EPSU congress report - what direction for public services?

(15 September 2009, Brussels) The 8th EPSU Congress delivered a clear mandate to promote and protect public services. The Congress witnessed 10 delegates each read an ‘action point’ summarizing the decisions taken during the week. The delegates represented EPSU membership from all corners of Europe.

The 10 action points (see below) represent the priorities for the EPSU congress period 2009-2014. They were introduced by Meryem Ozsogut from the Turkish health union SES who also outlined how she had been freed from prison thanks to an international solidiarity campaign (click here for details).

The newly elected EPSU president, Anne Marie Perret, closed the conference with a call to all affiliates to work towards a Europe where freedom of association, the right to organize and strike, were respected as fundamental rights.

The re-election of Anne-Marie Perret, as EPSU President and Carola Fischbach-Pyttel was endorsed by over 90% of Congress delegates, thus expressing the satisfaction of EPSU affiliates with the work achieved over the period 2004-2009. 

10 action points for Europe's public services

1. Reclaiming Public Services “EPSU commits to pushing for EU legislation that keeps public services outside the internal market” PCS (UK) Hector Wesley

2. Collective Bargaining “EPSU commits to strengthening our campaign to eradicate low pay” VDSZSZ (Hungary) Robert Janos Adam

3. Gender Equality “EPSU commits to using the ‘EPSU checklist reduce’ the gender pay gap” Kommunal (Sweden) Petra Larsson

4; The Financial and Economic crisis “EPSU commits to Putting people first by stopping cuts on public services Ver.di (Germany) Claudia Nowak

5. EPSU-PSI Europe Merger “EPSU commits to ensuring that the EU neighbourhood policy has a strong social dimension Health Workers Union of the Russian Federation (HWURF) Alex Morozov

6; Health and Social Services “EPSU commits to to ensuring that any EU proposal on healthcare is based on solidarity CGIL (Italy) Natale Di Cola

7. National Administration “EPSU commits to realizing formal social dialogue in national administration” Interco CFDT (France) Marie Odile Esch

8. Public Utilities “EPSU commits to campaigning for water to be recognised as a human right by all levels of the EU” OS UNIOS (Czech Republic) Michal Votava

9. Local Government “EPSU commits to calling for strong social EU procurement rules” ABVAKABO (Netherlands) Jenneke Van Pijpen

10. The European Social Model “EPSU commits to pushing for an EU that recognizes fundamental workers rights above internal market freedoms AEEWTU (Estonia) Sander Vaikma