Ahead of the plenary vote in the European Parliament on the INL Report calling for a Just Transition Directive in the World of Work, IndustriAll Europe together with ETUC, and Eurofer, our social partner in the Steel Sector are publishing a video message directed to MEPs to ask them to support binding legislation on Just Transition. In our message we make it clear: A Just Transition Directive will deliver both, increased rights for workers to participate democratically in companies job-to-job transition planning and securing a highly skilled and qualified workforce for the future of industry in Europe.

In the video, Axel Eggert, Director General of Eurofer argues: 

The workers are the lifeblood for the industry in Europe and the competitiveness of Europe, and for this reason we need of course a Just Transition to support a strong workforce with a Just Transition in order to help us make it against our competitors globally.

Judith Kirton-Darling, General Secretary of industriAll Europe says:

We urgently need European politicians to step up to realise the scale of the challenge that we’re facing, the lack of tools that we have to manage it across Europe, and the need to ensure that we really deliver that sense of security for European workers, because deindustrialisation and economic insecurity is politically, socially and economically corrosive.

Europe faces accelerating industrial transformation. A stable, predictable framework is essential to safeguard competitiveness, strategic industrial capacity and quality employment. 

With this video, we’d like to counter the calls of burden reduction that some businesses are making very strongly! We do not believe that we can compete with regions that fundamentally undermine European values and quality standards. While the transition is happening, the question is whether Europe will transition or close down industry. Our message to European policymakers: be not naive! There are no easy solutions as some might be convinced of. We want and need to compete by being bold and uplifting European quality standards! Our sovereignty is our workforce! Our workforce needs a Just Transition!

watch the full video here