Press Communication, 10 February 2010
“A clear message and not business as usual, is what we expect from the European Summit on the financial and economic crisis", says Jan Willem Goudriaan, EPSU Deputy General Secretary. “We expect that bankers will be submitted to a regime of tough controls and that financial speculators will be taxed on their dangerous financial dealings. We demand that government leaders propose additional measures to create jobs and invest in public infrastructure and (...)

(2 February 2010) CGIL-FP and CGIL-FIOM (Metalworkers) organized a conference on the implications of the Lisbon Treaty for the trade union strategy.
EPSU Deputy General Secretary Jan Willem Goudriaan spoke on what the Treaty can signify for public services, the possibilities for a citizens’ initiative and EPSU priorities to use the opportunities offered. The voice of the union movement at EU level needs to be strengthened to counter the pressure for early exit strategies and to focus on (...)

(27 January 2010) Representatives of seven trade union organisations from Belgium, Norway, Sweden and the UK came together on 25-27 January to debate and exchange ideas on recruitment and organisation. They discussed how they were responding to the challenge of falling or static membership through specific recruitment and organising campaigns and other initiatives.
The two-and-a-half day seminar was organised for EPSU by the ETUI trade union education institute.
As well as presentations (...)

The ETUC has sent its proposals for action during the Spanish Presidency. It wants action to deal with the impact of the financial, economic and social crisis first and foremost. Other areas covered in the ETUC Memorandum are related to Social Europe, a Social dimension to the internal market, climate change and energy, enlargement and trade and external relations. ETUC also demands decisive action on the Social Progress protocol and that the gaps in the Posted Workers Directive are (...)

(19 October 2009, Dublin) Often, the best way to fight a ridiculous message is to laugh at it. Irish EPSU affiliate IMPACT has done just that, in a series of new videos available here
Two videos (see below) parody the way public service workers have become the scapegoat for all of Irelands economic ills. The videos cleverly portray public service workers as a shadowy ‘sect’ that has infiltrated society, while simultaneously, underlining how public servants are essential in creating a strong (...)

(3 October 2009, Brussels) The European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) has stated that Ireland’s YES vote on the Lisbon Referendum is; “A positive step for public services”.
“With the Lisbon Treaty likely to be passed by the end of the year, I strongly underline/endorse the positive impact of the public services provisions in the text”, said EPSU General Secretary, Carola Fischbach-Pyttel.
The Treaty has three main provisions that explicitly call for EU legislation to ensure that (...)

(1 September, Dublin) EPSU Irish affiliates CPSU and IMPACT have held a press conference calling for a Yes vote on the Lisbon Treaty. The Irish Union representatives stated that a Yes vote on 2 October would be a big step forward for workers rights. The Unions were part of the ‘Charter Group’, which is a collection of Irish Unions who have published a guide on the Lisbon Treaty and workers rights.
Blair Horan, General Secretary of CPSU, stated that workplace rights, including collective (...)

(10 June 2009, Brussels) For the congress period 2009-2014, for quality public services – quality of life, EPSU have adopted the following resolution:
the resolution affirms:
”Quality Public Services – Quality of Life” – this resolution calls on EPSU to continue its campaign for EU legislation to protect public services and for an EU Action Programme on ‘quality public services’. It also calls for the quality public service dimension to be better integrated into EPSU’s sectoral work and social (...)

The Public Services section of our congress will focus on two sections:
1. Our headline resolution, Quality Public Services - Quality of Life
2. Our debate on the European Elections and the role for public services
Item 11) Resolution R.1:”Quality Public Services – Quality of Life” – this resolution calls on EPSU to continue its campaign for EU legislation to protect public services and for an EU Action Programme on ‘quality public services’.
It also calls for the quality public service (...)

(28 May, 2008) As the European Elections near, the highly regarded think tank Friedrich Ebert Stiftung has published a timely report on what should be the new priorities for the incoming European Commission. (See document below)
The report dedicates a whole chapter to the issue of Public Services, or Services of General Interest in eurospeak. It calls for a balanced legal clarity on the role of public services. Most encouragingly, the report states that the current bias towards private (...)