{"id":27498,"date":"2025-03-27T09:14:03","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T08:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniglobalunion.org\/news\/6th-uni-europa-conference-day-2-workers-demand-real-say-more-pay-across-europe\/"},"modified":"2025-03-27T09:14:03","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T08:14:03","slug":"6th-uni-europa-conference-day-2-workers-demand-real-say-more-pay-across-europe","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/uniglobalunion.org\/news\/6th-uni-europa-conference-day-2-workers-demand-real-say-more-pay-across-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"6th UNI Europa Conference Day 2: workers demand \u201cReal Say, More Pay\u201d across Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"
The morning sessions kicked off with powerful testimony from Belgian trade unionist Lieveke Norga<\/strong> (ACV-PULS)<\/strong>, who linked the push for shorter working hours to the long legacy of workers\u2019 struggle. \u201cWe continue the historical struggle of free time for working people,\u201d she said, announcing an 8-minute work stoppage on 8 May across Belgium to press for better work-life balance.<\/p>\r\n From Slovakia to Finland, unions described how they are rebuilding power amid hostile conditions. \u201cWe need to find new areas of contract. We need to update our communications,\u201d said Antti Hakala<\/strong> of Finland\u2019s PRO union<\/strong>. In Poland, Wieslawa Mazarska<\/strong> of Solidarnosc<\/strong> described mass protests and strikes at the Polish Post in response to the collapse of a 20-year-old collective agreement.<\/p>\r\n One central theme of the day \u2013 public procurement reform \u2013 <\/strong>saw trade unionists demand that EU institutions link public contracts to collective agreements. Esther Lynch<\/strong>, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)<\/strong>, delivered a rousing address calling out widespread union-busting.<\/p>\r\n \u201cNo euro of public money should go to companies that bust unions,\u201d Lynch said, citing Tesla as an example of the \u201cgreen transition\u201d being used to justify anti-union behaviour.<\/p>\r\nIn Ireland, CWU\u2019s Ian McArdle<\/strong> highlighted how workers successfully pressured politicians to back collective bargaining in the last election. \u201cRespect at work shouldn\u2019t be a privilege, it should be a right,\u201d he said. His union, together with three other Irish unions (Mandate, SIPTU and FSU), had received<\/a> the first-ever \u201cForward Through Collective Bargaining\u201d Award.<\/p>\r\n