In recent weeks public services workers have mobilised to demand respect for their work and their rights. We have seen several actions and protests of firefighters in France, Lithuania and Spain.
While the news media are full of reports on the hearings of potential European Commissioners, workers across Europe are engaged in actions to demand change, higher pay, better conditions and more staff.
Friday starts a week of actions, strikes and other mobilizations to demand from our governments ambitious targets and concrete measures to address climate change.
Yes, that is what has happened. Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, wants to prevent the UK Parliament from having the fullest possible discussion on the no-deal Brexit he pursues.
The EU-Member States governments carved up the top jobs in the European Union. A narrow majority in the European Parliament agreed with their pick for EU Commission President, the German defense minister Ursula von der Leyen.
The European Council met on Thursday 20 June bringing together the government leaders. Most attention was focused on the game of musical chairs to decide who got the top jobs. However, they also discussed the strategic agenda 2019-2024.
With many new faces the EPSU Youth network discussed the results of its youth survey in Dublin just before Congress. One conclusion is evident: unions should join young workers in their daily struggles for higher pay, improved working conditions and especially regular jobs. They bring this to the stage at Congress speaking during the first debates on how we shape the Future of Work and have an impact on the Future of Public Services.
In the lead up to this week’s European elections we have seen what the extreme right is capable of in seeking to win votes.
Thousands of health and care workers marched through Brussels on 7 May to demand more resources and more staff for the sector. They want more public money to improve services and not to end up in the coffers of shareholders.
Polish teachers, school assistants and other workers started a strike for better pay and recognition of their hard work on 8 April. That is 15 days ago and they are still going strong.
The ETUC is calling for trade union delegations to join the European demonstration on 26 April in Brussels. There will be an EPSU contingent and we hope you will join us.
Last Friday an EPSU group joined the climate demonstration in Brussels on the 15 March global day of action. We walked with school and college students and others, along with a large union block under the slogan “Workers for Climate”.
The impact of austerity on working families was again exposed last week, this time in a report of the Living Wage Foundation in the UK.
Inspiring actions
Public service workers have been very active over the last two weeks:
We have recently been working closely with ETUC to influence the negotiations over the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Directive. The European Council and European Parliament discussing a compromise over the Commission’s proposal.