working conditions

Summer 2026 saw Europe battered by a series of unprecedented heat waves, with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees multiple times across many cities. Trade unions across Europe raised the alarm over working during extreme heat, especially in at-risk sectors like transport.

As part of the European continent undergoes its fourth heatwave of 2026, it has become abundantly clear that occupational heat exposure is no longer an exceptional or occasional summer hazard. It is an emergent occupational hazard only destined to escalate.

Following the SOTEU 2023, the European Transport Workers' Federation calls on the EC President, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Commission at large, to back statements of support for social partners and trade unions with bold and substantive actions, policy and legislation.

On 21 June, the ETF launched the very first Day Against Driver Fatigue in Europe. The ETF and its affiliates took action across Europe to draw attention to the critical problem of driver fatigue in road transport. 21 June was the longest day of the year – but for professional drivers, every day is the longest!

An ETF delegation joined its French affiliates CGT-Cheminots, CFDT- Cheminots and UNSA-Ferroviaire in Lille on Thursday, 22 June 2023, in a protest against expanding privatisation of rail in France. ETF continues to work hard to defend railways and its workers to ensure that rail transport is a public service fit for a fair and sustainable Europe.

ETF stands by its Swiss transport workers' union, SEV, in opposing the liberalisation demands of passenger rail under ongoing Switzerland and the EU negotiations on a cooperation agreement.

A Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is a must within the aviation industry. Whether flight attendants, pilots, ATM workers, or ground staff, our aviation workers consider a labour agreement as the only guarantee for being treated fairly by their employers regarding working conditions, wages, job security, health, and safety.

Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the P&O seafarers' mass sacking, ETF expresses its support and solidarity with our affiliates in the UK. Together with them, we said it loud, in one voice: "No More P&Os!"

ETF welcomes Spain's recent ratification of the C188 - Work in Fishing Convention. By ratifying this convention, signatory states ensure fishers' wages and working conditions are protected, and those minimum decent standards are respected and implemented.

On February 28, a group of EU MEPs, transport workers, and unions protested the European Commission's undemocratic attempt to force the liberalisation of public transport by rail and road without involving the Council and the European Parliament.