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Some of Europe’s largest trade unions have agreed a common strategy to fight anti-union legislation advancing across the continent.

The European Commission and governments including the United Kingdom, Spain and Finland have each attempted to implement new laws to lessen union power in recent months and years, adding to a raft of anti-union policies from the last decade in Troika-affected countries such as Portugal, Greece, Ireland, Spain and Cyprus.

Now, a coalition of service sector unions across Europe has agreed to a joint strategy including supporting the building of a broad political coalition for strengthening trade union rights. The unions, which come together on the European level as UNI Europa, issued a joint statement.

“In targeting trade unions and workers, the EU and many national governments act neither democratically, socially nor pro-European,” part of the statement read. “This assault, which is also a consequence of the actual European economic governance policy, is self-destructive: it undermines the European social model as well as the legitimacy of the European Union and its member states.”

“We aim to engage with workers to draw attention to these European-wide attacks on unions and mobilise for the protection of trade union rights at national and European level.”

The assault on trade union rights in Europe

• In UK, the Conservative government launched a full frontal attack on the trade union movement, attempting to fundamentally undermine the basic rights of workers to negotiate, organise and strike. It is going to introduce a minimum 50% participation threshold for strike action to be legal. It is going to make it legal to use temporary and agency workers to replace strikers.
• In Spain, the government prosecuted hundreds of trade unionists and organisers were put under threat of fines and prison.
• Punitive anti-union legislation advanced in countries in all parts of Europe including Ireland, Italy, Romania, Portugal and Lithuania
• Even Finland – the country with one of the highest union density – uses crisis as excuse to widespread labour reforms.

Simon Dubbins of Unite in the UK and Ireland endorsed the statement and committed his union to the campaign, telling colleagues from across Europe, “We need your help to change the UK together and we will play a full role in making sure we change Europe together.”

Jaana Ylitalo from Finland’s services union PAM explained there was a serious attack on collective bargaining in the country.