Brussels, 17/03/2009 Economic forecasts are bad and are even getting worse. Unemployment will rise fast and reach more than 10% by 2010. This situation will further weaken the position of certain population groups. Indeed, the European labour market is flexible but not secure. Workers are suffering mass redundancies, while their rights to robust unemployment benefits have been hollowed out by years of structural reforms and widespread precarious employment practices.
ETUC General Secretary John Monks declared that: {‘We urgently need European leadership to organise a European-wide answer to the collapse of employment and economic activity. We need European leadership to provide Member States with the financial means to fight the crisis and its social consequences. We need European leadership to fight financial markets' liberal bias and to prevent financial market speculation from turning into a self-fulfilling prophecy. We need European leadership to stop rigid rules from continuing to inflict serious damage to our economies. We need European leadership to avoid protectionism and social dumping.’}
ETUC urges the European Spring Summit and the Commission to decide along the following lines of action on a New Social Deal: -* {{invest in Social Europe}} to strengthen and broaden unemployment benefit systems, to invest massively in skills and lifelong learning, and to guarantee young people training and a job;
-* {{avoid wage cuts}} – a collapse of wage levels would increase the risk of a new depression. ETUC therefore calls for a European framework for ‘fair and decent wages’, a European action to ensure ‘equal treatment and equal pay for equal work for posted workers’, as well as a Europe-wide crackdown on excessive CEO bonuses;
-* {{invest in an expanded recovery programme}} – ETUC demands the Commission and the Council to launch a new programme of European investment projects with a value of 1% of European GDP. To invest in a greening of the economy is one of ETUC’s main claims;
-* {{public money for public investment}} – with the public sector called upon to rescue the economy from a complete meltdown of banks and business, governments need to mobilise the financial means to do so;
-* {{European solidarity to protect all of us against the irrationality of financial markets}} – financial markets must stop to speculate against governments and currencies. The public sector is the only actor able to go against the tide of debt.
The European Union must rescue all of its Member States, including many central and eastern European countries facing serious social difficulties and problems in accessing capital markets. European solidarity has become more important than ever. To address these demands and ask the EU to deliver, ETUC will organise four major Euro-demonstrations in Berlin, Brussels, Madrid and Prague from 14 to 16 May 2009. ETUC will also be taking an active part in the EU’s Employment Summit to be held in Prague on 7 May 2009, where we will be arguing the case for a New Social Deal in Europe and for expansionary economic policies.
ETUC Declaration to European Spring Summit of March 2009
See also the ETUC Declaration to European Spring Summit of March 2009, which was sent to all EU heads of state and governments.