ECONOMIC CRISIS : ETUC WANTS CLEAR AND FOCUSED SOCIAL INITIATIVES.

PositionEuropean Trade Union Confederation - Brief article

According to the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), in today's "unprecedented" economic crisis, a social progress protocol must be added as an annex to the EU treaties in order to reaffirm the "pre-eminence of fundamental rights over single market rules". This would prevent "reversions to nationalism and protectionism" by those "hit hardest by the crisis or likely to be affected soon," ETUC General Secretary John Monks said in a memorandum delivered, on 28 January, to Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, current holder of the EU Presidency. "Clear social initiatives" are needed to "strengthen social rights" and thereby to "defuse the economic, social and possibly political crisis," the memorandum said.

In light of the "wave of redundancies and restructuring plans" that "quickly followed" the global crisis, ETUC proposes a "'new social deal' that truly encourages social inclusion and maintains purchasing power". This new deal' is meant to "keep the employment market from becoming...

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