UNI Europa campaign against CETA - no time to lose!
UNI Europa is campaigning together with the European Trade Union Federations and the ETUC against CETA - the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement- in its current form. We must act now, so please support a series of upcoming actions against CETA.
Most importantly, we need YOU, the affiliates, to take action and let your government and relevant ministers know that you, together with your sister organisations across Europe, reject CETA. Your government and ministers must know!
EPSU has taken the lead on behalf of the ETUFs and put together a package of campaign materials (available for download here), to be shared with members, colleagues and wider networks. Feel free to add your own logo and translate the model letter that you can send to your politicians. You can also find additional briefing material here.
The actions will take place from 23 June (Public Service Day 2016) and in a week of coordinated online action, from 27 June to 1 July, before the European Council is expected to agree to the final text of CETA on 5 July.
CAMPAIGN MATERIALS
All campaign materials can be downloaded. You can find:
1. Campaign graphics for use on social media and in photo actions
2. Model letter to ministers and parliamentarians
3. Suggested tweets
4. Background materials put together by ETUC and EPSU on concerns over CETA
5. Recent reports on CETA’s potential impact
6. ETUC statement on CETA
We kindly request you to send the model letter, which you may translate and adapt, as soon as possible, to your government and Parliamentarians demanding that they oppose CETA.
In the week of action 27 June to 1 July, we will have coordinated action on each of these days. Please share widely the graphics on social media, targeting national ministers, national and European parliamentarians and the European Commission. You are also encouraged to share them with members, as well as to use them for photo actions.
Please feel free to adapt the graphics provided to include your organisation’s logo alongside UNIs, as well as to add a message relating to your specific sector. You are also encouraged to translate the text of the graphics, suggested tweets and model letter into your native language.
Please send any translations of the letter, adapted graphics, photos and responses from your ministers to elke.zander@uniglobalunion.org
Promisingly, public anger and resistance against CETA and other dangerous trade deals just keeps getting stronger. Trade union organisations, including EPSU, ETUC and many national confederations, have rejected CETA. The Dutch parliament has voted to stop the agreement being applied provisionally, while the rejection of CETA by Walloon’s regional assembly has placed Belgium’s ratification of the deal in real doubt.
Over 1,800 municipalities and counting across the EU have declared themselves CETA- and TTIP-free zones and regional and national protests against these deals continue to gather momentum across the EU.
But in order to truly turn the tide on CETA we must persuade national governments and parliaments to reject it, too. Demonstrating the strength of trade union feeling against the agreement, through coordinated action, will be key to achieving this.
We look forward to working with you on this important endeavour. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Communications Officer Elke Zander- elke.zander@uniglobalunion.org
Together we can fight to stop this dangerous deal – Say no to CETA!
In solidarity,
Oliver Roethig
Regional Secretary UNI Europa