Labour and social lawyers speak out

Over 440 labour and social lawyers from Europe have issued a manifesto calling on the European Union to protect fundamental social rights against the pressures of the economic and financial crisis. The signatories argue that austerity measures and labour market deregulaton—often forced by the 'troika' (IMF, European Commission, and ECB)—are undermining collective bargaining, increasing poverty, and threatening the viability of the European project. They urge the EU to adhere to the Lisbon Treaty and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, asserting that high labour and social standards are essential pre-conditions for sustainable economic development.

• Since the 2008 economic crisis, European and national authorities have implemented measures to increase business flexibility through labour law amendments. Some of these structural reforms were forced upon member states by the 'troika', consisting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Commission, and the European Central Bank (ECB).
• The signatories claim that a systematic attack on collective bargaining is occurring, involving the demolition of basic principles and institutions. This includes the introduction of prohibitions on sectoral bargaining and allowing individual employment contracts to deviate downwards from collectively agreed minimum standards.
• The manifesto asserts that the troika's imposition of labour market deregulation and social protection system cuts leads to weakened trade unions, precarious employment, high unemployment, poverty, and social unrest. These austerity measures are described as endangering peace in Europe and fueling xenophobia, especially against minorities.
• The signatories argue that the European Commission and the troika are failing to respect the European Social Model and the Philadelphia declaration, leading to the 'complete deconstruction' of the social model. They maintain that fundamental social rights should not be subordinated to competition law, internal market freedoms, or austerity measures.

APA

Institute, E. T. U. (2013). Labour and social lawyers speak out. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/labour-and-social-lawyers-speak-out/

Chicago

Institute, European Trade Union. Labour and social lawyers speak out. Green European Journal, 2013. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/labour-and-social-lawyers-speak-out/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Institute |first1=European Trade Union |title=Labour and social lawyers speak out |publisher=Green European Journal |date=5 March 2013 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/labour-and-social-lawyers-speak-out/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{institute2013labour, author = {Institute, European Trade Union}, title = {{Labour and social lawyers speak out}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2013}, month = mar, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/labour-and-social-lawyers-speak-out/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }