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Hundreds of delegates came together to set out key challenges facing IT, telecoms and business service workers on day one of UNI Europa's ICTS Conference.

UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings welcomed delegates to Rome with a rallying call: “In this sector you face the new organising challenges,” he said. “It is important that we use the best in all of us to win that fight. We can succeed. We have broken through in the most difficult places.”

Professor Philip Taylor of the University of Strathclyde looked at the challenges unions face in European call centres. “At all levels, we must keep explicit opposition to new forms of performance management,” he said. “They cause insecurity, ill health, muscular diseases, and in some cases even suicide.”

Head of UNI Professional and Managers Pav Akhtar updated on the activities of his sector. “We think engaging engineers, professionals and managers is absolutely critical in the new world of work."

Ursula Holtgrewe looked at trends in ICTS work in the 21st Century. In 2011, 14 million people were working in ICT, of which 1.9 million were Europe.

Harald Stavn of Norway’s NITO union reported on an agreement with UNI Global Union in order to establish a platform and framework for dialogue between UNI and Telenor on fundamental labor rights.

Ver.di’s Kornelia Dubbel discussed building international worker solidarity through a CWA-verdi partnership.

Koen Dries, spoke on UNI’s Hewlett Packard Alliance, which, he said, aims to develop a common strategy against the workforce reductions at HP in order to achieve job security, development and qualification for current and future employees.