Since the onset of the crisis in 2008, European workers and their families have suffered as a result of the austerity policies and ‘reforms’ imposed by the EU, the ‘troika’ and national Governments.
24 million men and women, including 5 million under-25s, are currently unemployed. Some 10 million jobs have been destroyed.
Europe will not be able to create quality jobs without a significant change in economic policy and without an end to the austerity policies which have held back economic and job recovery. /press/ec-economic-forecast-optimistic-underestimates-deflation-risk
The €315bn investment plan launched by European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker, which received a green light from EU Finance Ministers, is welcome but not enough for a major impact. It may not even raise the funds promised: /press/investment-commission-relying-financial-miracle.
The ETUC has set out its own, more ambitious proposal for a European investment plan: /documents/etuc-declaration-new-european-commission. An ILO study highlights some of the issues surrounding the investment plan
/press/ilo-study-shows-eu-investment-plan-not-enough
The crisis has seen collective bargaining and social dialogue undermined, sometimes at the recommendation of the EU institutions! All European countries need to build or restore strong industrial relations systems and collective bargaining, and to implement a large-scale European investment plan for sustainable growth and quality jobs: /documents/towards-european-strategy-quality-employment
In her speech to the High Level Conference on Social Dialogue organised by the Euroepan Commission, ETUC General Secretary Bernadette Ségol stressed that the ETUC is committed to renewed social dialogue and involvement in the European Semester process, there have to be concrete results to benefit workers: /speeches/speech-bernadette-s%c3%a9gol-high-level-conference-new-start-social-dialogue-french-version. See also the ETUC press release on the relaunch of social dialogue: /press/social-dialogue-need-new-start-etuc-ready-and-willing
The ETUC is skeptical about structural reforms as these usually mean measures to reduce wages, make work more insecure and weaken collective bargaining. The Economic Semester launched by the new Commission appears to rely on championing structural reforms (without specifying the types of reform needed, or even the objective) /press/european-semester-etuc-comment