Outsourcing, Tax justice
Fighting for tax justice
A fair, progressive, transparent and effective tax system is crucial for sound public finances, quality public services and redistribution of wealth and income. This is why EPSU has been campaigning hard to tackle tax evasion and avoidance by large companies and wealthy individuals and in support of measures to create fairer tax systems. This briefing for EPSU's last Congress sets out the work done over the previous Congress period and highlights current priorities. The impact of austerity on tax collection is the latest update on the state of tax administrations across Europe, underlining the need to invest in staff and resources to improve tax collection and fight tax fraud.
Industrial action possible in education and social care
The Fórsa public services trade union has rejected what it described as a ‘derisory’ offer from the Department of Education in a long-running dispute over the pay and conditions of school secretaries. The union has been campaigning for years to end the unequal treatment of school secretaries employed by the Department of Education and those employed by schools. The latter are on much lower pay rates and have inferior rights to sickness and annual leave. Fórsa has not ruled out the possibility of industrial action. Meanwhile, social care workers in intellectual disability services have voted
Unions mobilise over outsourcing and the recovery
Trade unions in the electricity and waste sectors reported very high levels of support for their industrial action and protests on 30 June. The unions want article 177 of the procurement code to be deleted as they argue that it requires widespread outsourcing across their sectors, posing a major threat to jobs and working conditions. They say that if the article is not deleted there will be increasing fragmentation of these industries and it will undermine initiatives towards a circular economy and low carbon energy sector. Meanwhile, the three main confederations have also been mobilising to
Norwegian and Polish shop stewards: common experience of taking services back into public hands
Poor treatment of employees, outdated equipment and low quality of services – outsourcing and privatisation of municipal services has similar negative effects whether it takes place in Poland or Norway.
Welcoming Portugal’s strong efforts on the FTT file and urging the tabling of a new legal text
We, civil society organisations and trade unions, campaigning for the achievement of a European Financial Transactions Tax (FTT), are writing to H.E. Mr ANTÓNIO COSTA, Prime Minister of Portugal, to express our appreciation and support for Portugal’s important efforts to progress the FTT dossier under its Presidency of the EU Council.
Unions plan public-sector wide strike in Basque region
Six trade unions are coming together to take strike action over jobs and precarious employment in the public sector in the Basque region. The unions are responding to the failure of the regional government to address public employment and the persistently high levels of temporary contracts across the public sector. Action is planned for 22 April across all the main public services – municipalities, health, education, general administration, justice, public transport, public media and other sectors. The unions want to see the thousands of temporary workers who have been crucial to tackling the
Good news for tax justice fighters: clear majority in EU Council to adopt public country-by-country reporting!
At a public meeting on 25 February, the EU Competitiveness Council reached a common position on a key instrument to tackle corporate tax avoidance, so-called public country-by-country reporting for multinational companies.