As part of the SkillSea project, a new report was released - Current Skills Needs: Reality and Mapping. Researchers surveyed more than 1,600 maritime professionals – 1,149 seafarers and 474 shore-based personnel - to get their views on the adequacy of current maritime training and education and what they consider to be the most important skills needs.

In the global emergency of COVID-19 outbreak, dockers are on the frontline, ensuring loading and unloading of essential goods in European ports. Ahead of today's extraordinary meeting of the Council of EU Transport Ministers, ETF Dockers prepared a joint statement with IDC, FEPORT and ESPO.

Maritime transport Social Partners - ETF and ECSA - sent a letter to the Ministers of Transport ahead of the meeting of European Union Transport Ministers on the implications of COVID-19 on transport. In view of the vital importance of shipping and related services for the EU and its citizens, ECSA and ETF call on the European Commission and the Member States to take decisive and assertive action in facilitating the supply chains and seafarer travel, providing much-needed support to the industry and workforce.

Ahead of tomorrow’s extraordinary meeting of the Council of Transport Ministers, the ETF is once again reiterating its previous demands to the European Commission and has sent an overview of the latest developments in the transport industry.

ETF Civil Aviation Section is closely monitoring the developments in European aviation caused by the spread of COVID-19. It is clear that we are dealing with an unprecedented crisis and that aviation will not be the same once the immediate threat is over. To ensure that the industry is saved and rebuilt, a series of aviation-specific measures need to be taken in short, medium and long-term perspective both by the European Institutions as well as the individual Member States.

In a number of Members States fishing has stopped due to the measures to prevent the spreading of the COVID-19 virus. Stoppage of fishing will soon follow in other countries. The income of employed fishers and the survival of local fishing communities is at stake.

ETF is now once again calling upon the Commission to take concrete action to protect Europe’s transport workers as new developments arise every day. Reports received from around Europe show that some employers are not taking the pandemic seriously, and are putting workers in danger with their failure to act appropriately.

On Wednesday, EU Transport Ministers adopted the Opatija Declaration on the future outlook of EU Waterborne Transport. ETF welcomes the attention given to some of the ongoing industry challenges, and at the same time highlights several points that we believe merit further consideration and follow-up both of the EU Member States and the European Commission.

The crisis caused by COVID-19 is taking a huge toll on the transport workers of Europe. ETF General Secretary Livia Spera highlighted the obstacles transport workers are faced with, in a video message.

The social partners in urban public transport, ETF and UITP, the International Association of Public Transport, held the workshop "Digital transformation in customer services and its impact on work in urban public transport" last week in Vienna. Trade unionists and employers spent two days discussing the impact of digitalisation on the public transport sector. The role of trade unions is indispensable in these ongoing transformations, and we are committed and up to the challenge!

In the name of airline catering workers in Europe, European Transport Workers' Federation and EFFAT European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions provided input to an EC merger control case that relates to Lufthansa selling its European operations of LSG catering group to Gategroup. We appeal to the European Commission to investigate the case further and not to allow the creation of one giant airline catering business dominating the market.

Yesterday, the European Commission announced that the rules about airport slots will be temporarily relaxed. This is an important step to ensure the stability of the airline industry in Europe. If introduced in isolation, however, it fails to address the very real social cost civil aviation workers will pay because of the decline in air travel. In parallel with the changes of rules for airport slots, all EU member states need to ensure that workers whose employment is in danger are protected, in line with the provisions that exist in their national legislation.