Brussels, 27/03/2009
The unemployment figures are very bleak and are predicted to top 10% across the European Union. It is urgent for the decisionmakers to abandon any complacency affirming that the national state welfare systems act as a social buffer instead of tackling the problems head on and showing evidence of a genuine political determination to get out of the rut.
John Monks, ETUC General Secretary, has stated: ‘The situation in which we find ourselves poses a huge danger to society and the economy. However, ETUC considers that we can get back on track and that a way out can be found if certain conditions are met. That is why we are calling in the short term for bigger recovery plans, for programmes to tackle unemployment, in particular unemployment among young people and strict financial regulation. We cannot ignore the growth in inequalities and the increasingly precarious situation. The social movements demonstrating in many countries across Europe are there to sound the alarm’.
The ETUC recommends the adoption of a New Social Deal to invest in social Europe (social protection, training and new business governance) in recovery plans to promote employment and purchasing power – a new social deal to further bolster the trade unions, workers’ rights and collective bargaining.
Please note that ETUC General Secretary John Monks will join the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other civil society organisations for the march for jobs, justice and climate in London on 28 March 2009 ahead of the G20 summit .
Further information
To download the April 2009 London Declaration of the international trade union representations – the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) – please click on icon below.