On the occasion of Europe, held on May 9, UGT urges the European Union to adopt a more social approach that reinforces labor rights, advances in the equitable redistribution of wealth, promotes the reduction of working time and guarantees solid social protection. Faced with policies increasingly focused on competitiveness, rearmament and financial interests, the union warns of the risk of social fracture that feeds citizen discontent and opens the door to the rise of extremist positions. Europe needs to recover the pulse of its citizenship, protecting their well -being and consolidating a fair, inclusive and sustainable model.
A European social shield to respond to the life crisis
The loss of purchasing power and the increase in basic goods such as energy, housing and food continue to hit European citizenship. In this sense, we demand a structural European social shield that includes the increase in the minimum wage, the regulation of prices in key sectors, the expansion of social protection systems to new forms of employment, and the recognition of the right to an affordable housing as part of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Digital and ecological transition with guaranteed labor rights
Although UGT values advances as the European regulation on AI, the current guarantees consider insufficient to protect working people in the digitalization of employment. The union requires free professional training within the working day, algorithmic transparency, and union supervision on the use of technologies, while insisting on conditioning the funds of the clean industrial pact to the generation of decent employment and respect for collective agreements during the green transition.
Not rearming at the expense of the welfare state
UGT rejects that the reinforcement of the European defense expenditure is financed by diverting resources from cohesion funds or social budget, since this would put regional development, equality between territories and the maintenance of essential public services at risk. Therefore, the union defends a common security policy that is financed with specific and additional resources, without compromising social rights or the objective of reducing structural inequalities.
A time of time, salary and disconnection
The recent support of the European Economic and Social Committee to the UGT opinion on the reduction of the working day without salary loss reinforces our demand for a fairer reorganization of the working time. Therefore, the union will continue to promote this measure together with the effective right to digital disconnection, the improvement of purchasing power and an equitable distribution of working time as axes of a more human and sustainable Europe.
Recover the course: decent work, justice and participation
On this European day, UGT appeals to place decent work, social justice, sustainability and participatory democracy in the heart of the European project. Only with policies that guarantee real rights and cohesion can be recovered the legitimacy of the Union and move towards a stronger, fair and more citizen support.
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