From Cork to Brussels: workers are flagging the risks of #EUInc.
Trade unions rallied in @michaelmcgratheu.bsky.social’s home city to warn of the risk of opening loopholes that would drive down workers' pay & conditions.
Europe’s future must be built on strong rights, not a race to the bottom.
This International Women’s Day, our message is clear:
Reporting on pay costs employers a few hundred euros.
Inequality costs women workers millions.
Trade unions stand firmly behind the Pay Transparency Directive.
We will not go back to pay secrecy.
Equal pay now.
#IWD #EqualPayNow
Commission commits to fully implement pay transparency: www.etuc.org/en/pressrele...
The recently published Gender Equality Strategy commits the Commission to bringing forward action needed to address violence against women at work as part of the forthcoming Quality Jobs Act.
This commitment will be a huge relief to the 10 million workers who stood to lose 4.8 billion Euro a year in unpaid wages if Business Europe’s demands for a weaker directive had been acted on.
The @ec.europa.eu has sent a clear message: the pay transparency directive is here to stay. National governments who hedged their bets must now make up for lost time and work hard to ensure they meet the forthcoming transposition deadline
🔴The EU's top court has today confirmed that companies which negotiate pay and conditions with trade unions can be given preference when it comes to awarding public contracts
📰 www.etuc.org/en/pressrele...
A real European industrial strategy is taking shape.
Now EU institutions must ensure the Industrial Accelerator Act delivers investment, resilience, and quality jobs for workers across every sector and every region of Europe.
IndustriAll Europe General Secretary @judekd.bsky.social 📢
“Companies receiving public money must re-invest a fair share of profits into creating quality jobs, training and technology to raise productivity.”
Trade unions are calling for social conditionalities across the Act, so public support only goes to companies that:
✔️ Create quality jobs in Europe
✔️ Respect collective bargaining
✔️ Provide fair pay & safe workplaces
✔️ Invest in skills and training
ETUC General Secretary @estherlynch.bsky.social 📢
“A Made in Europe policy must mean more than changing the flag on a product’s packaging. Public money must come with basic conditions to ensure it serves the public interest.”
The EU spends €2 trillion each year on public procurement.
More of this investment must support European companies that create and maintain quality jobs, respect collective bargaining, and invest in skills and training.
ETUC General Secretary @estherlynch.bsky.social 📢
"After all postponements and resistances, it is very welcome that the Commission has finally come forward with the proposal for an Industrial Accelerator Act."
The European Commission has launched the Industrial Accelerator Act: a step towards strengthening Europe’s industries and introducing a #MadeInEurope approach with quality jobs at its heart.
Trade unions are calling on the European Commission to end its secrecy over its plans for an ‘EU Inc’ policy amid growing fears about its potential impact on working people and their rights
📰 www.etuc.org/en/pressrele...
Europe’s response must protect jobs, strengthen strategic sectors and ensure that the green and digital transitions deliver for working people.
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"Defending open trade does not mean accepting unfair measures. It means standing up for European jobs, strategic sectors and reliable trade,” said ETUC General Secretary @estherlynch.bsky.social.
This is also a wake-up call.
Europe must reduce strategic dependencies and invest in a “Made in Europe” approach: strong industrial policy, clean industry, resilient supply chains and quality jobs with robust social conditionalities.
Crisis tools are urgently needed.
A SURE 2.0 mechanism should protect jobs and production in sectors hit by trade disruptions. Defending open trade does not mean accepting unfair measures.
“The EU has already replaced one energy dependency with another; it must now double down on a just transition and wean itself off energy imports," said ETUC Deputy General Secretary @cmstahl.bsky.social.
“Europe must respond in a firm, proportionate and united manner. Fragmentation would only weaken our position and expose workers and industries to greater instability," said ETUC General Secretary @estherlynch.bsky.social.
The EU must ensure Trump tariffs don’t cost jobs.
That means taking action to protect jobs and strategic industries.
Crisis management tools should be urgently introduced.
Solidarity ✊✊✊
Politics is not only about interests. It is about identity, meaning and the future.
Populists understand this. Too often, we progressives have not.
Why democracy must once again become a future people can shape together.
My latest essay 👇
www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democ...
Today and everyday, we:
✊ Fight inequality
🛡️ Defend rights
💼 Push for investment for quality jobs
🏥 Back strong public services
#SocialJusticeDay: For a Europe where every worker has a voice through their union and every job is a quality job.
ETUC General Secretary @estherlynch.bsky.social 📢
We call on the Commission and Member States to accelerate delivering concrete action to protect & create quality jobs.
Europe’s productive capacity and the livelihoods of millions of people depend on it.
ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch @estherlynch.bsky.social 📢
“We cannot afford any hesitation in moving forward on real industrial policy. EU & national decision-makers must act with responsibility & put forward the #IndustrialAcceleratorAct to protect & create quality jobs without further delay”
In the short term: save jobs in Europe.
In the mid-term: reinforce our strategic sectors.
In the long term: build a strong Europe based on quality jobs and confidence for working people.
There is a concrete initiative on the table.
It would strengthen competitiveness while safeguarding quality jobs.
Yet progress has stalled.
The urgency required is simply not being shown.
Global competitors are deploying:
✔ Large-scale public investment
✔ Coordinated industrial strategies
✔ Clear production guarantees
Europe must respond with comparable ambition — not hesitation.
