At its meeting on 8-9 November 2011 the Executive Committee agreed a number of proposals on its trade union rights work:
• Initially focus our trade union rights work on Belarus, Georgia and Turkey, assessed as “countries at risk” by the ITUC.
• Encourage affiliates to support action on trade union rights in these countries with the possibility that this could be coordinated by the constituencies.
• Work more closely with the ETUC, PSI and ITUC on trade union rights and support their work in the (...)

Several governments across Europe have extended their austerity measures to employment and trade union legislation. Not content with imposing cuts on the pay and conditions of public service workers, governments in Greece, Hungary, Romania, Spain, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, among others, have introduced or are planning to introduce major changes to their labour codes or legislation covering collective bargaining and trade union rights. A report prepared by the ETUI trade union (...)

(26 July 2011) EPSU has joined with the global federations, PSI and ICEM, to call on the Minister of Labour in Turkey to tackle the attacks on trade union rights in the municipality of Istanbul. The three union organisations state that there is clear evidence that the Municipality is intimidating members of the Belediye-Is trade union to leave the union to join a different trade union.
EPSU, PSI and ICEM underline the fact that last year’s changes to the Turkish constitution recognize the (...)

The ITUC global trade union confederation is calling on affiliates to support its campaign to highlight the abuse of trade union rights in Georgia. The circular issued on 29 June asks affiliates to:
raise awareness about workers’ rights in Georgia by sending out information produced by the ITUC and the Georgian Trade Union Confederation (GTUC) information about the situation in the country; and
communicate the ITUC position to national governments and members of the EU Parliament and (...)

(10 June 2011) The situation for trade unions in the Ukraine is deteriorating. The unions are being subjected to harassment by a political motivated prosecutor who brings in union officials for questioning about union activities. In some ministries such as for health and education/science departments have been established to explore how the unions can be pressured. The government also stimulates the creation of alternative unions to undermine the organizational strength of the FPU and (...)

(8 June 2011) The European and global trade union confederations, ETUC and ITUC, have written a joint letter to the European Commission about the refusal of the government of Georgia to amend its anti-union legislation.
ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow and ETUC general secretary Bernadette Ségol have called on the Commission to launch an investigation under its trade preference arrangements with Georgia.
The International Labour Organisation has repeatedly called on the Georgian (...)

Sir,
The European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) has cause again to protest against the repeated and disproportionate intervention of Turkish police forces against peaceful demonstrators. The demonstrators arrested on 2 June in Ankara and Istanbul were protesting against the death of Metin Lokumcuin the city of Hopa in the Black Sea region. In these protests 54 people were arrested, amongst them several members of the KESK trade union confederation.
According to the reports we (...)

(May 2011) The ITUC global trade union body plans to step up its campaigning on trade union rights in Georgia following a special meeting on the situation in the country on 5-6 May.
Representatives of the Georgian Trade Union Confederation (GTUC) and individual trade unions presented the latest evidence on the government’s attacks on trade union rights.
The ITUC argues that: “Georgia is rapidly becoming the black sheep of workers’ rights in Europe. The workers are being pressed to work in (...)

(15 February 2011) Dear Prime Minister,
We are informed by our Turkish member organizations affiliated to the national centers KESK and DISK of a further example of repression of trade union rights in Turkey. In the particular case we refer to, trade union action against the new legal arrangements proposed by the AKP aiming to reduce labour and trade union rights was brutally suppressed by police intervention.
The legislation is to establish flexible and insecure working schedules and (...)

(29 June 2010) EPSU and its sister organisation, PSI, have once again had to intervene on behalf of Meryem Özsögüt from the Turkish health union SES. Both organisations have written letters of protest to the Turkish president to complain about her arrest and the sentencing and detention of other public service trade unionists.
Meryem made the closing speech at last year’s EPSU congress, where she gave a harrowing account of the arrest and torture that she had been subjected at the hands of (...)