industriAll Europe announced that they are demanding emergency measures similar to the support mechanisms implemented during the pandemic, retraining of workers and the transition of industry to affordable, low-carbon energy. Stating that the needs of 8 million workers working in industries with high energy consumption in Europe should not be ignored, officials emphasized that layoffs in the industrial sector have increased. Since June, 90,000 people have lost their jobs in the automotive sector alone. Recalling that thousands of industrial workers gathered in Brussels on February 5 to take action, it was emphasized that job losses were also experienced in green sectors such as wind turbine production and battery factories.
Isabelle Barthès, Deputy Secretary General of IndustriAll Europe, stated: “The impact of not listening to the concerns of people and workers is clearly visible today. The transition is seen as a threat. Decarbonization must go hand in hand with a quality jobs agenda. This is essential for political stability. Voluntary initiatives have limits and leave workers at the mercy of employers' vetoes, as the failure of the European gas negotiations has shown. Simplification will not solve the industry's problem. Moreover, workers' rights are not bureaucracy.”
Underlining the need to ensure fair competition in global trade, officials stated that industrial resilience is not possible without stronger measures against global overcapacity and unfair trade practices. IndustriAll Europe also demanded that the Clean Industry Agreement include steps to empower workers, stressing that the Just Transition Framework should be a priority, and that workers should be informed about the transition process in a timely manner, upskilling programs should be developed and social dialogue mechanisms should be strengthened.
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