13/09/2018 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 12 September, the secretary general of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Luca Visentini, hailed European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s mention of the desire to translate the European base of social rights into legislative acts. Nonetheless, Visentini reproached Juncker for “playing down” the question of social justice. “Social justice deserves far more than a single phrase in the State of the Union speech”, he said. Juncker, he said, “does not seem to understand that workers have had enough of badly paid jobs, the decline in public services, and the daily struggle to make ends meet”. In plenary, Juncker pointed out to MEPs that he did not want the base to remain “a poem” and will ensure that it is translated into legislative acts (see EUROPE 12094). (PH)