European Trade Union Confederation
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| Full name | European Trade Union Confederation |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1973 |
| Members | 60 million from 39 countries, 90 national trade union confederations |
| Affiliation | ITUC |
| Key people |
Rudy De Leeuw, President Luca Visentini, General Secretary |
| Office location | Brussels, Belgium |
| Country | European Union |
| Website | www |
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is the major trade union organisation representing workers at European level. European integration has reinforced the EU’s role in economic, employment and social policy throughout the 28 Member States. The ETUC is a European social partner, which means that the European Commission consults it when developing social and economic policies. It also negotiates autonomous agreements and work programmes with European employers. And it coordinates the national and sectoral policies of its affiliates on social and economic matters, particularly in the framework of the EU institutional processes, including European economic governance and the EU Semester
The ETUC was established in 1973, to coordinate and represent workers and their trade unions at European level, and has grown as more countries have joined the EU. Its membership now goes beyond the 28 Member States.
At present, the ETUC represents almost 45 million workers across Europe, belonging to 89 national trade union confederations from 39 European countries, and 10 European Industry Federations. Within the ETUC, the Women’s Committee and Youth Committee represent the interests of these two groups of members. The ETUC has set up UnionMigrantNet, with a network of trade union contact points in Member States to assist migrants and their families. It cooperates closely with the independent research and training centre, the European Trade Union Institute. The ETUC coordinates the activities of the 45 IRTUCs (Interregional Trade Union Councils), which organise trade union cooperation across national borders in the EU and defend the right to free movement of workers. Other trade union structures operating under the auspices of the ETUC are EUROCADRES (Council of European Professional and Managerial Staff) and FERPA (European Federation of Retired and Older People). The current ETUC General Secretary, elected in October 2015 on a four-year mandate, is Luca Visentini, from the UIL trade union in Italy. The President is Rudy de Leeuw, President of the FGTB in Belgium. The two Deputy General Secretaries are Veronica Nilsson and Peter Scherrer, and the Confederal Secretaries are Liina Carr, Esther Lynch, Montserrat Mir Roca, and Thiébaut Weber. The ETUC’s delegate Congress, which takes place every four years, approves and amends the Constitution and elects its leadership team. All policies and activities are agreed by affiliates’ representatives, who maintain their own independence. The 13th Congress took place in Paris on 29 September-2 October 2015.
The ETUC's mission is to encourage European unity, peace and stability, enabling working people and their families to enjoy full human, civil, social and employment rights and high living standards. To achieve this, it promotes the European social model, combining sustainable economic growth with ever-improving living and working conditions, including full employment, well-functioning social dialogue and industrial relations, social protection, equal opportunities, good quality jobs, social inclusion, and an open and democratic policy-making process that involves citizens fully in the decisions that affect them. At the 2015 Paris Congress, the ETUC agreed a Manifesto and an Action Programme for the four years until 2019. These documents focus on three objectives:
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