Since Sunday’s elections, Belarusian law enforcement officials have arrested 65 journalists. Some have been released; some have been expelled; some have been sentenced to heavy fines. Dozens of other journalists have been harassed or abused. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on the foreign ministers of the European Union, who are meeting tomorrow, to take sanctions against those responsible for the repression of journalists in Belarus. The EFJ welcomes the statement of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet condemning the violent response of the Belarusian authorities to the peaceful demonstrations held across the country in the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes the call by more than 3,000 scholars on 15 May for more democratisation of work. “Democratize firms; decommodify work; stop treating human beings as resources so that we can focus together on sustaining life on this planet,” concludes the call. “As a sectoral trade union federation, the EFJ supports the European Trade Uunion Confederation’s ongoing fight for the further democratisation of work, so we can only welcome this call for responsibility and mobilisation from the global scientific community,” reacted the EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez. “We fully agree with these prominent scholars: our…

The COVID-19 outbreak has shown us how vulnerable we are to an epidemic, and how devastating the effects can be: on life, on health, on society, on our economy. It has demonstrated very clearly the importance of protecting working people (and all people) from disease, especially at the workplace. It has also shown the importance of investing in good public health care, investing in good conditions for health care workers and other frontline workers, and the need to ensure good sick pay and other provisions to protect the wages and jobs of all. For International Workers Memorial Day – 28…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will join the global climate strike this Friday in Brussels to put pressure on world leaders to deliver urgent solutions to the worsening climate crisis. Demonstrations will take place around the world between September 20 and 27 to coincide with the United Nation’s climate summit in New York, where heads of governments must take concrete action to deliver on the promises of the Paris Agreement. That includes the commitment to a “just transition” – moving to a carbon neutral economy in a way that’s fair to people working in industries that will be required to…

Seven European trade unions, including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), are supporting the global day of protest being staged by young people against climate change on Friday: ETUC, EFJ, EFBWW, EPSU, EFFAT, ETF and IndustriAll (representing workers in energy intensive industries). Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish school student who started the ‘Friday’s for Future’ movement, has called for her peers around the world to join her to demonstrate outside national parliaments or local government buildings. Some 727 protests are scheduled across Europe, including another major demonstration in Brussels which will begin outside International Trade Union House. A banner reading ‘No…

On Monday 11 March, the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement on the protection of whistleblowers against reprisals. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes the significant improvements compared to the directive proposal, but regrets the intent of limiting protection for those reporting to the public, in particular through the media. From the very beginning the issue of the reporting channels has been the main point of discord during the negotiations. What procedure whistleblowers should follow to be granted protection? The European institutions came to a decision on Monday evening. Whistleblowers…

As the EU’s flagship whistleblowing Directive reaches the final stage of negotiations between national Governments and the European Parliament, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) to warn that the EU risks ending up with a Directive that protects companies more than it protects whistleblowers! “Some member states are insisting that whistleblowers must first go through an internal reporting procedure,” said Esther Lynch, Confederal Secretary of the ETUC. “This is not in the interests of those exposing wrong-doing or the public. It would give companies every opportunity to cover up their wrong-doing and to…

The EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez and trade union leaders from all over Europe today united in their demand for more workers’ participation and workplace democracy. They are calling on MEPs to improve the EU company law package currently going through the European Parliament to strengthen workers’ information, consultation and board-level representation in the new types of companies allowed by this legislation; MEPs to strengthen information to and consultation and representation of workers in the Draft Directive on restructuring and insolvency also going through the Parliament; the European Commission to publish its long-overdue revision of the European Works Council Directive…

This article was originally published on the ETUC website: Despite a steady increase in the number of self-employed workers – who now represent 1 in 10 of all workers – the self-employed are denied the rights enjoyed by employees reveals a new report by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). ‘Trade unions protecting self-employed workers’ published today by the ETUC shows that self-employed workers are not allowed by law from joining trade unions in some European countries, cannot negotiate standard rates and working conditions through collective bargaining in many EU member states – supposedly due to due EU competition law, do…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), along with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and other European trade union organisations, submitted on 6 November its position on the 2nd phase consultation on the revision of the Written Statement Directive (931/55/EC) trying to extend the right for a written contract and social protection to self-employed workers. The EFJ, along with the ETUC, request in their response that Member States should ensure that all workers (including self-employed workers) have the right to fair remuneration in accordance with national law, collective agreements or practice at the appropriate level in conformity with national industrial…

Lead Applicant : European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) Associated organisations : BusinessEurope, CEEP, BDA, DA, MEDEF, EFBWW, EFFAT, EFJ, EPSU, ETF, IndustriAll and UNI Europa Project financially supported by : DG EMPL 01 Budget Line – European Union In recent years, Transnational Company Agreements (TCAs) have become an increasing practice in multinational companies (MNCs). This is the result of the internationalisation of industrial relations in which European and International trade unions (TUs) on the one hand, and some MNC’s, on the other hand, have found a common ground for action. In previous years, both the ETUC and BUSINESSEUROPE have worked…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the campaign launched by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) advocating for a pay rise for workers throughout Europe. On 14th and 15th February, European trade unionists have been discussing the need for pay rises with employers and government at a conference in Brussels. Today, wealth and wage inequality is on the rise and workers’ rights such as collective bargaining should be encouraged and promoted by all. That is why the European trade union movement has banded together in this campaign to make sure workers get their pay rise. “Europe needs to talk…

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) issued today a press release calling for an EU-wide whistleblower protection. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is a member organisation of the ETUC and fully supports the following statement. The EFJ is encouraging individuals and organisations to sign its petition on the issue. The EU can and should do a lot more to protect workers who come forward and blow the whistle on wrongdoing. Legal protection for whistleblowers throughout  the EU is a complicated maze of protections and the various civil liability laws mean that some people may be penalised and held personally liable…

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) welcomed European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker for a discussion on the future of Europe with trade union leaders from all EU countries. The discussion took place yesterday, in Brussels, during an extraordinary Executive Committee meeting of the ETUC. The European Federation of Journalists was represented by its General Secretary, Ricardo Gutiérrez. The ETUC believes a wide debate on the future of Europe is desperately needed due to the growing lack of trust in the EU caused by high unemployment and poverty, Brexit, terrorism, the failure to deal effectively with the refugee emergency, and growing…

(7 October 2016) European trade union federations (ETUFs) informal network on digitialization met  to exchange view on following topics: The need  to regulate on right to disconnect through collective bargaining and other legal instruments Surveillance of data of employees at the workplace, analysis patterns and rating platforms of employers The link between digitalisation and gender equality Online-Platforms and the “sharing economy” with atypical forms of workers as crowdworking, freelancers and the need for framework for employee protection and equal treatment, collective bargaining and fighting undeclared work Digital integration of value chains The Copyright Reform and Intellectual Property Rights and the…