Dockworkers from FNV Havens win improved pay and conditions after bringing Port of Rotterdam to standstill with biggest ever strike. Concerted strike action by lashers from International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) affiliate, FNV Havens, has won a new agreement which will guarantee the safety, health and pay of lashers now and in the future. The lashers’ organising and action, the biggest ever seen in the Port of Rotterdam – Europe’s busiest and largest port – brought the port to a standstill last week.

Yesterday, the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) sent a joint letter to Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić and Prime Minister Đuro Macut, urging them to urgently intervene in the recent dismissal of two leaders of the Sindikat kontrole letenja (SKL) - the trade union representing air traffic controllers in Serbia.

The European Labour Authority (ELA) dedicated 2025 to workers’ social security and the ETF has been happy to contribute to it, most recently by organising a two-day conference with the agency. Bringing together 24 ETF affiliates from 14 countries, 12 national authorities, as well as lawyers, policy experts, and representatives from the European Commission, we collectively shed light on one of the most urgent issues facing Europe’s transport workforce: the lack of effective and fair social security coverage.

Urgent letter from the European Trade Union Confederation and the European Transport Workers’ Federation: We are writing to you on behalf of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), representing 45 million workers from 94 national trade union confederations across 42 European countries, including Serbia, and 10 European Trade Union Federations, as well as of the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), the voice of 5 million workers in transport from over 150 trade unions in 38 European countries.

In a significant ruling for transport workers, the European Court of Justice has sided with Denmark in upholding restrictions on foreign bus operators conducting cabotage services within Danish borders. The decision, which dismisses the European Commission's challenge to Denmark's 2019 regulations, represents a major victory in the ongoing battle against social dumping in the transport sector.

Earlier this week, ETF and aviation workers across Europe were surprised by the new airlines' call for EU reforms for a competitive aviation sector, issued by the lobbying organisation Airlines for Europe (A4E). Although workers certainly agree with the need to boost the economic performance of European carriers, we believe that this statement misses that intent almost entirely.

A week of strike action by 700 FNV dockworkers brought major Dutch port to standstill –strike action set to resume on Friday without progress. The biggest ever strike of lashers in the Netherlands is on hold for a week after concerted industrial action by the FNV Havens dockworkers brought the largest and busiest port in Europe to a standstill.

The European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) concluded its EU co-funded "Delivering Fair Transport for All" logistics project with a powerful workshop in Istanbul, Turkey, as part of its Logistics Action Days campaign. The event brought together 80 trade unionists, workers' representatives, and academic experts from across 10 countries to address the mounting pressures facing the logistics sector.

The message from the event was loud and clear: bus and coach drivers deserve the same level of safety as truck drivers when it comes to vehicle construction.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the European sectoral federations EFBWW, EFFAT and ETF, are calling for an EU Directive on subcontracting and labour intermediation to end these abuses and restore accountability in European labour markets, to be proposed as part of the EU Commission’s Quality Jobs Roadmap.

ITF calls for urgent investment in safe, secure and dignified rest areas as part of Safe Rates The Belgian Transport Workers’ Union (BTB-ABVV) has released the 11th edition of its Black Book on motorway parking areas in Belgium, once again sounding the alarm on unsafe, overcrowded and inadequate conditions for professional lorry, bus and coach drivers.

After welcoming the democratic consensus reached during the trilogue negotiations on the revision of the European Works Council (EWC) Directive in May 2025, the ETF now urges MEPs to support the revised text in the plenary vote scheduled for Thursday, 9 October. The political agreement represents a significant step forward in strengthening workers’ rights in multinational companies across Europe. It enhances legal clarity for all stakeholders and simplifies the existing text by clarifying key definitions. We cannot turn back at this final stretch.