UNI Europa

12/06/2026

This morning, Romanian finance, commerce and IT workers braced the rainy weather for a powerful protest at the Bucharest Conference of the European Labour Conference.

The protest took place after three multinational banks – Raiffeisen Bank, Societe Generale (BRD) and ING – withdrew from the Romanian Council of Bank Employers (CPBR) in recent months. This meant that 60 per cent of banking workers – 30,000 people – could lose the protection of their rights and conditions through a sectoral collective agreement.

The agreement includes a specific minimum wage, severance pay and rest breaks which benefit thousands of workers in banks without company agreements. In recent days, ING and BRD signed up again to the sectoral agreement under union pressure. While being a positive step, it means the agreement still doesn’t extend to every worker in the sector as it previously.

Roxana Mînzatu, Romanian Commissioner responsible for social rights and skills, quality jobs and preparednessA trade union delegation shared their concerns with Roxana Mînzatu, Romanian Commissioner responsible for social rights and skills, quality jobs and preparedness.

Although the promotion of collective bargaining is included in the country’s Action Plan for the Promotion of Collective Bargaining 2025–2030, Romanian authorities have failed to create the necessary conditions for effective social dialogue and genuine negotiations.

Oliver Roethig, UNI Europa Regional Secretary, said: “The EU’s Minimum Wage Directive compels member states to promote collective bargaining. Romania used to be on a promising path with a groundbreaking erga omnes sectoral agreement in the banking sector that improved protections for thousands of finance workers. This progress has been put at risk by the decision of the banks to withdraw from the employers’ organisation. We stand with workers protesting today to demand their protections back – and for real social dialogue across sectors in Romania.”

10/06/2026

Listen to CWU Ireland, sign the petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/save-our-post-now

A first major victory for UNI Europa's Save Our Post campaign.

Thanks to the thousands who signed the petition and supported postal workers across Europe, plans that could have led to the full deregulation of postal services have been pushed back.

The fight isn't over, but this shows what collective action can achieve. Together, we'll continue fighting for quality postal services, good jobs and a fair future for postal workers.

Sign the petition: https://ow.ly/Tm5v50Z9Nfk

10/06/2026

IMPORTANT: We won our first victory in the fight to Save Our Post!

After our collective mobilisation, the European Commission has quietly dropped an option for the new Delivery Act that would have led to the full deregulation of Europe’s postal services. This is our first victory in the historic fight to guarantee affordable mail and parcel delivery, protect the jobs of 1.8 million postal workers and make private operators pay their fair share.

In April, we launched our Save Our Post campaign in Brussels, bringing together a coalition of trade unions, lawmakers, consumer groups and civil society organisations. Since then, thousands of people and postal workers like you signed the petition to EU Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné, sending a clear message of popular support to Save Our Post.

Our campaign was also covered by major EU outlet Euractiv, we published an op-ed in four different media outlets and we gathered global postal unions to support our fight in Europe. We continue to organise meetings with postal ministers across Europe, influencing national governments to change the debate in favour of postal workers.

But the fight to Save Our Post is far from over. Our fight now turns to securing a modernised, future-proof postal service with good working conditions for postal and delivery workers that guarantees affordable, universal delivery of mail and parcels.

To keep up the pressure, sign and share our petition with friends, family and colleagues (link in the comments).

09/06/2026

Yesterday, UNI Europa brought together workers, trade unions, franchisees, researchers and Members of European Parliament for a debate on the realities of franchising across Europe: lower pay, less rights and weakened employer accountability.

The short documentary "Disenfranchised", commissioned by UNI Europa and directed by Marina Kalleny, was screened publicly for the first time at the event. It explores the story of retail workers' months-long fight against franchising at Delhaize in Belgium as an example of a wider problem with franchising across Europe.

Many of the leaders of that movement were in the room to testify to the negative impact of franchising on workers' pay, rights and recognition. Erwanig le Roux, a retail worker at Carrefour organised with CFDT Services, echoed the same concerns for France. And Virginie Demoucron, political secretary at EFFAT European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions, explained that franchising is not just a reality in retail, but in the hotel and fast food business.

In a presentation of her research on franchising, Sévérine Picard outlined how the European competition framework enables the abuse of dominant market power by franchisors. Barbara Pokladowska, a former franchisee from Poland, testified to the economic pressure without control that she came under trying to establish a franchised store.

The debate concluded on possible solutions at national and European level to give back control to workers, strengthen protections for franchisees and mobilise against the tide of deregulation that risks further undermining rights.

Special thanks to Marc Botenga for hosting the event in European Parliament. The fight for responsible franchising in Europe has just begun.

05/06/2026

No public contract without collective agreement — also in Luxembourg!

03/06/2026

Next Monday, UNI Europa will host an event on franchising in the European Parliament with the support of Marc Botenga, Member of European Parliament, to Europeanise the public debate on the impact of franchising on workers, communities and Europe’s service economy.

At the event, UNI Europa will launch a documentary film about the realities of franchising for workers: lower pay, less rights and weakened employer accountability.

Two panels will bring together workers, trade unions, policymakers and franchise representatives to discuss the impact of franchising on working conditions, labour rights and accountability across the retail sector — and how better regulation could prevent such abuse.

Join us for the screening and debate (link to registration in first comment).

02/06/2026

RIGHT NOW: Bank workers are picketing at the BRD Groupe Societe Generale headquarters in Bucharest.

Their collective agreement is expiring today — and the offer on the table is unacceptable. It would reduce important rights and social protections that were built through years of collective bargaining.

Trade union leaders from across Europe and members of UNI Europa's Management Committee stand in solidarity with the workers and Sindicatul IMPACT.

01/06/2026

“I am usually the youngest person in my workplace.”

Earlier this year, dozens of young trade unionist from the finance sector gathered in Amsterdam to exchange about their role in the union, discuss their issues – like rising house prices or AI – and built lasting connections for the future.

13/05/2026

“Some people see my transition as a choice. It is a choice to start the transition, but it wasn’t a choice to be born this way.”

Ahead of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism, and Transphobia on 17 May, we share the testimony of Rodrigo Rodriguez, a logistics worker at IKEA in the Netherlands, who is organised with Dutch union FNV.

We will keep fighting for a safe and inclusive workplace for all workers.

12/05/2026

We were at least 75,000 on the streets of Brussels today: unions, women's organisations, citizens movements, students, schoolchildren. The whole of society was present to defend pensions, purchasing power and a vision of society built on solidarity.

This was the 15th national demonstration in 18 months against the Belgian government's anti-social agenda. We will continue the fight for a dignified life for all workers.