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Latest news
The position of social partners on CAP and Sugar Reform-Towards 2020
In the frame of their longstanding social dialogue tradition, the European Committee of Sugar Producers (CEFS) and the European Federation of Trade Unions in the Food, Agriculture and Tourism sectors (EFFAT) held their annual plenary meeting of the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for sugar on 28 February 2012. The objective of the meeting was to examine the major economic challenges facing the European sugar industry and their potential social consequences.
28/02/2012
  
 Enough is enough: 29 February European Action Day
In the face of a worsening economic and social situation and the ever-tougher austerity measures being imposed by Europe’s leaders through a new treaty as the only solution, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has called for a European day of action on 29 February, the eve of the European Council. Trade unions mobilised across Europe to have jobs and social justice placed at the heart of political priorities. Decentralised actions: http://www.etuc.org/a/9648
17/02/2012
Unite Meat Workers Take Strike Action at Vion Foods
UNITE members at the Cambuslang site of Vion, in Scotland, have voted massively in favour of strike action and will now walk out on 20th February - in the first in a series of strikes relating to a pay dispute. The site is one of approximately 40 UK sites owned by the Dutch TNC Vion, the largest meat processing company in Europe.
17/02/2012
 European Unilever Workers Stand Together to say ‘Unilever – don’t make workers pay for your profits!’
European Unilever workers will protest on Thursday 16th February to make a stand against opportunistic cost cutting following an attack on the pensions of UK Unilever workers. A demonstration will take place outside the Unilever HQ in Rotterdam on 16th February at 12:00. Unilever unions from around Europe and beyond are supporting the protest in a statement of solidarity that will be handed to Unilever management. Unilever workers will also be raising the issue in their workplaces.
15/02/2012
EFFAT project “Changing ownership patterns in transnational hotel and restaurant chains and their impact on workers’ information and consultation rights”
Call for tenders for a new EFFAT project co financed by the EU “Changing ownership patterns in transnational hotel and restaurant chains and their impact on workers’ information and consultation rights”.
This call for tenders is only available in English. Please pass the call for tenders on to potential service providers such as trade union research institutes, etc.
Deadline for sending offers: 28 February 2012
07/02/2012
 European Social Partners EFFAT and FoodDrinkEurope launch European Social Dialogue in the Food and Drink Industry
At their first plenary meeting, the European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT) and FoodDrinkEurope signed today a joint agreement to start social dialogue in the European food and drink industry, under the auspices of the European Commission.
The setting up of the Committee stems from Recommendation 18 adopted in 2009 by the “High Level Group for the Competitiveness of the Agro Food Industry”, a multi-stakeholder forum which regroups EU Institutions as well as business and civil society actors along the EU food supply chain.
24/01/2012
Draft opinion of agricultural workers on the Common Agricultural Policy after 2013
This draft has still to be discussed within the agricultural affiliates.
The draft will be updated in February/March 2012 and the final one will be adopted end of April 2012 at the conference in Bratislava.
20/01/2012
 
Living and working conditions of seasonal and migrant agricultural workers
It is impossible to take into account their skills and their experience and this is the reason why salaries are low for workers coming from other member States. A significant number of workers from Eastern Europe have higher vocational skills but in a different sector and the seasonal work over a period of years entails a downgrade in their professional career and prevents them from finding a more stable job.
19/01/2012
 Condizioni di vita sul lavoro dei lavoratori agricoli stagionali e migranti
 Message from EFFAT President, Bruno VANNONI
The two recent crises have brought about new challenges for Europe. Whether economic,political or trade union-related, we must confront these challenges because they concern the future of social democracy. Successive attacks against individual countries and the Euro are
exacerbating the situation and creating a tension which is spreading everywhere, fuelling scepticism among Europe’s citizens about their future and that of Europe.
15/12/2011
Call for tenders for a new EU co-funded project on: Anticipating structural changes in agriculture: the possibility of setting up a European Sector Council to have a positive impact on jobs
This call for proposals is available in English and French only.
Deadline to send the bids: 23 December 2011 - 1pm
08/12/2011
 Press Release: European workers join together to tell Unilever - hands off British pensions!
Representatives of Unilever's entire European workforce sent a joint message of solidarity to their colleagues in the UK today and insisted that the company must scrap its plans to axe their final salary pension scheme. Unilever, the food and household goods giant, whose brands include Ben and Jerry's, Lipton, Hellmann's, Axe, Dove and Cif is pushing through plans to downgrade the UK company’s pension scheme in a way that will see the retirement income of thousands of its staff slashed by up to 40 per cent.
