Brussels, 21/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown are not necessarily supporters of social Europe. They will look at it with new eyes and the unions will have to argue their case. Seville will present an excellent opportunity to spread the message of this offensive: there will be discussion on the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the future of the Constitutional Treaty. If the UK were to be listened to, the constitution would be on the backburner. That was the stern warning by John Monks a few days before the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) congress which will be held in Seville this week. The title of the congress is “On the Offensive for more Social Europe, more Solidarity, more Sustainable Development” (see EUROPE 9403).
Regretting that the negotiations currently being carried out by Angela Merkel on the future of the Constitutional Treaty “are going on behind closed doors, with no direct input from European civil society or the social partners”, ETUC General Secretary John Monks, in a press release, reminds European leaders of the potentially dangerous consequences of abandoning parts of the draft constitution that matter most to European citizens and workers. “Social provisions and objectives that reinforce the role of the social partners are indispensable if workers around Europe are to support a compromise proposal,” he said, adding, “We need a stronger social dimension that meets concerns about issues like job security, restructuring and globalisation”. He said that the ETUC would support (1) adding a social declaration and a social protocol to the constitution, and (2) more enhanced cooperation, for example in the eurozone, to avoid social progress in some countries being blocked by others.
Against this backdrop and in order to persuade others of the need for a strong, supportive social Europe, Mr Monks will this week deliver a powerful call to the some 1000 union delegates meeting in Seville to go on the offensive on wages, employment, trade union membership and workers' security. Mr Monks will stress the need for: (1) a campaign to increase the wages of European workers, “who deserve such an increase” and he says “GDP is going into the pockets of the rich and the super rich! It's irresponsible and obscene, the gap between rich and poor is widening. That's the reason why there has to be greater purchasing power in Europe”; (2) a European labour market with more better quality jobs, full employment and better European standards in areas such as working conditions, union rights, health and security; (3) fair treatment for and no discrimination against immigrant workers; (4) equal pay and respect for workers' rights: “All this is important if we want to face up to the financial world. We want to see social Europe alive again. We want to show that progress can be made on social Europe,” Mr Monks said; (5) currently flagging trade union membership to be pushed; (6) greater efforts for a stronger Europe, in the sense that “Europe must not be seen as a threat to workers; but as a Europe which is pro-worker, which is benevolent, which helps people face the major challenges and not to be afraid of big companies. Europeans feel insecure, something has to be done. If governments don't do anything, there will be more protectionist nationalism. We have to understand that Europe is people, not companies,” Mr Monks said. (gb)