ETUC

13/08/2026

Simpler AI rules should not mean weaker safety for workers 👇

But the 🇪🇺 EU's Digital Omnibus has stripped machinery from the Act’s high-risk regime, leaving protections for workers in limbo.

Read the OpEd by our Deputy General Secretary Claes-Mikael Ståhl to know more:

The Digital Omnibus strips machinery from the AI Act’s high-risk regime, leaving worker safeguards in limbo.

11/08/2026

Heat breaks must be a right for every worker.
During the recently closed Football World Cup, players got a water break every 22 minutes to keep them safe.
But builders, fruit pickers and bus drivers - among many other workers - are often expected to work for hours in dangerous heat without a break.
This led to a huge increase in the number of heat-related workplace deaths in Europe, where we are currently experiencing one of hottest summer ever.
That's why we invite you to sign our petition to tell the European Commission: protect workers by putting forward a binding EU law on maximum working temperatures.
Sign now🖋: https://action-europe.org/stop-work-extreme-heat

10/08/2026

New EU data revealing a huge reduction in the number of firefighters during the worst year on record for wildfires highlights the need to end reckless cuts to our public services.

The reduction coincided with the most destructive year for wildfires on record, with more than a million hectares burned across the length and breadth of the EU.

Failing to properly staff our fire services, which carry out crucial prevention work as well as tackling blazes when they occur, is a false economy at a time when the economic cost of wildfires is running into the billions.

Europe is massively increasing spending on defence but letting our guard down against the most imminent and serious risk to people’s safety. We need a consistent approach to all of the challenges we are facing and that requires investment in our public services and their workforce.

Read more: https://www.etuc.org/en/pressrelease/reckless-18000-reduction-firefighters-during-worst-year-wildfires

10/08/2026

EPSU and CICTAR are excited to soon publish a report on Palantir's tax affairs, answering how Palantir's global tax structure drains funding for public services and infrastructure. If you would like to be notified when the report is available, please fill in your information below:

07/08/2026

Pride is not just a party. It is a vital protest for fundamental human rights. 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

As trade unionists gather in Amsterdam for WorldPride, the ETUC stands in firm solidarity with LGBTIQ workers in Europe and worldwide.

Taking to the streets is an exercise of freedom of assembly and the right to organize. The legacy of solidarity runs deep - from Le****ns and G**s Support the Miners in 1984 to today, we stand together against attempts to divide or silence us.

Following the horrific attack at Berlin CSD on 25 July, we re-affirm: the answer to violence against Pride is MORE PRIDE, not less.

We call on the EU to defend freedom of assembly and stop all restrictions or criminalisation targeting Pride organisers and participants.

LGBTIQ rights are human rights—and LGBTIQ rights are trade union rights. No one should face hate or exclusion at work, or on the streets.

https://www.etuc.org/en/document/etuc-message-solidarity-europride-worldpride-amsterdam

20/07/2026

Last night, Spain lifted the World Cup.

If you were watching, you'll have noticed something built into the match: regular breaks for players to cool down, every 22 minutes.

If rules can be changed to protect footballers on the pitch, they can be changed to protect workers in every workplace.

17/07/2026

🛑Breaking news from Brussels: The European Commission has officially decided that vegetable protocols are a higher priority than women workers' pay. 🥬❌💶

This week, the Commission launched swift enforcement action against member states for delaying rules regarding agricultural and vegetable species. Meanwhile, 22 member states missed the June 7 deadline to pass the Pay Transparency Directive, and... total silence from the Commission.

It took 3 weeks for the Commission to chase countries over plants, but women have been waiting nearly 70 years for the EU to actually enforce its treaty obligations on equal pay.

Time to rearrange your priorities, Brussels!


🗞https://www.etuc.org/en/pressrelease/commission-chases-member-states-over-vegetables-not-equal-pay

16/07/2026

A step forward in the fight against exploitative traineeships in Europe.

This week, MEPs on the European Parliament's Employment Committee backed a plan to close a loophole in the Youth Guarantee report that allowed exploitative traineeships. Trainees under Active Labour Market Policies shall no longer be treated as an exception to that rule. MEPs also want every trainee to get a written agreement upfront, spelling out their pay and conditions.

If they are serious about supporting young people at the start of their careers, they must back this up by securing real, enforceable rules written into the EU's upcoming Traineeships Directive, which is now in negotiations between Parliament and national governments. That's where we can finally stop companies from using "traineeships" as a way to get free or underpaid labour out of young people. 

No young person should have to work for free just to get a foot in the door. Trade unions will not let this go until every trainee in Europe is properly paid and protected.

15/07/2026

⚠️When profits are extracted instead of invested, workers lose their jobs, wages stagnate, productivity suffers, and Europe’s future is put at risk.
Our Confederal Secretary Ludovic Voet explains how all this was possible.

🧐Find more in our report: https://www.etuc.org/en/pressrelease/mazzucato-eu-has-misdiagnosed-competitiveness-problem

13/07/2026

The EU should follow its own rules and prohibit the import of goods produced in the settlements.

Our letter ahead of Foreign Affairs Council, taking place today ⤵️