Our aims for Collective Bargaining in 2009-2014
(9 June 2009, Brussels) For the congress period 2009-2014, in the area of collective bargaining, EPSU have unanimously adopted the following resolution:
The resolution affirms the principles and objectives that EPSU affiliates commit to in the field of collective bargaining, including:
- ensuring that social justice, trade union and human rights take preference over competition rules and trade in Europe and elsewhere
- that global competition is directly effecting public service workers as social dumping undermines the protection afforded by collective agreements
- that strong and effective trade unions are essential to collective bargaining
- that trade union rights, collective bargaining and social dialogue need to be developed and defended as part of the European social model.
The resolution calls on EPSU and its affiliates to
- fight for social justice and respect of trade union and human rights in Europe
- campaign to get these principles enshrined as primary law in the EU Treaties
- to support action to improve pay and working conditions of public service workers across Europe, and in particular to achieve equal pay between men and women and to tackle low pay by increasing minimum wages in collective agreements or in law
- to defend decent public pensions; and to achieve equal treatment at the workplace irrespective of workers’ country of origin.
{Tuire Santamaki-Vuori }, EPSU Vice-President introduced the resolution on Collective bargaining.
The following delegates participated in the debate:
- Merja AILUS, JYTY, Finland
- Teija ASARA-LAAKSONEN, JHL, Finland
- Maria HANSSON, Kommunal, Sweden
- Bedriye Yorgun, for all Turkish Unions
- Alla Shylova, Trade Union of National Academy of Science, Ukraine
Speakers from Turkey and the Ukraine highlighted the challenges they faced in achieving and maintaining their rights to collective bargaining and urged EPSU to make this a priority for its work over the next five years.
- Log in to post comments