Waste, Migration
Fighting for the rights of migrants and asylum-seekers
Migration has major implications for public services not least because of the significant contribution of migrant workers to the provision of public services in many European countries. Thousands of public service employees across Europe work in areas related to migrations and asylum-seeking. Unfortunately, the European and national response to asylum-seekers has often fallen pitifully short of what should be expected from one of the wealthiest regions in the world and EPSU has been arguing hard for a change of approach, criticising the European Union’s policies which continue to focus on tightening borders, pushing back refugees and outsourcing asylum duties to third countries. EPSU, along with PSI, has also been calling for an end to privatisation and increased public investment in the public services that are vital to ensure the safe and effective integration of migrants and asylum-seekers into society. This briefing, prepared for EPSU's 2019 Congress provides some background on EPSU's activities in this area.
Report on the Privatisation and Private Sector Involvement and other Forms of State Disengagement in Migration and Refugee Services
(18 September 2018) The European Public Service Union (EPSU) and Public Services International (PSI) commissioned a research to inform both our work in influencing policy on global governance of migration
Racism and xenophobia in the workplace: what is the role of trade unions?
Report on the ETUC/ETUI workshop, held on 10 September - the workshop is meant to be the first in a series to provide a space for debate among trade unionists about their practices in dealing with racism and xenophobia.
Union raises concerns over waste sector deaths
The GMB general and public services union has raised concerns about safety in the waste sector. The union says that official figures show that deaths among refuse workers rose from eight to 12 last year while staff faced 1,000 instances of dangerous driving every single day. The GMB points out that workers are facing these serious threats to their safety while having seen their pay plummet in real terms since 2011.The average earnings of a refuse worker are just over £19,000 a year (EUR 21250), 7.4% lower in real terms than in 2011.
Call for global action on investment in care and decent work
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has produced a new report arguing for a doubling of investment in the care sector to prevent a global care crisis. It says that investment on this scale could create 269 million new jobs by 2030 and provide a major boost to women's employment while addressing massive gender inequality in unpaid care. The ILO estimates that over 600 million women want paid employment but are prevented from entering the labour market because of their caring responsibilities. The report underlines the need for a "high road" to increase care provision which means
Waste worker's death sparks call for action on safety
The tragic death of 54-year-old Michele Lorusso, an employee of a private waste contractor near Bari in southern Italy, has prompted calls for urgent action on safety in the sector. The incident happened when Michele was on his own and attempting to fix a waste truck that had broken down. The FP-CGIL trade union says that this is just the latest in a long line of incidents with the sector registering a rise in accidents and occupational diseases in recent years. The union wants to see health and safety in the industry now given the highest priority.
ETUC Summer School - Shaping the European trade union agenda for the coming years
Equality between men and women, precarious work for young people, transitions in the labour market triggered by climate change and digitalisation: these were among the main themes debated during a ETUC Summer School on 4-5 July in Montepulciano, Italy.
EPSU calls for equal labour and social rights for migrant domestic and care workers
On the occasion of International Domestic Workers' Day (16 June), EPSU supports the call of a network of civil society organisations to recognise labour and social rights of migrant domestic workers and migrant care workers