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About Luca Visentini

Luca Visentini is general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

Dobersberger,social dumping

Trade unions are key to a safe exit from the pandemic

by Luca Visentini on 12th May 2020

There can be no return to ‘business as usual’ after the crisis: the ‘new normal’ must entail a profound political and social transformation.

Dobersberger,social dumping

A message for May Day

by Luca Visentini on 1st May 2019

Mayday, mayday: the leader of the European trade union movement warns of the threat from the populists in the coming EP elections.

Luca Visentini

The Trade Union Message To European Leaders

by Luca Visentini on 22nd March 2018

The economic situation and employment rates in Europe are improving. But it is much too early for complacency. Unemployment is still too high, most of the new jobs being created are precarious and poorly protected, and recent election results prove that social exclusion and inequalities in the labour market and society continue to undermine people’s […]

Luca Visentini

We Need A Strong ‘Social Pillar’ To Support Working People

by Luca Visentini on 16th November 2017

The ‘European Pillar of Social Rights’: it could be a fine example of Euro-jargon masking very little substance, or it could be a chance for the European Union to turn a corner and demonstrate that its main priority is to promote social progress and a better life for European workers and citizens. The proof of […]

Luca Visentini

Putting The EU Wrongs Right: The Trade Union View

by Luca Visentini on 14th March 2016

Haven’t we all had enough of the doom-mongers predicting the end of the EU? Of comparisons to the last days of the Roman Empire or – worse still – the violent break-up of Yugoslavia? And yet it’s true that EU leaders are offering few ‘reasons to be cheerful’ these days. Throughout history, trade unions have […]

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Social Europe Publishing book

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Renewing labour relations in the German meat industry: an end to 'organised irresponsibility'?

Over the course of 2020, repeated outbreaks of Covid-19 in a number of large German meat-processing plants led to renewed public concern about the longstanding labour abuses in this industry. New legislation providing for enhanced inspection on health and safety, together with a ban on contract work and limitations on the use of temporary agency employees, holds out the prospect of a profound change in employment practices and labour relations in the meat industry. Changes in the law are not sufficient, on their own, to ensure decent working conditions, however. There is also a need to re-establish the previously high level of collective-bargaining coverage in the industry, underpinned by an industry-wide collective agreement extended by law to cover the entire sector.


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ETUI/ETUC (online) conference Towards a new socio-ecological contract 3-5 February 2021

The need to effectively tackle global warming puts under pressure the existing industrial relations models in Europe. A viable world of labour requires a new sustainability paradigm: economic, social and environmental.

The required paradigm shift implies large-scale economic and societal change and serious deliberation. All workers need to be actively involved and nobody should be left behind. Massive societal coalitions will have to be built for a shared vision to emerge and for a just transition, with fairly distributed costs, to be supported. But this is also an opportunity to redefine our societal goals and how they relate to the current focus on (green) growth.

What targets or objectives should be set and how might they be reached? How can we create a sustainable European growth model? How can we reverse the trend towards growing inequalities? What kind of Green New Deal is a realistic and feasible prospect for Europe? What elements of justice, solidarity and equity constitute a fair and sustainable social foundation? What are the roles of the market, the state, industry and civil society? And what role can trade unions play to build a sustainable future that addresses all of these dimensions?


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Confirmed speakers include: Ursula von der Leyen, Mariana Mazzucato, Nicolas Schmit, Dominique Meda, Tim Jackson, Juliet Schor, Frans Timmermans and many more.


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Industrial relations: developments 2015-2019

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