Public Services Day 23 June

(8 May 2015) Hands off Public Services! No to TTIP, CETA, TiSA - Photo gallery   

23rd June is World Public Services Day. This year we would like to focus attention on the dangers presented by the current trade and investment agreements being negotiated by the European Commission. The recent 50th EPSU Executive Committee endorsed the decision to continue campaigning to exclude public sectors from these trade agreements and to work with other organisations around a number of other key demands (see below paper ‘Public Service Day 23 June 2015 – background note on possible activities’ listing these).

The lack of a coherent framework for Public Services in Europe means that the trade agreements and negotiations are taking an extremely narrow view of what are Public Services, making it easier to continue liberalization processes that EPSU has opposed. To continue the mobilization in Europe demonstration the broad opposition to the trade agreements and negotiations we invite all EPSU affiliates to get involved in trade debates and to launch a campaign to exclude Public Services from the agreements. A recent statement between the United States and the EU to ‘reassure’ citizens about the lack of danger for public services makes it clear that unless we mobilise, public services will be hollowed out by these agreements. To underpin our actions on 23rd June, we launch a webpage to show through pictures of workers organised by EPSU unions the opposition to trading away public services.

Slogans could be: ‘This is a public service! Exclude it for TTIP/TiSA/CETA’
‘Stop liberalisation of Public Services! Stop TTIP/TiSA/CETA’
(others are welcome, unions have shown great creativity in visualising their opposition, for example using the Trojan horse image)

For this action we suggest that pictures should be taken with a group of workers/ your members outside different public services workplaces to visualise also our work places and what is concretely at stake. An example is what was done for the November 2013 “1000 Workplaces” action. Through this action many hundreds of workers if not more will be engaged in our common struggle in defense of public services.

See also activities organised by EPSU members for the global day on trade 18 April 2015. We would like to receive as many photos as possible by Monday 8 June as we will launch the webpage on June 10th when an important vote is expected in the European Parliament on TTIP. We aim to have at least 200 photos.

Pictures should be sent to Catherine Boeckx, [email protected]; before sending, please select the best pictures, maximum 2 or 3 per union. In the following weeks we will send you more material to support your actions on 23 June.

Many thanks for your support, Jan Willem Goudriaan, EPSU General Secretary -

EPSU General Circular N° 9 (2015)
Letter in EN, FR, DE, ES, SV and RU:


- Public Service Day 23 June 2015 – background note on possible activities


- 2 versions (A3 & A4 format) of the "Hands off Public Services" graphic in high resolution for printing


- see also EPSU update on trade and public services June 2015
- and EPSU update on trade and public services July 2015