with trade unions in the countries so that Ukraine and Moldova meet accession requirements and fully adhere to the social acquis. The ETUC is calling for a social partner summit to take place before the 2024 EU-Ukraine Summit.

EU leaders have kicked the can down the road on the major economic challenges facing Europe after a lack of consensus at the European summit which saw no decision taken on the long-term budget or even a discussion of the fiscal rules. New fiscal rules, which set the spending and borrowing decisions of member states, were meant to enter into force on January 1 when the activation of the general escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact comes to an end.

The political agreement found today on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence directive is a step in the right direction on the path to securing decent and safe working conditions around the world. The measures will help in holding businesses accountable for standards in their supply chains, both inside and outside the EU, and for the impact of their operations on human rights and the environment. A full text is not yet available but the agreement is reported to include measures that:

EU leaders won’t be able to keep their promises on climate change if austerity rules are reintroduced, trade unions are warning after the conclusion of COP28. EU leaders used speeches at the summit in Dubai to renew their commitment to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

Millions of workers who have been wrongly classified as self-employed and deprived of their basic rights stand to benefit from the platform work directive agreed today. The ETUC calls on Member States to adopt this agreement and ensure its thorough implementation and enforcement. Trade unions have been on the streets and in the courts to win recognition and better conditions for platform workers. This directive will give important legal backing to platform workers to be properly recognised and protected as workers.

Fifteen thousand workers from across the continent marched to the EU institutions in Brussels today to send a clear message to leaders that there must be no return to austerity.      Members of trade unions from 30 countries travelled to Belgium to take part in the Together Against Austerity demonstration organised by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), where General Secretary Esther Lynch warned politicians they would pay the price for any return to austerity at the forthcoming European elections.

Thousands of workers from across Europe will tomorrow (Tuesday) march to the European institutions in Brussels in protest at plans to begin austerity 2.0 programme from next year.     The demonstration called by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is part of a wider campaign for a "fair deal for working people" and comes as ministers and MEPs are in negotiations over a reform of the EU’s economic governance rules.  

Commenting on the trilogue agreement on the AI Act, ETUC Deputy General Secretary Isabelle Schömann, said: “The AI Act agreement as a milestone in our ongoing efforts to regulate artificial intelligence. It signals Europe’s attempt to shape the future of AI in a responsible way that puts people first.”

Plans to reintroduce austerity would stop action to address the top priorities of EU citizens, trade unions are warning in response to the European Parliament’s pre-election polling. The results of the special Eurobarometer published today show that, six months from the European elections, the priorities of citizens are:

Dear Readers, We have just published the November 2023 edition of the ETUC newsletter. To read the document, please click here. Enjoy!

The ETUC is calling on the European Commission to initiate swift legislative action on telework and the right to disconnect following the blocking of a European social partner agreement by employers.   

Commenting on the European Parliament plenary vote on the Net Zero Industry Act, ETUC Confederal Secretary Ludovic Voet said: “This is the first time that the importance of social conditions to a successful industrial policy have been recognised at EU level. The text calls for public contracts to be evaluated on their contribution to creating decent wages, working conditions, apprenticeship and training opportunities in order to increase the attractiveness of employment in net-zero industry sector.

New EU polling showing exposure to solar UV radiation is the most common cancer risk faced by European workers shows the need for stronger rules on the protection of outdoor workers. 

The pay of European workers is still falling in real terms despite corporations making above-inflation profits, new research by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has found. Across the European Union, the value of wages has fallen this year when inflation is taken into account. By contrast, company profits have increased by nearly 2 per cent in real terms.

Around 1.5 million workers will benefit from new protections from exposure to cancer-causing lead. Safer exposure limits for lead have been agreed today as part an inter-institutional agreement on the fifth revision of the Carcinogens, Mutagens, and Reprotoxic Directive. When implemented, the new limits will mean that: - The occupational exposure limit will be lowered from 0.15 milligrams per cubic meter (0.15mg/m3) to 0.03mg/m3

Commenting on the IMF Regional Economic Outlook, ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said: “The IMF is arguing that the poorest people pay the highest price for a crisis caused by the profits of the biggest corporations. “Real wages were negative across Europe last year while real profits increased and dividends skyrocketed.

The price of the most basic food stuffs is still rising up to seven times faster than wages, Eurostat data published today shows. The price of olive oil is 75 per cent higher than it was in January 2021, while there have also been increases in the price of potatoes (53%), eggs (37%) and butter (27%). By contrast, nominal wages have increased by 11% in the EU and 10% in the Euro area over the last three years.  

Trade unions are calling on politicians to stand up to intense lobbying by platform companies and deliver real rights for delivery riders, taxi drivers, carers and other workers. Uber has bombarded social media in Belgium with over 100 adverts since September 25 in an effort to weaken the EU directive on platform work, the Meta advert library shows.