Last week, the ETF’s civil aviation section held meetings in Malta to discuss the country’s growing strategic role in European aviation governance. Discussions in Valletta and Lija focused on the economic, safety and social dimensions of aviation oversight, as Malta has become an important hub for Air Operator Certificate (AOC) issuance.

The Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office has sent a clear message to the platform economy: the systematic exploitation of workers is a criminal matter. Following a recent investigation into Foodinho (Glovo), Italian authorities have now placed Deliveroo Italy under judicial supervision. This rare legal measure, typically reserved for cases involving "caporalato" (gangmaster-style labor exploitation), follows evidence that couriers were being paid wages up to 90% below the poverty line.

The parcel that arrives at your door has likely travelled through a labyrinth. A common practice for subcontracting in road transport is the following: A client places an order with a transport supplier. This could be a transport company that employs its own drivers, or a logistics company provided with a wider service than only road transport, or a freight forwarder who does not own assets and would always subcontract to others. The chain ends somewhere. In road transport, it ends with the driver. It is time to make sure justice reaches them.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.