Trade unionists demonstrate in support of employment and social rights

The European trade union confederation (ETUC) has called a demonstration in Brussels in March 2005 in defence of employment and social rights and against the proposed Directive on services in the internal market.

The demonstration will take place on Saturday 19 March, ahead of the annual spring meeting of the European Council, which will be held from 22-23 March in Brussels under the Luxembourg presidency. It is expected that some 50,000 people will take part in the demonstration.

At the Council, ministers will be considering the future direction of the Lisbon Strategy [http://europa.eu.int/growthandjobs/index_en.htm] - the 10-year framework for boosting Europe’s economic growth and competitiveness, coupled with environmental and social objectives (EU0004241F). Trade unionists from across Europe want to send a clear signal to the Council that the protection of employment and fundamental social rights must be a priority for future EU policy. They will be voicing their opposition to further deregulation of the European labour market to the detriment of workers and their families, and calling instead for managed restructuring and strong social protection. The European trade union confederation (ETUC) maintains that: 'To stimulate growth and employment, Europe needs … greater investment in training, lifelong learning, research and innovation.'

The demonstration will also highlight the ETUC's opposition to the draft Directive on services in the internal market, known as the Bolkestein Directive [http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=52004PC0002R(02)&model=guichett] (EU0407206F). Unions are concerned that the liberalisation of the servicees market, as proposed by the draft Directive, will undermine workers’ rights and encourage social dumping. As the ETUC press release states: 'To promote good living standards and social cohesion, Europe needs high-quality services, not subject solely to competition rules.'

Finally, the ETUC is calling for EU leaders to take account of the interests of working people in their forthcoming decisions, and to set their sights on full employment, trade union rights, social dialogue and meaningful information and consultation for workers.

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