(25 January 2012) The ETUC has considerable concerns about the new Austerity Treaty that is being negotiated in haste and without much participation of Europe’s citizens, social partners and others. The European Council of 9 December 2011 agreed to conclude a Fiscal Compact, the main measure of which is the balanced budget rule that all countries have to approve in legislation or constitutions. Together with the set of measures already adopted (the six pack) and further measures for the (...)

EPSU Press communication
(24 January 2012) The European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) is supporting and participating in the press conference that the European Trade Union Confederation is organizing on 25 January. EPSU has been at the forefront of the mobilisation against austerity and for public services, like our European mobilisitation of November 30th shows.
We call to put an end to the social damage and to stop austerity measures that eat away at the purchasing power of (...)

(18 January 2012) The Italian water movement achieved a great victory in June 2011 when millions of Italians said no to the liberalization and privatisation of water services. The European Central Bank however has sought to reverse this decisions in a secret letter to the Italian government in July 2011. In this letter the then President Trichet advised: “A comprehensive, far-reaching and credible reform strategy, including the full liberalisation of local public services and of (...)

(18 January 2012) The Brussels region of the Mouvement Ouvrier Chrétien (MOC) addressed the Belgian government austerity measures and their implications. Speakers of ACV-CSC (the union confederation), the women’s and the youth movement, the mutualités (sicknessfunds) and the Belgian tax justice network underlined different aspects. The trade unions announced the general strike for 30 January 2012. All Belgian confederations will participate and mobilize. The perception of the participants was (...)

(17 January 2012) The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) along with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Education International (EI), the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE), Public Services International (PSI), and the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), have jointly written to the Turkish Prime Minister, the President, Labour minister and so on with a copy to the European Commissioner responsible for relations with Turkey (see (...)