UNI Europa

21/08/2026

Generative artificial intelligence has arrived in Europe’s banks faster than almost anyone predicted, and it is already changing how the sector’s 2.6 million workers do their jobs.

The difference between a fair transition and a brutal one is rarely the technology – it is the dialogue around it.

Maureen Hick, director of UNI Europa Finance, adds: “The evidence is clear that where unions are at the table, transitions are fairer and trust is higher. Employers should treat social dialogue not as a box to tick after the fact, but as the foundation of responsible AI.”

Read EUobserver on our research into the impact of AI in banking:

Generative artificial intelligence has arrived in Europe's banks faster than almost anyone predicted, and it is already changing how the sector's 2.6 million workers do their jobs. The difference between a fair transition and a brutal one is rarely the technology – it is the dialogue around it, wr...

20/08/2026

In one recent attack, settlers stormed Palestinian homes and a mosque in the town of Idhna, injuring many people, including trade union activist Imad Tmaiza, a member of UNI’s Palestinian affiliate the National Trade Union of Banking and Insurance.

In response to the ongoing illegal attacks on Palestinians throughout the occupied territories, UNI calls on the Israeli government to end the impunity of settlers who commit acts of extreme violence against Palestinians.

We also condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the ongoing campaign of forced displacement in which the government is complicit or an active party.

“The settler attacks on Palestinian workers and trade unionists must stop. An Israeli government condoning rather than stopping these crimes makes itself complicit. Those committing terror, war crimes and crimes against humanity anywhere must be brought to justice,” said UNI Europa Regional Secretary Oliver Roethig.

“As the European trade union movement, we call on the European Union to uphold international law, protect Palestinian workers and support durable peace by ending all trade and economic relations with the illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including a ban on the import of goods and services originating from there.”

Read the full statement (link in comments).

30/07/2026

"As a migrant working here… it's not easy, and it has never been easy."

In many European countries, a staggering proportion of cleaners come from migrant backgrounds. This isn’t a coincidence. It’s a pattern shaped by discriminatory immigration policies, labour market barriers and the systematic failure to recognise qualifications and skills gained elsewhere.

This episode of the documentary podcast "Unsung: Cleaners" explores the intersection of migration, gender, labour exploitation, and the fight for dignity. We hear how visa status compounds precarity, how unrecognised qualifications trap skilled professionals in low-paid work, and how migrant workers—women and men—are fighting back against a system designed to keep them invisible.

In this episode, we hear from:

🇬🇭Kwasi Agyemang-Prempeh, a trained industrial mechanic who cleaned the London offices of one of the world’s largest investment banks for over 20 years—at night. He describes the psychological landscape of navigating immense wealth while being treated as disposable—and how his union Unite the union saved his job when his employer tried to push him out.

🇩🇪Zeynep Bicici, trade unionist at IG BAU and president of UNI Europa Property Services. She reveals how structural problems—unrecognised qualifications, language barriers, and low wages—force migrant women into cleaning, and why "equality only really exists when I have an income that lets me live decently."

🇸🇪Ewa Edstrom, union officer at Fastighet and former cleaner. She explains how rising anti-migrant rhetoric creates fear and insecurity—and why collective agreements are the best defence.

🎧Unsung Cleaners is a podcast by UNI Europa, co-funded by the European Commission. The show is produced by Seden Anlar. Interviews and narration Gail Rego. Project coordination and interpretation by Alessia Mora and Mark Bergfeld. Special thanks to all the cleaners and union organisers who shared their stories and to Seden Anlar for dubbing.

Listen to the episode now (link in comments).

28/07/2026

Our European Power and Organising Centre (EPOC) held a workshop with the FNV organising team.

Here's what they learned.

27/07/2026

Amazon workers in Italy have won the first-ever national agreement with the company in any country.✊

It is a real win. But collective bargaining cannot be an exception reserved for Italy.

Amazon is a global company, and it should recognise that workers’ rights are universal.

🎉 🇮🇹 Congratulations to workers in Italy who have won the first national agreement with the company in any country 👊

Three Italian unions – Filt Cgil Nazionale Fit-Cisl Nazionale ​and Uiltrasporti Nazionale – have signed an agreement with Amazon that covers 57 sites across the country, expands employee rights and limits the use of video surveillance. UNI Global Union General Secretary Christy Hoffman said:

“We congratulate Italian unions and Amazon workers whose determination and solidarity made this agreement possible. This is what happens when workers stand together and demand to be heard.

It is a real win. But collective bargaining cannot be an exception reserved for Italy. Amazon is a global company, and it should recognize that workers’ rights are universal.

Italy shows Amazon’s leadership that dealing with unions produces fairer, safer and more sustainable workplaces, not weaker ones. We now call on Amazon to take the next step and extend this commitment to workers across the world. That means respecting the fundamental right to organize, recognizing workers’ unions, bargaining in good faith and ensuring that workers everywhere have a meaningful voice in the decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods.

