EFFAT European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions

10/06/2026

Today, EFFAT's Executive Committee had the pleasure of welcoming Esther Lynch, General Secretary of the ETUC, to discuss the key priorities of the European trade union movement for the months ahead, including preparations for the ETUC Congress next year.

Our exchange focused on the urgent need for quality jobs and the implementation of the , including binding measures to tackle abuses in subcontracting and labour intermediation.

This discussion comes at a particularly difficult moment, following the tragic deaths of four workerss, a stark reminder of the human cost of inadequate protections.

We also discussed EFFAT's call for a European Directive on at work, the need to move beyond the lowest-price principle in public procurement, and the imperative of securing greater recognition and protection for domestic workers.

Above all, we reaffirmed the European trade union movement's clear commitment to resisting deregulation and defending workers' rights. At a time when social conditionality in the and other hard-won protections are under attack, trade unions must stand united to ensure that social progress is not rolled back.

EFFAT will continue this fight and will be present at the demonstration in on 18 June, standing alongside workers and trade unions from across Europe to demand peace and quality jobs.

𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐀𝐓 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 #𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝟏𝟖 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐣𝐨𝐛𝐬.

10/06/2026

𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐀𝐓 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐥.

The panel brought together trade union leaders from across Europe to share good practices and experiences in organising workers and strengthening trade unions across EFFAT sectors.

The discussion also looked ahead to EFFAT's future strategy, with a particular focus on the objectives of the EFFAT Academy on Organising & Trade Union Renewal, which will support affiliates in building organising capacity and renewing trade union action.

Many thanks to our speakers:
🔹 Anne Berit Aker Hansen, President, Norsk Nærings- og Nytelsesmiddelarbeiderforbund - NNN
🔹 Mariano Hoya, General Secretary, UGT F**A (Spain)
🔹 Eva-Lotta Rambergg, President, Hotell- och restaurangfacket (Sweden)
🔹 Colenzo Jarret-Thorpe, National Officer, Unite the union (UK)

10/06/2026

🎉Happy 25th birthday EFFAT ❤️

After 25 years we're bigger, broader and more ambitious.

After 25 years we offer you a new look!

For 25 years, EFFAT has stood alongside workers across Europe, building strength through unity and collective action in Agriculture, Food, Tourism and Domestic Work.

Our renewed visual identity honors that journey.

Our seed, well anchored in the earth, is ready to sprout. Layer by layer. One for each of our sectors. Representing collective lift, mutual support, shoulder-to-shoulder solidarity. Our millions of workers, moving forward as one.

As we celebrate our past, we embrace the future.

Long Live EFFAT!

09/06/2026

😍Happy 25th birthday EFFAT!

Today we're celebrating with a book hot off the press!!

Some organisations are born from documents and signatures. EFFAT was born from purpose: a shared commitment to building a fairer society and a better Europe for all.

25 years on, we are proud to release a publication that traces this remarkable journey: from the aftermath of the Second World War to the achievements and challenges that forged EFFAT into the strong orgnaisation it is today.

The world of work is changing fast. Supply chains are still disrupted by abuses and violations. Essential workers still face poverty wages, precarious contracts, and exploitation.

The mission that brought us together 25 years ago has never been more urgent.

Thanks so much to our former Secretary General Harald Wiedenhofer who wrote this book with the support of many colleagues and to the European Trade Union Institute - ETUI without which this publication would have never come to life.

👉 Get your copy of our anniversary book!
https://www.etui.org/publications/sowing-seeds-european-solidarity-25-years-effat

🌹 Long Live EFFAT!

09/06/2026

EFFAT Executive Committee meeting opens today: one packed room, two full days of work, and 25 years of EFFAT to celebrate.

But first, we stand in silence.

For Waseem, Ullah, Amin and Safi: four young agricultural workers from Pakistan and Afghanistan burned alive by gangmasters in Amendolara last week for asking to be paid what they were promised.

EFFAT stands shoulder to shoulder with their families, with our Italian affiliates Flai-Cgil Nazionale Fai Cisl nazionale and Uila Nazionale and with every worker who puts food on our tables, deserving dignity.

25 years on, this is why we're still here and keep up our cause.

