A week before the publication of the European Union’s Clean Industrial Deal, IndustriAll Europe participated in a social partner consultation with the European Commission’s Executive Vice-Presidents Teresa Ribera, Stéphane Séjourné and Roxana Mînzatu. During the meeting, we reiterated our long-standing demand for an ambitious European industrial plan, underpinned by social conditions tied to public funding, strengthened social dialogue, comprehensive training measures, and a robust legal framework for a Just Transition. The urgency of these measures was emphasised as geopolitical volatility and industrial restructuring continue to accelerate.
Since June, approximately 90,000 job cuts have been announced in the automotive sector alone. Layoffs are mounting across multiple industries – not only in traditional sectors but also in emerging green technologies, including wind turbine manufacturing and battery production. Eurostat data indicates that 4.3 million jobs are at risk unless decisive action is taken. Thousands of industrial workers gathered in Brussels on 5 February to urge the European Union to act swiftly.
Immediate Measures Required
“We need immediate fire fighting actions to protect workers and European industrial capacity now – through a worker safeguard measure like SURE 2.0 in the pandemic. It should be tied to obligations on both retraining and upskilling, and negotiated solutions for every worker and every site”, stated industriAll Europe General Secretary Judith Kirton-Darling.
Economic security depends on retaining and rebuilding integrated supply chains across Europe, from foundational sectors to downstream industries. The Clean Industrial Deal must adopt a value chain approach to ensure resilience.
IndustriAll Europe welcomed the European Commission’s proposed focus on affordable energy. The transition to low-carbon energy will require massive investment in infrastructure and power grids to secure an abundant and cost-effective supply for households and industry. In reforming the energy sector, the needs of the eight million workers employed in Europe’s energy-intensive industries must be prioritised. This includes ensuring guaranteed access to the grid, planning for grid renovation and expansion, market design reforms, and enabling state aid.
For the public investment and support that must be put on the table, there should be a return for the taxpayer and worker-citizens – this is the place of those social conditionalities. EU funds and de-risking instruments, as well as public procurement, should support companies committed to keeping and creating quality jobs in Europe. Companies covered by collective agreements. Companies paying a fair share of tax in Europe and that don’t practice profit shifting or tax evasion. As the new Spanish legislation addresses there should be clawback options included.
“Our plants must have a business case to produce the clean, circular products that underpin the transition, in the energy framework and through lead markets. Demand-side measures and incentives are crucial to leverage the internal market, but always with social conditionalities attached”, stressed Judith Kirton-Darling.
The external dimension of the Clean Industrial Deal was also underscored. industriAll Europe has consistently argued that industrial resilience within Europe cannot be achieved without addressing global overcapacity and unfair trade practices. European industries are and must remain part of a global economy. However, fair and regulated trade must be ensured, with binding due diligence requirements to guarantee decent jobs across global supply chains. Only through such measures can a truly level playing field be established.
Securing a Just Transition
Lastly, the consultation highlighted the pressing need for a comprehensive Just Transition Framework, supported by binding legislation. IndustriAll Europe insists on stronger rights for workers regarding social dialogue, collective bargaining, and information and consultation procedures.
IndustriAll Europe Deputy General Secretary Isabelle Barthès recalled, “The impact of not listening to peoples and workers’ concerns are visible today. Transition is seen as a threat. Decarbonisation must go hand in hand with a quality jobs agenda – this is essential for political stability. Voluntary initiatives have their limits and leave workers at the mercy of employers’ vetoes as the failure of the European gas negotiations has shown”. IndustriAll Europe called on the European Commission to ensure that the Clean Industrial Deal includes measures to empower workers, enabling them to play an active role in the transition.
A Just Transition Framework is essential to deliver tangible results on the ground. It must encompass the following elements:
- Anticipating change through timely information and consultation with workers regarding transformation plans.
- Addressing both the green and digital transitions.
- Requiring companies to develop transition plans in social dialogue with employees and trade unions, mapping future employment and skill needs.
- Protecting jobs or facilitating job-to-job transitions through retraining, upskilling, and job placements within companies, corporate groups, sectors, or across sectors when necessary.
- Exploring all alternatives to redundancy in consultation with local authorities – dismissals must be a last resort.
- Promoting social dialogue at all levels to ensure negotiated solutions are achieved.
- Guaranteeing access to quality training, which is crucial for employment security and ensuring the availability of the necessary skills.
- Promoting diversity in the workforce.
A comprehensive Just Transition Framework, underpinned by hard legislation, must remain a top priority.
“There is no alternative, and time is running out,” IndustriAll Europe warned. “Europe cannot achieve prosperity or stability without secure, high-quality industrial jobs.”
Judith Kirton-Darling is general secretary of industriAll European Trade Union. She was a British member of the European Parliament between 2014 and 2020 and confederal secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation.
Isabelle Barthès is deputy general secretary of industriAll Europe.