The European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) welcomes the Council’s adoption of conclusions on the EU Maritime Industrial Strategy and the EU Port Strategy, recognising their importance for strengthening Europe’s competitiveness, resilience, technological leadership and strategic autonomy.

ETF has written to EU Ministers and Ambassadors, urging them to address critical gaps in worker protection in the European Commission's proposed Regulation on Military Transport, currently under discussion in the Council of the European Union. ETF warns that the Commission's proposal rests on a flawed assumption: that Europe's transport systems can absorb additional pressure during crises without investment in the workforce that runs them.

On 4–5 June 2026, the ETF held the first workshop in the series of its EU co-funded project Empowering Transport Workers in Central and Eastern Europe (UNIONDRIVE) in Bucharest, Romania. Bringing together transport unions from aviation, road transport and urban public transport, the workshop focused on the implementation of Directive (EU) 2022/2041 on adequate minimum wages and its implications for collective bargaining in the transport sector.

The recent recognition by the European Union of Serbia's inland navigation crew certificates marks an important milestone for workers in the inland waterways sector and for the integration of the Western Balkans into the European transport area. Following a European Commission decision, certificates of qualification, service records and logbooks issued by Serbia will now be recognised across EU inland waterways, removing long-standing barriers to labour mobility.

Next week, on 8 June, EU Transport Ministers will gather for a Transport Council meeting and rail freight is expected to be in focus. ETF is calling on Ministers to match the commitment the sector urgently needs, and warns that any initiative falling short of a comprehensive response risks deepening a crisis that has been decades in the making.

ETF’s message to the Commission is clear: simplification must not weaken workers’ rights, social protections or working conditions. Instead, it should deliver smarter tools that better protect workers, support labour inspectorates and strengthen the enforcement of existing road transport rules.

In a joint letter addressed to the government representatives in the UNECE Working Party on Passive Safety (GRSP), ETF, ITF and IRU highlight that bus drivers remain at serious risk in frontal crashes. The letter urges the government representatives to work on this issue, including the creation of a dedicated working group as proposed by the Norwegian government.

On 27 May, a major new report titled “Charting the Distinct Rights of Sea Workers in European Waters: A Focus on Decent Working Time” was released by the World Maritime University (WMU) commissioned by the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). The study is primarily driven by the differential treatment of sea workers compared with land-based workers, which has resulted in their exclusion from several EU directives and in working and living conditions that fall below general labour standards. The report highlights major gaps between the labour protections afforded to sea workers and those enjoyed by land-based workers across Europe.

The European Commission is preparing a new Aviation Strategy for Europe at a critical moment for the sector. For ETF, this initiative cannot become another exercise focused solely on market liberalisation and competitiveness at the expense of workers. Instead, it must mark a change of course. Years of deregulation, cost-driven competition, and insufficient social safeguards have weakened the sector’s resilience, undermined fair competition, and placed increasing pressure on aviation workers. The new strategy therefore represents an opportunity to correct this trajectory and build an aviation industry that is competitive, sustainable, and socially responsible.

The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) welcomes yesterday's ruling by the Paris Appeals Court finding Airbus and Air France guilty of corporate manslaughter over the 2009 crash of Flight AF447. We stand in full solidarity with our French affiliates and the families of the 228 victims who have fought for justice for 17 years. This verdict matters: it makes clear that responsibility for this disaster lay with the companies - not the crew.

Aviation trade unions in Europe have committed to mobilising in support of over 1,000 Flying Food Group workers at SFO and LAX airports. At this week's Section meeting, the ETF's Civil Aviation Section passed a resolution after hearing from FFG workers and their union, UNITE HERE, to support their five-year struggle for a collective bargaining agreement. FFG workers provide catering services to numerous European carriers at LAX and SFO airports and are a critical part of their supply chains.

Aviation trade unions in Europe have committed to mobilising in support of over 1,000 Flying Food Group workers at SFO and LAX airports. The European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) Civil Aviation Section passed a resolution after hearing from FFG workers and their union, UNITE HERE, to support their five-year struggle for a collective bargaining agreement.