08/06/2026

📢 It appears that the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU 2026 has circulated a working document ahead of this week’s Working Party, proposing the complete removal of social conditionality from the next CAP revision.

If this is confirmed, it would represent a major mistake.

Social conditionality is one of the key achievements of the last CAP reform. For the first time, CAP payments are linked to respect for a set of workers’ rights and occupational health and safety standards.

Only a few days after the killing of four agricultural workers by their gangmasters, it is shameful that some Member States are even considering weakening or scrapping a tool designed to improve labour standards in one of the most precarious sectors of the EU economy.

Instead of going backwards, the EU should be moving forward. Social conditionality doesn't create any burden or additional paper work on farmers. This is an important tool that must be strengthened and properly enforced in line with EFFAT demands: https://effat.org/in-the-spotlight/a-new-day-for-cap-effat-calls-for-a-more-social-common-agricultural-policy-post-2027/

EFFAT and its affiliates will not accept this rollback. We call on all democratic forces to defend what is simply common sense — the ethical use of EU taxpayers’ money and the protection of farm workers and responsible employers. These hard-won protections must not be dismantled under the guise of “simplification”.

🌾 Public money must support decent work.
✊ Workers’ rights are not optional!

05/06/2026

🇮🇹 EFFAT Statement on the Killing of Four Agricultural Workers in Amendolara, Italy

"As EFFAT, we express our anger, indignation, and deep sorrow for the death of these four young workers.

It is unacceptable and shameful that such forms of exploitation and slavery still exist in European agriculture.

But outrage at this injustice is not enough.

Structural change is needed, and the response must also be at European level"

English / Italian EFFAT Statement on the Killing of Four Agricultural Workers in Amendolara, Italy Last Monday, four agricultural workers were brutally killed. They were locked inside a minivan at …

05/06/2026

📍 Blankenberge | ABVV-FGTB Horval Congress

Today marks the second day of the Congress of ABVV-FGTB Horval, taking place at a time of major challenges for workers across the food, agriculture, tourism and domestic work sectors.

🌍 Geopolitical instability
⚠️ Growing deregulation
💰 Increasing concentration of economic power and shareholder-value maximisation across the food value chain

Across EFFAT sectors, exploitative business models continue to expand: abusive contracting and subcontracting chains, gangmaster practices, as well as the growing use of franchising in hospitality to cut costs and escape employers responsibility.

Addressing the Congress yesterday, EFFAT General Secretary Enrico Somaglia referred to the Belgian trade union movement as a great example of unity and determination with the impressive mobilisation carried out in recent months in defence of workers’ rights, and social justice. He highlighted the main challenges affecting workers across our sectors and highlighted that peace, democracy, and workers’ rights are inseparable. Focusing on organising and trade union renewal is key to face the challenges ahead.

The Congress also marked an important moment for Horval, with Filip Feusels and Patrick Rehan elected as Co-Presidents.

👏 Delegates paid tribute to Alain Detemmerman for his many years of dedicated commitment to the Union movement.

Congratulations to Filip and Patrick on their election, and sincere thanks to Alain for his invaluable contribution.

04/06/2026

🌡️ As temperatures rise across Europe, so do the risks for workers.

Across our sectors, more and more workers are exposed to extreme weather events, including heat waves that put their health, safety, income and jobs at risk. Heat stress, dehydration, exhaustion and workplace accidents are not unavoidable consequences of climate change... They are risks that require stronger protection.

EFFAT, together with European Trade Union Institute - ETUI, European Public Service Unions (EPSU), and EFBWW will host the conference "Protecting Workers Against Occupational Heat: Impacts and Solutions" and launch a Model Directive on Occupational Heat.

🗣️ Together with trade union representatives, researchers, workers and EU policymakers, we will discuss why Europe needs a binding EU-level instrument to ensure a fair minimum level of protection for all workers exposed to heat and present our Model Directive on Heat.

The event will also give space to workers’ voices and testimonies, bringing practical experience into the policy debate.

Mark your calendar:
📅 25 June 2026 (09:00-13:00)
📍 Thon City Centre, Brussels

If you work on occupational health and safety, climate adaptation, just transition, quality jobs or workers’ rights, we invite you to join the discussion.

🔗 Register here: https://www.etui.org/events/protecting-workers-against-occupational-heat-impacts-and-solutions