The European elections are just around the corner. On 23-26 May 2019 EU citizens will decide which politicians will represent them and defend their interests at EU level. With the results still difficult to predict, and traditional parties under threat, this is the most important EU election for years.
The ETF is firmly convinced of the need for a better and more social Europe. In the past year, we have been taking action to demand an end to social dumping and wage exploitation in the transport sector. More than 100 coordinated protests, rallies and international gatherings across the continent culminated in our huge demo in Brussels on 27 March.
In parallel, we engaged with EU politicians to present our positive vision for the transport sector. European transport workers deserve a Europe that creates quality jobs, guarantees social protection and delivers dignity at work. All citizens should have access to safe, reliable and affordable transport services. To press for policy change, we adopted our Fair Transport Europe Campaign Manifesto, containing 8 concrete proposals which underscore our commitment to decent work, enforceable rules and the wellbeing of all transport users.
With the Manifesto as our guideline, we had constructive talks with the leaderships of the political groups in the European Parliament. We also wrote letters to individual candidates for a European mandate, outlining our demands and asking them to support our campaign. Candidates rewarded our approach with positive feedback and several among them replied with explicit statements of support. Their pledges can be read below.
Given the significance of the upcoming elections, we ask our members to cast their vote for parties and candidates who will defend the principles of Fair Transport. Solidarity between workers from different countries and different industrial branches is absolutely essential to move Europe forward.
And as soon as the votes are in, we will redouble our efforts to fight for better laws and policies. As exemplified in our recent campaigns for a fair Mobility Package and our lobbying for an effective European Labour Authority, the ETF will never stop fighting to improve the EU. Let’s put politicians to work for the benefit of all transport workers!
The pledges
