News June 12, 2025 Belgium and Ivory Coast ratify ILO “Work in fishing” Convention A key step toward better working conditions for fishers and stronger international labour standards. The European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) welcomes the ratification of the ILO Convention No. 188 on “Work in Fishing” by Belgium and Côte d’Ivoire. Each new ratification strengthens the Convention’s role as a global benchmark for ensuring decent working conditions in the fishing sector.
News June 6, 2025 ETF warns: Lowering air passenger rights will put frontline workers at risk Aviation workers are concerned about the Council of Transport Ministers agreement on the air passenger rights reform decided by yesterday’s Transport Council. The agreed attacks on passenger rights, such as increasing the threshold for compensation from 3 to 4 hour delays, can have serious consequences for airlines and airports frontline workers, the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) warns.
Statement June 6, 2025 Statement on the EU Semester Spring Package The ETF welcomes the stronger emphasis placed by the European Commission on sustainable transport in the 2025 Country-Specific Recommendations of the European Semester. We are encouraged to see 15 Member States explicitly urged to invest in public rail and urban transport — including commitments to upgrade infrastructure and electrify fleets. These are long-overdue steps towards a more sustainable and inclusive transport system.
News June 4, 2025 Airport legislation up for review The Commission has initiated a fitness check of key airport regulations. If you agree that there are better ways to organise ground handling, to ensure the operational stability and social resilience, please engage and help us make sure that the voice of frontline workers and trade unions is heard. We show you how to take part in the survey sent out by DG Move.
News June 3, 2025 Artificial intelligence in ports: a challenge for jobs and workers’ rights (ENG/IT) It’s vital for unions to build the skills needed to tackle the challenges of new technologies — and for workers to be supported as they acquire new skills for the digital transition. The ETF is actively working on this, ensuring that innovation and workers’ rights move forward together. To support trade unions in this effort, we are happy to share this AI bargaining toolkit for ports.
News June 3, 2025 ETF Marks Pride Month: Fighting for LGBTQI+ Equality in Transport Workplaces As Pride Month begins, the ETF reaffirms its strong commitment to equality, dignity, and respect for LGBTQI+ workers in the European transport sector. Despite legal progress in many countries, LGBTQI+ people – particularly trans and intersex individuals – still face daily harassment, hate crimes and discrimination. Much of this happens in public spaces and at the workplace: spaces where everyone should feel safe.
Statement May 28, 2025 ETF welcomes UK rail renationalisation: time to end the privatisation experiment across Europe The European Transport Workers’ Federation strongly welcomes the UK government’s decision to bring South Western Railway back into public ownership – the first step in reversing the country’s decades-long experiment with rail privatisation. This marks a significant political shift and a renewed recognition that public transport must serve people, not profit.
News May 28, 2025 ETF Dockers Statement on the missile strike at HHLA Container Terminal in Odessa The ETF Dockers Section is devastated by the news of the brutal missile strike on the HHLA Container Terminal in Odessa — an attack that has claimed the life of one worker and left eight others injured.
News May 21, 2025 Rising Traffic Demands Binding Safety Targets and Urgent Investment in ATM Staff As flight numbers surge, the system designed to keep Europe’s skies safe is under growing strain. EU policies continue to demand more with less — putting safety, sustainability, and workers’ wellbeing in jeopardy.
Statement May 16, 2025 International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia: Together Against Discrimination No one should fear being themselves at work—but for too many LGBTIQ+ people in Europe, that fear is still a daily reality. Nearly 1 in 5 report discrimination at work. Trade unions must take action. We demand safe, inclusive workplaces and strong EU-wide laws that truly protect everyone—on the job, in schools, and beyond. It’s time to move from promises to protection.
Statement May 14, 2025 ETF Calls for Urgent Inclusion of Railway Workers in Brenner Corridor Platform’s Planning Despite repeated written requests for involvement and offers of talks from the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), the BCP has shown no interest in including those who will be working on the railway every day in its discussions. Offering social partners only written exchanges or retrospective information is insufficient. This approach fails to provide the urgently needed transparency and social dialogue.
News May 12, 2025 ETF and Europêche Submit Joint Position to European Commission on Future EU Fisheries Funding ETF and Europêche urge the Commission to adopt a socially inclusive, future-proof MFF that recognises the strategic role of fishers in ensuring food security, sustainable coastal development, and resilience across Europe’s maritime regions.