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Europe

PSI is represented in Europe by the European Federation of Public Service Unions, based in Brussels. For more on our activities in this region, please see the EPSU website

You can also view a list of European affiliates or contact European regional offices

ILO Tripartite Technical meeting adopts the General Principles and Operational Guidelines on Recruitment

09 September 2016

The Tripartite Technical Meeting of Experts to Develop Guidance on Fair Recruitment held at the ILO in Geneva on 5-7 September adopted the General Principles and Operational Guidelines on Recruitment that will be submitted for approval by the ILO Governing Body in November.

No Gender Justice without Tax Justice

07 September 2016

PSI organised a two-day workshop with the participation of leading trade union and NGO gender and tax experts at the UNISON offices, in London, 30 June-1 July 2016. The activity aimed at strengthening the international debate about tax and highlighting the gender perspective.

ILO Tripartite Technical Meeting on Recruitment

06 September 2016
ILO TTM on refugees

The Tripartite Meeting of Experts to Develop Guidance on Fair Recruitment is being held at the ILO in Geneva on 5-7 September. The objective is to adopt ILO guidelines on fair recruitment, encompassing both cross-border and national recruitment. PSI Migration Programme Coordinator, Genevieve Gencianos, delivered a speech on 5 September at the opening session of the meeting.

PSI allies release new brief on TiSA threats

01 September 2016
Photo: Annette Dubois

On the very same day the French government asked the EU to withdraw from the TTIP negotiations, two PSI partners in the struggle against TiSA, Attac Norway and Global Justice Now, launched the campaign briefing “A blueprint for global privatisation – Why we need to stop the Trade in Services Agreement".

EU Apple Tax Ruling shows austerity is a political decision, says Pavanelli

31 August 2016
Protesting Against Apple's Tax Policy - Dublin Street Art (William Murphy/Flickr)

The EU’s tax ruling on Apple announced on 30 August shows that finally the European Commission (EC) is acknowledging that austerity is a political, not economic, choice. That's the main message behind the striking decision, according to PSI General Secretary who congratulated the EC for showing the political will to chase large multinationals like Amazon and McDonald's (also currently under investigation).

A story of survival: From teenage refugee to union leader

31 August 2016

On 19 September 2016, the United Nations General Assembly will hold a “High Level Summit on Large Flows of Migrants and Refugees” at the UN in New York. PSI will participate in the Summit with a delegation headed by PSI’s General Secretary, Rosa Pavanelli, and PSI affiliates that are on the frontline of migration and refugee issues.

PSI welcomes French call to halt TTIP negotiations and asks ‘what about CETA’?

30 August 2016
Rosa Pavanelli

PSI General Secretary, Rosa Pavanelli, welcomed the decision of the French government to ask the EU to withdraw from the TTIP negotiations. The French position follows a recent statement by the German Vice-Chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, affirming that “TTIP has failed – but no one is admitting it”.

US Justice Department decision to close privatized prisons marks turning tide in privatization debate

19 August 2016

In an historic move, and on the back of years of work by public sector unions and civil society allies, the United States Department of Justice announced on 18 August their intention to close all private prisons under contract to the DOJ.

No to the Exploitation of Youth Through Precarious Work!

11 August 2016

On 12 August, International Youth Day, PSI's General Secretary Rosa Pavanelli inquires: "How can we eradicate inequality and achieve sustainable consumption and production in a world where future generations have nothing ahead but insecurity?"

Global trade union movement condemns unpaid internships, calls on UN to change policy

09 August 2016

In the lead up to International Youth Day, PSI joins NGOs and unions from around the world in calling for an end to unpaid internships. A growing resistance to the use of unpaid interns has led to the formation of a number of interns’ rights organisations such as the Fair Internship Initiative in Geneva and New York as well as the “We Pay Our Interns" coalition, a Geneva-based association of NGOs which commit to a charter on interns’ rights and lobby other employers to do the same.

UNISON urges Higher Education members to strike for better pay

08 August 2016
University lecture hall

Members of UNISON, UK, working in Higher Education are being urged to vote for industrial action over pay. In September, the union will ballot members for action after staff overwhelmingly rejected bosses’ 1.1% pay offer.

Statement of Rosa Pavanelli to Habitat III at Prepcom3 in Surabaya, Indonesia

07 August 2016

PSI's General Secretary, who is Vice-Chair of the Trade Unions and Workers Constituent Group, addresses member states negotiating the New Urban Agenda at the 3rd plenary of the 3rd session of the Preparatory Committee.

PSI puts tax justice for local and urban communities into the public debate at Habitat III PrepCom3

06 August 2016
PSI and ICRICT side event on tax justice for local communities

Over 80 people participated in a side event organized by PSI in collaboration with the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT) and with the Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU) of the University of Greenwich, UK, on the theme “Financing and investing in urban public services: the key to inclusive cities”.  The event was held on 26 July 2016 in Surabaya, Indonesia, within the framework of the Third Preparatory Committee (PrepCom3) of Habitat III (25-27 July 2016), where a delegation of PSI Municipal affiliates from the Asia-Pacific region headed by General Secretary Rosa Pavanelli took an active part.

PSI and EI take part in Freedom at Work Conference on LGBT workers' rights in Amsterdam

05 August 2016
Rosa Pavanelli

Rosa Pavanelli, PSI General Secretary, and Fred Van Leeuwen, General Secretary of Education International (EI), pledged the support of their organisations to the LGBT community.

In Turkey, Erdoğan lays off over 40 SES members

04 August 2016

PSI's affiliate SES (the trade union of Public Employees in Health and Social Services) organized a press meeting to protest the unlawful temporary layoffs of public employees, declaration of state of emergency and the decrees suspending democracy and the parliamentary system. They have sent PSI the following report of the situation.