We demand fair treatment for workers!

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Published Monday, June 9, 2008 at 21:03
by Editor (370 views and 0 comments)

No differences between workers from the West and the East. This was one of the conclusions of the debate organized by the Latvian Social Democratic Workers Party (LSDSP) on the “New Social Europe” and the PES manifesto.

The debate, a two-day event that that took place late April, gathered participants from the party in Riga. Among the speakers was Philip Cordery, Secretary-General of the PES, who presented the PES report on “New Social Europe”. This set off a discussion on the recent ‘Laval case’ where Swedish trade unions took action against a Latvian construction company in Sweden, violating collective agreements. The case was brought to the European Court of Justice which delivered a controversial ruling: Swedish trade unions cannot oblige a foreign company posting workers in Sweden to observe collective bargaining agreements. The 80 meeting participants stated their support for the position of the PES and agreed that Latvians working abroad should be entitled to the same rights as local workers.

There were also other ideas put forward for the PES manifesto:

  • Tackling the global financial crisis
  • Free higher education
  • Making better use of European structural funds

Reforming the Common Agricultural Policy and ensuring a fairer distribution of support between old and new member states

The second day of the event featured a meeting at the Vidzeme University, in Valmeria. Around 50 social sciences students joined the meeting to discuss the future of Europe’s political parties.

Two fruitful days with many ideas for the PES manifesto. Thanks to Latvian party members for their dedication!

Tags: employment, social dialogue, workers

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