Gathered in Vienna on June 12-13 for a conference on “Collective Bargaining and Social Policy,” the 200 representatives of the organizations affiliated with IndustriAll Europe talked about the possible European answers to combat the worsening of working conditions observed in several countries. The resolution adopted after the conference reminds that solidarity is a major stake for unions in a context of European policies that could leave to more divisions. It also reasserts the role of collective bargaining to bring solutions to the current social situation - the first area to invest is that of wage increases.
Banking on collective bargaining. “the trade unions’ first task is to regain visibility and power to fight for better living and working conditions for workers in Europe.” The resolution, entitled “Securing the Future of Europe – Let´s organize solidarity now!” reminds, whereas collective bargaining is under assault in a lot of European countries and that the new European economic governance jeopardizes the social partners’ independence, that collective bargaining is one of the answers to the current social situation and therefore a way of guaranteeing the survival of the European project, and also that it needs to address labor market issues, namely exclusion and unemployment.
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