Optimism for the new year

(18 December 2015) It has been a difficult year for many public service workers. The initial optimism of the Syriza election victory in Greece has being crushed, ground down by the troika's austerity machine. Greek workers continue to fight the measures that result in Job cuts, pay freezes, attacks on pensions and privatisation of public assets.

Meanwhile, Finnish workers mobilised against their new government's proposals to "improve" competitiveness. The unions oppose the plans to cut leave and the challenge posed to their model of negotiations.

In the UK public service workers have been lobbying hard against the Conservative government's bill that will curtail their rights to take industrial action if adopted.

Our members have also faced deadly attacks. I was deeply touched by the pictures of the abandoned KESK and DISK signs after the attack on their peace rally in Ankara and by the public service workers that were confronted with the aftermath of such atrocities. Who can forget the videos of firefighters, ambulance drivers, nurses, police and others who worked so hard to save and protect lives in Paris.

The surge in votes for euro-sceptics, nationalists and the extreme-right across Europe has been another setback for our hopes. The list can be depressingly long.

But there is also optimism. Workers and citizens are not giving in to corporations and conservative governments. They are facing up to their employers and governments. On the streets of Amsterdam, Vilnius, Kiev, Lisbon and Brussels, many public service workers took action and resisted the neo-liberal model of society.

Working with other unions and social movements we have been vocal against a new generation of trade agreements that threaten pubic services, workers' rights and democracy. With others EPSU and PSI have questioned corporate tax avoidance and helped make it a major issue in the European Parliament.

We convinced the Council that achieving equality between men and women needs a higher priority from the European Commission and with hundreds of other organisations we worked to get an agreement to address climate change.

Our critique of austerity and the need to end it, are shared more and more broadly. Looking back over the issues of the newsletter of last year: what an impressive amount of work we have done together.

I thank all of you for your support. If we don't work together we cannot bring about the fundamental changes workers and our communities need in Europe. EPSU staff in Brussels and regional offices have worked hard to move our priorities forward. I thank them on your behalf.

Before we close the EPSU office next week, there will be one last achievement to celebrate. With the employers in central government administrations we will sign an agreement to ensure information and consultation rights for civil service workers. It is a positive outcome of the social dialogue and jointly with the employers we will ask for the agreement to become binding.

After a short break we will be in the thick of it again early in the New Year with our support for the ETUC campaign work on the Right to Strike as agreed at its Executive Committee this week. And while deeply troubling that we have to do this, it shows that we won't give in. We do not give up on our vision of Another Europe. A Europe that inspires, and we can call Our Europe.

I wish you, your family, friends and colleagues a very successful and healthy 2016.

In solidarity,

Jan Willem Goudriaan
EPSU General Secretary

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