(6 May 2013) EPSU condemns the one-sided measures announced by the Portuguese government this weekend. The measures hit public service workers and working families hard. 30.000 public service jobs will be cut. Civil servants will have to work 40 hours a week instead of 35, thus seeing a sharp fall in pay and worsening of working conditions. Workers will only get a full pension at the age of 66. The measures do nothing to address the recession in Portugal which sees its economy shrinking (...)

(26 April 2013) The ETUC Executive Committee adopted a position on the social dimension of the European Union 23 April. It is the contribution of the ETUC to the discussions between the Parliament, Commission and Council (Member States) on the future of the European Union. Our priorities are therefore to: Stop cuts in public spending, social protection and wages. They are unfair, they increase unemployment, inequalities and poverty and they worsen recession. Stop competition on wage (...)

(17 April 2013) The Depression is now 5 years old with no clear signs of recovery as yet another Euro-zone country – this time Cyprus – has been forced to implement austerity measures, while Slovenia is also under threat. These will have a massive impact on Cypriot society with the now familiar pattern of cuts in public spending, in public service workers’ wages and jobs as well as attacks on its system of industrial relations, indexation and minimum wage system. These are the kinds of (...)

(9 April 2013) Former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher died yesterday, 8 April 2013. She was a very controversial figure, known in particular for promoting privatization of public services. The water industry was one of her many targets . In 1984, there were no precedents anywhere in the world to transfer water company assets to the private sector but this turned out to be one of her first defeats. A massive outcry of people, trade unions, environmental groups and members of her own (...)

The meeting included sessions on: the implementation and process of economic governance economic governance and wages taxation alternative economic policies drafting a resolution on economic policy for the EPSU Congress Economic governance Christophe Degryse, senior researcher at the ETUI, gave a comprehensive analysis of the development of the system of economic governance and the challenges it poses for trade unions. He looked at to the pressure to change wage setting systems (...)

(19 December 2012) The ETUI organised a public discussion with James Galbraith, one of the world’s more known economists on the economic policies in the US and Europe, 11 December 2012, Brussels. Professor Galbraith argued that the current crisis is fundamental in nature, for the world of today is facing important obstacles to any form of return to growth. Galbraith, who believes that the “physical basis and the institutional basis of the previous growth economy are deeply impaired,” (...)

EPSU sends solidarity greetings to the hundreds of thousands of workers who will be supporting the ETUC’s European day of action on 14 November. Public service unions will be playing their part in the demonstrations and other activities and joining the general strikes in Spain and Portugal that are calling for an end to austerity. The latest figures from the European Commission show the European economy shrinking in 2012. EPSU and the ETUC have argued for some time that the policy of (...)

EPSU sends solidarity greetings to the hundreds of thousands of workers who will be supporting the ETUC’s European day of action on 14 November. Public service unions will be playing their part in the demonstrations and other activities and joining the general strikes in Spain and Portugal that are calling for an end to austerity. The latest figures from the European Commission show the European economy shrinking in 2012. EPSU and the ETUC have argued for some time that the policy of (...)

Issues on the agenda of the dialogue were: Current economic conditions, economic outlook and the macro-structural response Review of structural imbalances, developments in competitiveness and country specific recommendations. Presentations were given by the European Commission and European Central Bank representatives. Due to the rules applying to the discussions we are requested not to publish the views of participants at this meeting. The macro-economic dialogue considers the (...)

EPSU Press communication – embargoed for 5 November (Brussels 31 October) On 22 and 23 November the European Council is due to decide on the EU budget, the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework. The EU Commission proposes to make savings of 1 billion €, but some Member States have tabled extreme proposals foreseeing reductions of up to 15 billion €. For that matter the trade unions within European institutions have decided to go on strike in the month of November. The European (...)