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INTRODUCING THE ETUCLe Syndicat européen

• Founded in 1973, its headquarters are in Brussels; • it represents 85 trade union organisations in 36 European

countries, plus 10 industry-based federations;• Its main objectives are:

• Influence European decision making• European Social Dialogue• Trade Union action• Democratic working methods

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THE ETUC YOUTH COMMITTEE

• It represents young workers within the ETUC;• influences the work of the ETUC, ensuring that the different policies

take account of young people; • adopts positions on subjects concerning young people at work; those

positions are then submitted to the ETUC Executive Committee;• develop action programs by organising seminars, conferences, study

sessions and campaigns for young workers in Europe. • the ETUC Youth Committee meets twice a year and elects a Bureau

with six members plus a President;• the main work is done by the Bureau, incl. representation and

lobbying within the European Institutions and Social Dialogue processes.

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SITUATION OF TRADE UNIONS

• General unionisation in Europe

• De-unionisation trend since 1970s

• Mildly convergent development in union density since mid-1980s

• Trend became more pronounced in the 1990s

• Today: ‘net’ union density in EU27 = 27.8% in 2000 > 23.4% in 2008 (source: EC 2011)

• The crisis has worsen the situation dramatically

• Observations on youth unionisation

• ‘Most problematic group of workers to unionise’ (Pedersini 2010:13)

• ‘Lower unionisation among young workers than among older counterparts (Blanchflower 2007; Huiskamp &

Smulders 2010:202; Machin 2003; Serrano Pascual & Waddington 2000:20-4; Visser 2002)

• But ‘generation gap’ is not completely new (cf. Payne 1989:111)

• Yet union membership has fallen more rapidly among the young and more workers have never

experienced union membership, particularly among the young (Bryson & Gomez 2005; Schnabel & Wagner 2005)

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THE ETUC YOUTH – WHAT WE’VE DONE SO FAR• Research and campaigning about trade union density and

organizing• Conference on Youth participation within trade unions (Cyprus

2009)• Attracting young people to stop decline of trade unions

membership• Youth Manifesto for the ETUC Congress 2010 (Athens)• Conference on organizing and young people with best practices

(Krakow 2011)

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TIME TO ACT – ETUC YOUTH PRIORITIES• Main goal of the last two years, claiming for better working and

living conditions for the youth in Europe• Joint actions on demonstrations• Thematic work on youth employment on different levels and in

different frameworks• Quality Charter on Internships (with the European Youth Forum)• Social Pact for Social Europe (ETUC program proposal)• Social Dialogue on Youth Employment• Youth Guarantee (discussions, research, conference)• Apprenticeship schemes

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STOP TALKING – ACT NOW!

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STOP TALKING – ACT NOW!

• Demands of young people have been proclaimed

• Active participation in the youth delegation for Merkel and Hollande

• Alternative youth summit organized by DGB in Berlin

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STOP TALKING – ACT NOW!

• Youth event on “Quality Jobs” back-to-back to the intergovernmental conference on youth employment, Paris, 11-13 Nov.

• Joint conference with OECD, various national youth platforms affiliated to YEF, French trade unions affiliated to ETUC and DGB.

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ETUC – OUR DEMANDS

• An immediate action program for youth employment with sufficient fundings• 21 billion EUR instead of 6 billion EUR for the youth guarantee

• Full participation of social partners in any programs related to youth employment (in particular for apprenticeship schemes etc.)

• European wide standards for quality education• An immediate stop of the austerity measures, instead a

coordinated and sustainable growth and investment model is needed for Europe!

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FOLLOW-UPS

• The Youth Guarantee has officially been set in place, now it is our task to supervise and foster its implementation by M.States

• The approaches already done so far, are far too minimal to tackle youth unemployment

• More specific measures and more means are also needed• More important than unaccomplishable guarantees are proper

and sustainable investments for the future in Europe and in its people!

• ETUC Youth will play a vital role in this field of action in the future!

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ETUC YOUTH CONFERENCE 2014

• The ETUC Youth Bureau is planning a Youth Conference for Spring 2014 in Rome on the Youth Guarantee

• A study conducted by the ETUI will give the background and basis for this approach

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La voix des travailleurs auprès des décideurs européens

La voix des travailleurs auprès des décideurs européens