Workers’ Day: Winning a Workers’ Europe
This International Workers’ Day, all eyes are on Europe. As we celebrate the bonds of friendship between workers and the collective power we have through our trade unions and associations, we also look ahead to the EU elections. At a time when journalists and media workers are coming under increasing pressure and becoming more and more precarious, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) in calling on workers to mobilise, at the ballot box, against political forces hostile to freedom and labour rights.
As specified in the Council of Europe Recommendation on the protection of journalism, member states should pay attention “to the importance of adequate labour and employment laws to protect journalists and other media actors from arbitrary dismissal or reprisals, and from precarious working conditions that may expose them to undue pressures to depart from accepted journalistic ethics and standards”.
According to the latest study by the “Media Pluralism Monitor”, only four European countries out of the 32 analysed, offer good working conditions for journalists: Denmark, Germany, Ireland and Sweden. The results of the study show a particularly worrying labour situation in Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro and Romania, where journalists who do not enjoy the status of employee, often lack adequate social protection.
With World Press Freedom Day just a few days away, it is high time for political decision-makers to take action to defend the right of European citizens to access free, independent and pluralist information.
With the ETUC, we know that by working together we can win together, in the workplace and at EU level, where we recently secured victories for workers in digital platforms and for real measures to hold corporations accountable throughout their supply chains. These highlight the potential of a social Europe that delivers for working people.
However, workers are facing serious challenges too. Attacks on the right to strike have been increasing. In Finland, the government is attempting to undermine workers’ ability to take collective action to demand fair wages and quality jobs. In Turkey, the government has attempted to isolate workers and is trying to stop the traditional Workers’ Day celebrations in Istanbul’s Taksim Square. The European trade union movement is united in its rejection of these attempts to silence workers.
International Workers’ Day reminds us that our collective power goes beyond borders. By taking action in the workplace, in the street and at the ballot box, we can overcome challenges, protect workers’ rights, and create workplaces that empower all. As we raise our voices today, let us honour the sacrifices of the past and build a brighter future for workers everywhere.
Together, we can win a fair deal for working people at a national, sector and European level. We can win an EU built on quality jobs with collective bargaining and social dialogue at its core.
Across Europe, working people are gearing up to celebrate their collective power.
👩🏻💻 In the workplace
🚩 In the street
🗳️ In the ballot box#InternationalWorkersDay is our day. Let's make the June election our day too.#EUelections2024 pic.twitter.com/Ahdh0tgfSd— EUROPEAN TRADE UNIONS (@etuc_ces) April 30, 2024
