Brussels, 06/06/2012
The European social model should be promoted, not attacked. As much as fundamental rights, wages also contribute to getting out of the crisis, whereas deregulation has contributed to an increase in unemployment and widened inequality to the point of creating an untenable economic but also political situation.
The European trade unions declared that we must turn our back once and for all on austerity measures that have impoverished millions of Europeans and stifled any possibility of recovery, whilst driving unemployment upwards. The ETUC is unanimous in proposing a compact for alternative policies in favour of growth and employment for all.
Bernadette Ségol, ETUC general secretary, stated: “Our message is starting to get through: austerity has failed. We need to concentrate on growth. However, we are not naïve. Even if we note a change in rhetoric, different positions on growth are clashing. There has been no change of course. That is why we call on European leaders to engage in a discussion on our proposal for a social compact for Europe, before the European Council at the end of June. More than ever before, Europeans have a feeling that they share the same history. We must all be up to this challenge, together.”
- A Social Compact for Europe: http://www.etuc.org/a/10024