People with disabilities will continue to be disadvantaged at work and disproportionately affected by poverty unless the European Commission turns its guidelines for employers into rules, trade unions say ahead of tomorrow's International Day for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (December 3). 

Mounting evidence, including from the Commission, highlights the need for a directive to end the growing workplace stress epidemic.  According to the European Public Services Union (EPSU) representing unions organising workers in the European institutions, and to media reports, an increasing number of Commission staff are suffering burnout due to an “extreme workload” caused by an expectation by management to do more with fewer resources.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) warns that the European Commission’s Digital Omnibus package represents the largest rollback of digital rights in EU history.

Responding to the Autumn Package published today by the European Commission, ETUC Confederal Secretary Ludovic Voet said:  “The majority of working people won’t recognise the rosy picture painted of the European economy today. Some economic indicators are pointing in the right direction but don’t reflect the reality on the ground.  “The employment figures look positive on paper but are being held up by an explosion of precarious work with low pay, appalling conditions, and few rights.

Austerity measures that rob women of quality jobs, push them into more unpaid care work and steadily erode vital public services increase women’s exposure to rising gender-based violence, trade unions are warning on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Efforts to deliver improvements to workers’ pay and working conditions in Europe accelerated today as trade unions toured the EU institutions with an advert van displaying workers’ demands for the Quality Jobs Act.

The trade union delegation to the Macroeconomic Dialogue on 12 November 2025 made three interventions. Esther Lynch (ETUC General Secretary - speech below) Ludovic Voet (ETUC Confederal Secretary - speech here) and Isabelle Barthès (IndustriAll Europe Deputy General Secretary - speech here) spoke from the trade union side.  Esther Lynch's speech: President Lagarde, President Donohoe,Commissioner Dombrovskis,Minister Lose,Colleagues, Thank you for this opportunity to speak on behalf of Europe’s working people.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has warned that Europe’s economic model is failing its workers and put forward proposals for urgent action to rebalance macroeconomic policy in favour of people and productive investment at the Macroeconomic Dialogue today. The event, which brought together European Central Bank President Lagarde and Eurogroup President Donohoe and Commissioner Dombrovskis, as well as leaders from trade unions and employers organisations, is a key moment for shaping Europe’s macroeconomic policy. 

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) welcomes that the EU Minimum Wage Directive has been put beyond all doubt by today’s ruling of the Court of Justice. The Court confirmed the validity of the Directive and its core provisions, ensuring that the fight for fair wages in Europe continues on firm legal ground. The Court has confirmed all measures related to the promotion of collective bargaining including the requirement for member states to put forward action plans to increase collective bargaining coverage. 

Certain candidate countries are going backwards on workers' rights at a time when they need to raise social standards to meet EU requirements, trade unions are warning.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) celebrates a major victory for workers’ rights across Europe as the Council of the EU formally adopted the revision of the European Works Council (EWC) Directive today. This marks the final step in a long-fought campaign to strengthen workers’ representation in multinational companies and ensure enforceable rights to information and consultation on decisions that affect jobs and working conditions.

At today’s Tripartite Social Summit, a delegation from the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) outlined its plan for strengthening Europe through addressing under-investment, reinforcing quality jobs and taking action for affordable housing.

Tripartite Social Summit for Growth and Employment – 22 October 2025 Intervention of Esther Lynch, ETUC General Secretary   Brussels, 22 October 2025  [Check against delivery] President von der Leyen, President Costa, Vice-President, Ministers, colleagues,

The priority given to quality jobs in the Commission's 2026 Work Programme is an important recognition of the problems working people face, but the ETUC warns that commitments must now be turned into concrete action. After a year of corporate buzzwords in 2025, 2026 will be a major test of whether the European Commission is ready to deliver for working people.

On the World Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is calling on Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to ensure the Work Programme 2026 includes action to tackle the root causes of in-work poverty.

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The ETUC is calling on Members of the European Parliament to vote down the Omnibus I proposal in plenary next week. The proposal by Rapporteur Mr Warbon (EPP) dismantles key protections in the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) and threatens workers’ rights across supply chains. 

The European Parliament has confirmed its backing of measures to enforce workers’ voice within multinational companies. The ETUC now urges Member States to confirm their support to the adoption of the revision of the European Works Council Directive. The long-standing overdue revision ensures meaningful consultation, timely access to information, delivering concrete outcomes for a fair deal for workers, for social progress and upwards convergence. 

On World Day of Decent Work, trade unions from across Europe will today hold a symbolic street action and high level event in Vienna to call for EU action to ensure every worker has a safe, well-paid and secure job.

“My colleague Mykailo died on the GHdC construction site in Charleroi on 27/9/21. He was Ukrainian and was working here in Belgium as a worker posted by a Polish company for which he had not performed any work in Poland. This company subcontracted to a firm registered in the Netherlands, which had no workers. The investigation revealed numerous violations of code. The Polish company no longer exists and did not report the accident to the Polish social security authorities. As a result, four years later, the family is left with nothing.