News February 25, 2026 Safety Cannot Be Tendered: ETF Warns of Growing Fatigue Risks and Labour Violations at Spanish Control Towers Jerez de la Frontera/Brussels – The European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) is raising serious concerns over working conditions and potential safety risks at liberalised airport control towers in Spain, following a recent meeting with air traffic controllers, represented by ETF-affiliated trade union, Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), at Jerez Airport.
Press Release February 24, 2026 Open letter: A competitive and resilient Europe requires a stronger EU transport budget A total of 45 European transport organisations are joining forces and collectively urge national governments to strengthen European funding for transport under the future EU budget and particularly to increase the budget of the future Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to at least €100 billion.
News February 23, 2026 Urgent Call to EU Leaders: Safeguard Funding for Fisheries and Aquaculture in the Next MFF A CFP equipped with appropriate financial resources is not a cost, but a strategic investment in the resilience and competitiveness of Europe’s food system and fisheries sector.
News February 23, 2026 We are launching #SaveRailFreight. This is why it matters The European Transport Workers’ Federation is launching a new campaign to defend European rail freight and the tens of thousands of workers whose jobs depend on it. The campaign’s central argument is straightforward: rail freight is a public service, and it needs to be publicly owned and controlled.
News February 23, 2026 20 years of the maritime labour convention MLC 2006 Twenty years after the adoption of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, this landmark “fourth pillar” of international maritime regulations (along with SOLAS, MARPOL and STCW) has undeniably strengthened protection for some of the world’s most vulnerable and marginalised workers: seafarers.
News February 18, 2026 CALL FOR TENDER: Fisheries Project Pillars of the Sea 4 The European Transport Workers’ Federation together with Europêche has been awarded a grant by the European Commission for the project “Pillars of the Sea 4” (PILLARS4) – 101262519. This project is part of the European Social Dialogue for the Sea Fisheries sector. Its main objective is to improve social sustainability in the industry through three main pillars.
News February 17, 2026 Solidarity with Turkish ATM workers: BTS announces strike on 18 February 2026 The ETF stands in full solidarity with our colleagues from the United Transport Workers’ Union (BTS), representing workers across the transport sector in Türkiye, including civil aviation and air traffic management staff. Following months of unresolved concerns and a continued lack of meaningful dialogue, BTS has announced industrial action for Wednesday, 18 February 2026
News February 12, 2026 EFBWW EFFAT ETF’s Voices heard Press release: European Parliament calls for European Legislation to tackle Exploitative Subcontracting and Labour Intermediation – Today, the European Parliament adopted the EMPL Committee’s own-initiative report Addressing subcontracting chains and the role of intermediaries in order to protect workers’ rights, sending a clear political signal to the European Commission on the imperative need to propose an ambitious EU Directive on Subcontracting and Labour Intermediaries as part of the Quality Jobs Act.
News February 12, 2026 Spanish railway unions win major safety agreement on first day of strike Spain’s railway unions CCOO and UGT have secured a historic agreement with the government after just one day of strike action, preventing what would have been a three-day nationwide rail shutdown. The strike started on February 9, but by the end of that same day, the unions had reached an agreement with the Ministry of Transport. This rapid success shows what can be achieved when unions stand together with clear demands and strong worker support.
News February 11, 2026 ETF addresses Romanian authorities over Wizz Air’s use of psychological tests ETF has recently engaged with the Romanian Government and the Romanian Parliament following concerns raised by its national aviation affiliate, Flight Personnel Union Romania (FPU Romania), regarding the use of employer-controlled psychological assessments on cabin crew members.
Press Release February 10, 2026 800 Workers Mobilise In Strasbourg as MEPs Face Plenary Vote on Ending Labour Exploitation The action was organised to mobilise support ahead of the upcoming vote on the European Parliament’s own-initiative report on subcontracting and intermediaries, and to urge the European Commission to propose a binding EU initiative to limit contracting and subcontracting, regulate labour intermediation, and ensure equal treatment and fair competition across the EU labour market.
News February 6, 2026 ETF addresses key concerns of inland waterway workers in the Danube basin At the recent Danube Commission meetings in Budapest, the ETF addressed the regulatory and social challenges facing inland navigation workers. From labour rights enforcement to the recognition of professional qualifications, the ETF’s participation ensured that workers’ concerns were integrated into the region’s transport framework.