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More than 300 national trade union leaders, representing more than 45 million workers, participated in the Conference organised by the European Trade Union Confederation in Belgrade.
The President of the SSM, Slobodan Trendafilov and the Vice President of the CSM for the Private Sector, Ivan Pesevski, participated as delegates to the Conference, and due to the current developments in Macedonia, at the invitation of the European trade union centres EFFAT, EPSU and IndustryALL, the Presidents of the AGRO Trade Union, Igor Kitanoski, of the UPOZ Trade Union, Trpe Deanoski and of the SIER, Igor Djerasov, also participated in the Conference, who held important meetings with representatives of the European trade unions.
The conference was opened by Wolfgang Katzian, President of ETUC, and addresses were also given by ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch, the Spanish Minister of Labour and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, the Austrian Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Corinna Schumann, and Justin Mathers, Minister of Employment and Rights of the United Kingdom.
The conference adopted and sent a clear and loud message to Governments and the European Commission: STOP INTERFERING WITH TRADE UNIONS!
Trade unionists urged the European Commission and governments to respect European values in the service of social progress, and sent a message that public spending must promote collective bargaining and social dialogue.
In Belgrade, trade unionists adopted a Declaration calling on institutions at the national and European level to ensure quality jobs and wage increases in every sector and in every region.
- New rules are needed for spending public money, targeting companies that respect workers' rights, have social dialogue and collective agreements, introduce employment protection measures and social protection for workers, and ensure the role of trade unions in managing change through legislation, as well as putting an end to attacks on unions and promoting collective bargaining to ensure better wages and conditions for workers.
