Bonn, December 2024: DHL Group (DHL) and the Global Union Federations, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and UNI Global Union (UNI), have today adopted a new OECD Protocol. Having engaged in constructive dialogue on employment and working relationships for many years, the parties have agreed to continue working closely together. For the first time, they have agreed to hold additional regional dialogue meetings annually, to reinforce the new protocol and strengthen their relationship.

Despite significant advances in treatment and prevention, stigma and discrimination continue to impact the lives of those living with HIV. Lack of knowledge about the condition and how to protect oneself and others perpetuates misunderstanding and fear. This ignorance not only isolates individuals but also exacerbates poverty, hardship, and inequality—realities that many people living with HIV face daily.

Since last year, Air Serbia management has been carrying out flagrant union busting activities, notably by targeting the leading members of JSSSV. After numerous calls for international action and a petition in 2023, the ETF persists in its solidarity with the workers of the Central Union of Aeronautical Stewardesses and Stewards (JSSSV) of Serbia.

The ETF finds that this report falls short of offering a balanced or reliable assessment of the impact of rail liberalisation on service quality, workforce conditions, or public welfare. The study’s bias towards liberalisation, selective use of case studies, limited consideration of worker impact, and superficial treatment of service quality contribute to an incomplete and misleading picture of the sector. As a result, this study is considered unfit to serve as a basis for further decision and policy making.

Violence against women remains one of the most pervasive and devastating human rights issues globally. This reality is starkly visible in the transport sector, where workers - especially women - face high levels of violence from third parties. As we mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November, we must confront this harsh truth: violence is not just a societal issue; it is a workplace issue too.

In collaboration with social partners ECA and ENAA, the ETF has actively contributed to updating the Ghent Study survey, adapting it to the increasing complexity of aircrew employment, the liberalisation of the European aviation market and the emergence of new business models, such as wet-leasing. The resulting survey is now equipped to better capture complex working-hour schemes, intricate contractual ties and mental health struggles of aircrew workers.

Truck driving in Europe is a very demanding profession that requires a lot of skill, concentration and responsibility. The EU should make the job more rewarding, less stressful and risky and attract more experienced drivers rather than trying to find teenagers willing to do the job for low pay and long hours. Sign the petition now!

After several weeks of intense negotiations and global action, the Lufthansa Group answered union calls to stop using the Hilton San Francisco Union Square hotel, where workers are on strike, for layover accommodation for their crews. USA union UNITE HERE and the German union ver.di, both affiliates of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), have been working with the ITF to ask airlines to avoid struck hotels and not compel their crews to cross picket lines.

We often assume that access to clean and safe sanitation for everyone is a demand of the past in Europe. However, this fundamental human right in Europe's transport sector is still often neglected. With the lack of sanitation or its poor quality, the transport industry is driving workers away from the industry, especially women.

Yesterday, the EU Social Partners in the fisheries sector, represented by Europêche and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), presented at the European Parliament the results of a major initiative aimed at creating a safer, healthier, and more worker-friendly fisheries sector across Europe. The dissemination conference, hosted by MEPs Nicolás González Casares (Socialists and Democrats) and Paulo do Nascimento Cabral (European People’s Party), provided an opportunity to showcase innovative tools developed under the EU project Pillars of the Sea 3: Roadmap towards socially sustainable fishing.

ITF runs ‘training of trainers’ in Romania for ten maritime universities from seven countries. Trainers from across seven countries located on or near the Black Sea are now ready to prepare students for the wellbeing challenges of a maritime career – thanks to training led by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).

The ETF held an important conference today, spotlighting the working conditions and fair pay challenges faced by non-EU fishers employed on EU vessels. The event gathered a diverse group of policymakers from the EU Commission, Parliament and the ILO, experts, and industry stakeholders to address wage discrepancies and non-EU workers conditions in the sector.