International Women’s Day – Women turnout at EU elections will be key for progress on gender equality
On International Women’s Day on 8 March 2019, EFFAT and the entire European trade union movement are calling for women to be the agents of change.
With their election programme “A fairer Europe for workers”, ETUC trade unions push for a Europe: 1 -Where the European Pillar of Social Rights adopted EU in 2017 becomes reality, including the right to gender equality; 2-That ensures equal pay – for the same work or work of the same value – for women and men in all EU countries; 3-That fights for women’s’ rights. Read more

Trade Unions support climate action
Seven European trade unions are supporting the global day of protest being staged by young people against climate change on Friday: ETUC, EFJ, EFBWW, EPSU, EFFAT, ETF and IndustriAll (representing workers in energy intensive industries). Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish school student who started the ‘Friday’s for Future’ movement, has called for her peers around the world to join her to demonstrate outside national parliaments or local government buildings. Read more

FOOD

Food Fisheries Management and Financial Instruments: where are the social objectives?

The third seminar of the joint ETF-EFFAT project on the Common Fisheries’ Policy presented fisheries management policies and financial instruments within the CFP and offered discussion points to our member organisations regarding the social outcomes for workers in the seafood sector and what needs to be done to improve fisheries management for them. A set of recommendations were explored, including how the fund for the EU’s maritime and fisheries policies can support a competitive and viable processing and aquaculture sectors. A final conference is scheduled in Brussels in the Autumn.

An important step closer to a fairer food chain for everyone

On 12 March Members of the European Parliament strongly voted in favour of promoting a fair food supply chain, delivering on their promise to #CutTheUnfair.

The signatories welcome this historic vote for banning unfair trading practices in the food value chain.  This action will improve the trading conditions for the 11 million farmers and 293,000 producers in Europe, as well as for many more suppliers outside the EU, when selling their products on the European market. Read more

TOURISM

Workers need to have a say in changes due to digitalisation in tourism
At the meeting of the Digital Tourism Network convened by the Commission’s DG GROW Tourism Unit on 18 March 2019, a wide range of tourism stakeholder discussed the challenges and opportunities of digitalisation in tourism. Representing tourism workers at that meeting, Kerstin Howald, EFFAT Tourism Sector Secretary, underlined the need to monitor the developments and to assess the impact of digitalisation and automation/robotization in tourism on jobs and working conditions. Furthermore, measures that guarantee a fair transition have to be taken, and the workers affected have to be informed and consulted in the process.

AGRICULTURE

Improving Machinery Safety
The Seminar  “Improving Machinery Safety: current issues and emerging risks, automation, robotics and the new Machinery Directive”- jointly organised by ETUI, EFFAT and EFBWW – was held in Brussels. Under the chairmanship of Claudio Stanzani (Sindnova) and Marian Schaapman (Head of Unit, ETUI), it brought together more than 50 participants from 14 European countries. Former negotiators of the machinery directive and the new generation of safety experts interested in work equipment were among the participants of the event, which included representatives from trade unions, national market surveillance authorities, machinery manufacturers, employers organisations, OHS bodies, and the European Commission.

COMPANY POLICY

EFFAT Coca-Cola coordination group against worsening working conditions

to counter the poor employment conditions across countries.EFFAT Coca-Cola coordination group met in Berlin to agree on a common strategy

The destruction of jobs and a general deterioration of working conditions in all countries are coupled with the worsening of labour relations in most of the countries where Coca-Cola operates; the situation is exacerbated by the uncooperative and unacceptable approach showed by the management in occasion of the CCEP EWC negotiations.

Developing new strategies for EFFAT actions in transnational companies

EFFAT Transnational companies coordination Group met on 15 March 2019 to explore new strategies for EFFAT actions in transnational companies. Throughout the day affiliates discussed  several issues including EFFAT policy and action in multinational companies, the Future structure of the EFFAT Coordination Group on TNCs and the upcoming annual EWC conference. Participants took the occasion to show support to the #fridaysforfuture climate strike hippebning  on the same day on a global scale.