On 30th January the EPSU President and General Secretary, as representatives of the Right to Water campaign, met European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella to hear about proposals to improve access to drinking water for vulnerable people in Europe. The Commissioners stressed the importance of the proposed obligation on Member States to take all necessary measures to improve access for all to water intended for human consumption. While we are positive about these steps as there are still many people in Europe who lack basic provision, we underlined our expectation that the Directive should be explicit in recognizing the human right to water and questioned the Commissioners on the right to sanitation. We feel that the Directive, as it stands, is a missed opportunity and we will continue our battle for the recognition of the human right in our work in the European Parliament. It is time progress is made.
Working towards Congress. We have taken further steps in preparing for Congress in Dublin in 2019 with the first meetings of the Resolutions and Constitutional Working Groups. Our Irish colleagues continue their preparations to give us all a warm welcome.
Defending trade union and human rights. In recent weeks we have taken part in the PSI campaign to free Korean trade union leader Han Sang-gyun, supported the Amnesty International campaign to release human rights activists in Turkey and backed the World Medical Association in its defence of doctors of the Turkish Medical Association who were arrested when drawing attention to the risks of war for public health.
Unions take action. Several public service unions have taken or are planning industrial action. There was a national one-day strike and large demo in support of a public sector pay claim in Ljubljana, Slovenia on 24 January, fully supported by EPSU. French unions in elderly care organized a national strike on 30 January with key demands on pay, action to tackle staff shortages and the need for more investment. Actions in the care sector also took place in Malta and the Basque country in Spain. Members of the UK civil service union PCS have been continuing their protests to demand fair pay increases while prison workers in France, Belgium and Spain have taken action to highlight overcrowding and poor pay. More actions will take place over the coming weeks and we wish you all much success. Europe’s workers deserve decent pay and conditions.