UNI Global Union will keep standing with Amazon workers wherever they are, as they organize, build their unions and press for dignity at work.”

23/07/2026

“The biggest problem is that they choose the lowest bid. That ends up being paid by the worker.”

In this episode of our documentary podcast “Unsung: Cleaners” (link in comments), we follow the money. We expose how “public procurement”—the system by which governments award public contracts—has created a race to the bottom.

When contracts go to the cheapest bidder, the savings come from one place only: workers' wages, hours, and dignity. But change is on the horizon: the European Commission plans to reform procurement rules—and workers mobilise so they get it right.

In this episode, we hear from:

🇫🇮 Niina Autio from Finland, a cleaner and team leader who has worked in schools, museums, and police stations. She describes the "ethical stress" of watching colleagues lose negotiated salaries and holiday pay when contracts change hands—and why the "cheapest offer is not the best offer."

🇪🇸 Natalia Higueras Lopez from Spain, a cleaner for 18 years, always under outsourced public contracts. She explains how Spain's high rate of temporary employment traps cleaners in part-time, precarious jobs—and why the "lowest bid" means fewer staff, no replacements for sick leave, and chronic fatigue.

📚 Dr Karen Jaehrling, labour researcher and contributor to the ProcuFair project. She explains how public authorities have the power to set fair conditions—and why simply writing good rules isn't enough; monitoring is essential.

🇧🇪 Joost Engelaar, Regional Secretary at the Belgian Union ABVV Brussels (FGTB), who led a national campaign to stop the race to the bottom. He describes mobilising cleaners at the airport, in schools, and on small sites—and why collective action can force clients to "procure responsibly."

🎧“Unsung: Cleaners” is a podcast by UNI Europa, co-funded by the European Commission. The show is produced by Seden Anlar. Interviews and narration by Gail Rego. Project coordination and interpretation by Alessia Mora and Mark Bergfeld. Special thanks to all the cleaners and union organisers who shared their stories as well as Katharine Shaw Nelson for dubbing.

Listen now on your favourite platform (link in comments).

22/07/2026

UNI Europa joins the ETUC in calling for the calendar of the institutions’ work on the EU Inc to be extended to allow for the remaining loopholes on workers’ rights to be properly closed, rather than forced through against the clock. We warn against rushing a flawed text through to meet an artificial deadline.

Our red lines remain non-negotiable:

1️⃣ Same rules for EU Inc employers as local ones. No exceptions;
2️⃣ Zero rollback on workers’ rights, codetermination and collective agreements included;
3️⃣ No stock options replacing real wages or real contracts;
4️⃣ No loopholes for letterbox companies;
5️⃣ Prevent abuse, protect labour inspection.

Oliver Roethig, UNI Europa Regional Secretary, said: “Our members on European Works Councils and in Societas Europaea have seen this before: give companies a shortcut, and some will use it to dodge workers’ rights. EU Inc must not become a vehicle for undercutting worker involvement – especially in case of redundancies and insolvency.”

20/07/2026

Denmark is a warning sign: the future of Europe's public postal service is under threat.

The upcoming EU Delivery Act must make market access conditional on good jobs and strong social standards.

It is a unique opportunity to make a level playing field a reality for public and private operators.

Europe must not waste it.

Read about the stakes of European postal reform in EURACTIV (link in comments).

17/07/2026

💡🎙️[Podcast] On vous propose de faire d'une pierre deux coups : révisez votre anglais en écoutant le super de UNI Europa avec le témoignages de salariés de la propreté 😉
C'est super intéressant et surtout, sans tout dévoiler, on se rend compte que ces travailleurs invisibles pourtant si essentiels vivent les mêmes injustices, qu'ils soient italiens, norvégiens, allemands, autrichiens, français ...
Dites-nous ce que vous en pensez, partagez votre avis !
Lien vers le podcast en commentaire

CFDT Propreté

16/07/2026

"We are the invisibles. We clean when no one is around."

Most people work during the day. But for nearly half of Europe's cleaners, the shift begins when everyone else goes home.

This episode of our documentary podcast series "Unsung: Cleaners" examines the hidden toll of night work and split shifts – and why daytime cleaning is a proven, humane alternative.

We hear from two cleaners living in two different realities: one trapped in the exhaustion of the night, and the other working under a better system but with its own challenges.

🌙Steffi (Stephanie) Wlodraski, who worked as a cleaner in Germany since she was fifteen. She now represents her colleagues as the German representative on the European works council. She describes the physical and social destruction of working while the world sleeps – lost friendships, disrupted family life, and a body that "eventually breaks down."

☀️Naemy Aasen, a cleaner and trade unionist from Norway who works continuous daytime shifts. She explains how daytime cleaning allows her to see her children, attend their activities, and have a life outside work – and why her country's model could work anywhere.

Listen to the episode now (link in the comments).