GWU at ETUC committee meeting

The General Workers' Union has informed the European Trade Union Confederation of changes being carried out to industrial legislation through which, it argues, workers' rights are being eroded.

The GWU was one of 31 unions which spoke about the erosion of workers' rights in European countries during a meeting of the ETUC executive committee in Brussels.

The union said the committee discussed the erosion of social protection and expressed its concern that this was being done at the same time that employer organisations were attempting to destroy collective negotiations.

Through a resolution which was unanimously approved, the ETUC embarked on an intensive campaign to curb the wave of attacks on workers' rights and said it would be putting pressure on the European Union to halt governments from further threatening workers' rights.

Social relations in Europe were deteriorating fast because of radical changes to employement legislation both in the EU states and elsewhere in Europe, the GWU said.

It said the ETUC council noted that governments justified their behaviour by saying that the changes were being imposed by the EU.

The ETUC said this was not true and insisted that European strategies as agreed in Lisbon had to be based on a balance between economic dynamism and conditions of work.

The ETUC expressed unconditional support for actions taken by unions to defend their rights and also expressed support for the Spanish workers who will be taking part in a general strike in that country on June 20.