Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has been a strategic priority for the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) since the ETF Congress in Barcelona in 2017, a commitment that was reaffirmed by delegates at the Budapest Congress in 2022. Over the years, the ETF has invested considerable efforts in strengthening transport trade unions across the region through dedicated projects and organising initiatives.
These efforts have included the EU-funded project Moving the CEE Transport Trade Unions Forward (2019–2022) and the joint ITF–ETF Central and Eastern European Organising Project (2019–2024), which culminated in the CEE Trade Union Summit in December 2024. The ETF also works closely with regional partners, including the Transport Community Permanent Secretariat, covering the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova, where it regularly contributes to social dialogue initiatives and the Social Forum.
Across the region, the ETF’s priorities remain clear: building stronger unions, increasing organising capacity, and strengthening collective bargaining.
Directive (EU) 2022/2041 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union has created a new opportunity to advance these objectives. Beyond promoting fair wage-setting mechanisms, the Directive seeks to increase collective bargaining coverage across Europe, particularly in countries where it remains below 80%. To support transport unions in this process, the ETF launched the EU co-funded project Empowering Transport Workers in Central and Eastern Europe (UNIONDRIVE). The project combines work on minimum wages with broader EU labour and social policy priorities, including:
Regional Liaison Officers
Starting in September 2025, the ETF deployed three Regional Liaison Officers for a two-year period. Based in Croatia, Poland and Romania, they cover South-Eastern Europe, Central Europe and Eastern Europe respectively.
Their mission is to strengthen trade union organising, raise awareness of EU labour and social policies, support capacity building among transport unions, and facilitate closer cooperation between national unions and European-level decision-making. Acting as a bridge between Brussels and the region, they help ensure that transport workers’ concerns are reflected in both national and European debates.
Their contact details can be found on the ETF team page [link to the relevant page, please add their photos and contacts].
Workshops on the Minimum Wage Directive
The project foresees a series of workshops across participating countries and subregions to monitor and assess the implementation of the Adequate Minimum Wage Directive in the transport sector.
These workshops provide a platform to:
Topics addressed include labour mobility, posting of workers, social security coordination, occupational health and safety, violence and harassment at work, information and consultation rights, and other relevant social and labour standards.
Twinning Visits
Building on the success of the ETF’s previous CEE project, UNIONDRIVE will organise a new series of twinning visits between transport unions from Central and Eastern Europe and their counterparts elsewhere in Europe.
These exchanges provide practical opportunities for peer learning, sharing organising strategies, strengthening collective bargaining practices, and building lasting trade union networks across borders.
Stay Tuned
Further updates, workshop reports and project results will be published on the ETF website throughout the lifetime of the project.
With the financial support of the European Union