News July 8, 2025 New digital hub becomes focal point for EU Social Dialogue in fisheries The EU Social Partners in the fisheries sector have launched a new digital hub, a one-stop platform to boost visibility, share resources, and drive forward joint action in the sector. The platform brings together the social partners’ collaborative work on safety, working conditions, fair recruitment, training and social sustainability, offering a fresh, accessible way to engage with ongoing developments in EU-level social fisheries policy and practice.
News July 7, 2025 Social Partners Urge EU to Uphold Labour Standards in International Fisheries The European Social Partners for Sea Fisheries – ETF and Europêche – have raised serious concerns with Commissioners Costas Kadis and Roxana Minzatu over the European Commission’s approach to labour standards within Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs). The Commission presented a draft proposal to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) that falls short of…
News June 30, 2025 Transport Unions Rally for LGBTQI+ Rights at Paris Conference European transport unions sent a powerful message of solidarity this weekend as unionists gathered at CFDT headquarters in Paris for ETF’s “We Are All Equally Different” conference, culminating in a unified presence at Paris Pride. The two-day event revealed alarming new data showing widespread discrimination against LGBTQI+ transport workers, including harassment, violence, and inflexible workplace policies that fail to protect vulnerable employees.
News June 26, 2025 ETF Vision for Civil Aviation We live in times of tremendous change and uncertainty. Established geopolitical relations, perspectives, and economic assumptions are being reassessed and reframed. In parallel, the effects of liberalisation continue to shape the aviation sector, increasing the vulnerability of the industry. Learn more about ETF priorities for the coming years in the ETF Vision for Civil Aviation here.
News June 25, 2025 Logistics Workers Exploited While Corporations Profit: ETF and ETUI Report Sparks Urgent Call for EU Action The report documents how complex subcontracting chains are being used across the EU to shift responsibility, reduce wages, and suppress workers’ rights – particularly affecting migrant and third-country national workers. Union representatives stressed that this is not a loophole, but a deliberate and growing business model that traps workers in precarious and unsafe conditions.
News June 25, 2025 Driver Safety Takes Centre Stage: ETF Marks Successful Driver Fatigue Action Day The European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) and its affiliates marked Driver Fatigue Action Day on June 21, 2025, as part of a broader series of successful coordinated actions carried out throughout the week and beyond. Trade unions across Europe organised activities to draw attention to one of the most pressing safety challenges in European road transport.
News June 24, 2025 ETF welcomes European Ocean Pact, calls for stronger social justice and worker representation in ocean governance The ETF welcomes the European Commission’s launch of the European Ocean Pact, recognising the initiative as an important step toward a sustainable, inclusive, and fair blue economy. Representing over five million transport workers across Europe, including in fisheries, maritime transport, and ports, the ETF strongly supports the Pact’s environmental ambitions, but insists that the people who work on the ocean must be at the heart of the transition.
News June 24, 2025 Not on our watch: Union workers unite for peace In early June, dockers in Europe took action by refusing to handle military cargo directed to the port of Haifa, Israel. Such actions highlight the growing urgency to end wars and uphold peace – and must not be criminalised. Lawful protests and the refusal to transport military equipment are legitimate expressions of conscience that deserve protection.
News ETF Conference on Diversity and Inclusivity – Paris, June 2025 The rise of far-right ideologies has worsened institutionalised discrimination, creating toxic anti-LGBTQI+ narratives and policies that threaten the lives of marginalized groups. ETF is committed to combating these divisive, populist narratives and ensuring that trade unions play a pivotal role in supporting equality and inclusivity, especially for those who face harassment in the workplace based on race, gender, sexual orientation, and other aspects of identity.
Publication EU Land Transport Labour Market: A Critical Examination of Trends and Policy Implications Two years ago, the ETF launched a project to look in more detail at the roots of the above trends. Three reports – on road, rail and urban public transport were developed within the frame of the project to cast light on how liberalisation and market-opening policies led to undesirable effects that put at stake the very goals and objectives set by the same policymakers.
Statement The big EU deregulation: ETF Joins over 360 organisations in a Joint Statement on the Omnibus Package The publication by the European Commission of its Omnibus proposal revising key corporate sustainability laws sends a clear political signal: President Ursula von der Leyen is deprioritising human rights, workers’ rights and environmental protections for the sake of dangerous deregulation. ETF joined over 360 organisations in a joint statement calling out on the consequences of this package.
News Giorgio Tuti Elected New ETF President Belgian trade union leader Frank Moreels stepped down from his function of ETF President, in view of his upcoming role as President of the ITF. A Swiss national, Giorgio Tuti has been a high-profile unionist in the trade union movement since 1988. He served as President of the Swiss Transport Workers’ Union (SEV) for 14 years, from 2009 to 2023 and has been Vice-Chair of the Swiss Trade Union Confederation since 2009. Tuti has been chairing the ETF Railways Section since 2017.