Union Rights
International organisations protest over attacks on labour rights
EPSU has joined with the European and global trade union confederations, ETUC and ITUC, in protests over anti-union legislation passed by the Ukrainian parliament. A major concern is law 5371, which has been attacked by the FPSU confederation for severely restricting employment protection, but other legislation also weakens workers’ rights, including law 5161 which allows the use of zero-hours contracts. The ETUC and ITUC have called on the European institutions to intervene in the light of Ukraine’s new status as an EU candidate country. EPSU has also written to the European Commission about
Latest survey reveals worst abusers of trade union rights
The International Trade Union Confederation has published its latest global rights index which exposes the scale and extent of attacks on fundamental trade union rights across the world. In the European region, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Turkey are the worst offenders appearing in the index’s category 5 – assessed as countries providing no guarantee of trade union rights. But plenty of other countries feature in the next categories with Greece, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Romania and Serbia all category 4 countries where there are systematic violations. These are followed by eight countries where there
Trade Union rights project - Defending and strengthening trade union rights across the public services
Many of our members face restrictions on the right to organise, negotiate and take strike action. In some countries the limitations or complete bans impact particularly on uniformed staff –
Federations send joint protest letter to Achema management
EPSU and industriAll Europe have sent a joint letter of protest to bosses at the Achema chemicals plant in Lithuania. They have called on the management to end anti-union activity and return to the negotiating table to resolve a dispute over pay and a new collective agreement. The local union, part of the LPPSF union affiliated to both EPSU and industriAll, took strike action in February – the first private sector strike in Lithuania for 30 years – but had to suspend the action when the government declared a state of emergency because of the war in Ukraine.
EPSU joins international condemnation of detention of union leaders
EPSU has joined the ETUC and ITUC in condemning the detention of several leaders of independent trade unions and calling for their immediate release. Those detained include Aleksandr Yarashuk, president of the ITUC-affiliated BKDP; BKDP vice president Sergey Antusevich; Aleksandr Bukhvostov, president of the Free Trade Union of Metalworkers SPM; and Nikolay Sharakh, president of the Free Trade Union of Belarus SPB. Their homes and offices have also been searched. These are the latest in a long line of attacks on the BKDP and its member unions. Labourstart is coordinating a protest campaign.