08/12/2011
Speech Rede Hermann-Unilever EWC Chairman
Don’t let the fat cats blame the workers!
Workers in Europe are outraged and indignant at the austerity measures being taken, and therefore trade unions are organising days of action in Portugal and Bulgaria on 24 November, followed by days of action in the United Kingdom and across Europe on 30 November and in Greece on 1 December, in Belgium on 2 December, in Hungary on 3 December and in France on 13 December.
Echoing comments made at the meeting on European Works Councils in Madrid on 24 November, EFFAT General Secretary Harald Wiedenhofer noted: “It is clear that our affiliates are fed up with the injustices that have been perpetrated in the context of this crisis. Extremely rich members of powerful elites in finance, politics and business spent the last decade promoting disastrous neo-liberal policies. Now it has all gone wrong and they want to make working people and their families sacrifice their modest incomes to clean up the mess. Worse still, some of them are trying to use the crisis as an opportunity to undermine the rights that ordinary workers have fought for and achieved over the last century and to exploit financial vulnerabilities they have created in order to further line their pockets. These unethical and cynical attacks must be completely rejected by all.”
29/11/2011
Call for tenders for a new project entitled: Quality jobs in sustainable agriculture and an upgraded image
Call for tenders for a new project co-funded by the EU Commission on "Quality jobs in sustainable agriculture and an upgraded image".
This call for tenders is only available in French and English.
Deadline to send the tenders: 13 December 2011
28/11/2011
EFFAT Newsletter September-October
"On 7 September 2011, EFFAT and Food Drink Europe (former CIAA) reached an agreement on the prospective terms of reference for EU Social Dialogue in the Sector." Read more in EFFAT Newsletter.
14/11/2011
 Seasonal Workers are People, not Commodities
In the European Parliament on the 10th November, EFFAT reminded the Socialist-Democrat Group Seminar dealing with proposals for seasonal employment and intra-corporate transfer directives that seasonal workers are people, not commodities, and that equal treatment at work needs to assured. Most seasonal workers in the EU are in the agriculture and tourism sectors. If we give third-country workers access to seasonal work in the territory of the European Union they must enjoy the same rights and pay as their fellow workers from the EU.
14/11/2011
 Commissioner László Andor tells union leaders in food, agriculture and tourism that precarious work is “an alarming trend” that needs to be addressed alongside unemployment
László Andor, Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, described the rise of precarious workers in Europe as “an alarming trend” that needs to be addressed along side youth and structural unemployment. Citing examples from EFFAT sectors including the meat processing industry he warned of the dangers of a “race to the bottom” if political actors do not take the issue seriously while rising unemployment and pressure towards fiscal consolidation are competing for their attentions. He also emphasized his support for decent minimum wages."
04/11/2011
Principles of good practice in vertical relationships in the food chain
Within the B2B Platform of the High Level Forum for the Competitiveness of the EU Food Supply Chain, the retailer and food producer representative organizations – including Food Drink Europe - cooperated to issue draft “Principles of good practice in vertical relationships in the food chain”. EFFAT is part of this platform and was requested to comment on the draft Principles and to illustrate its views on an implementation and monitoring mechanisms. EFFAT has drawn on multiple occasions the Commission’s attention to the trickledown effect that unfair B2B practices can entail on workers. EFFAT’s written comments point to the fact that “whenever unfair B2B practices take place, food growers and processors are squeezed and operators are placed in asymmetric market power relations. As a result, employees in agriculture and in the food industry are among the first to pay the price, as their employers will seek, in turn, to reduce labour costs to cope with the squeeze”. EFFAT also made concrete cases to illustrate such phenomenon, also drawing on affiliate input on this issue, especially the FNV Bongenoten and Livs. As per the implementation and monitoring system, EFFAT suggested that “an independent, EU-level Ombudsman-like agency could best serve the purpose of the Principles” and that such agency should “take into account Decent Work and employment conditions of food and agriculture workers along the chain” as a key factor in the assessment and remedial action. The High Level Forum will report on 29 November on the concrete results and follow up of its initiatives.
24/10/2011
Call for tenders for a new project cofunded by the EU on coordination between social security bodies
Call for tenders for a new project co-financed by the EU on EFFAT contribution to the development of coordination between social security bodies and to the improvment of information in the agricultural sector.
This call for tenders is only available in English and French.
Deadline for sending offers: 4th November 2011
21/10/2011
Brochure: Posting of workers in the European agricultural sector - 10 contributions for the protection of workers
08/09/2011
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