Industriall Europe launches its new tool to support trade unions in delivering a right to training for workers across Europe!
IndustriAll Europe developed a new trade union guide with the aim of better equipping trade union officers and representatives both at the sectoral and workplace levels to make training a reality for quality jobs in European industries. The guide was developed by Jeff Bridgeford and is part of the EU-funded project on “Bargaining a fair and inclusive green and digital transition for a European industry with equal opportunities for all”.
We are at a turning point in the European industries. There is a major urgency to reskill, upskill and train workers to deliver the twin green and digital transition that is rapidly transforming jobs and occupations. The challenges ahead are massive: According to the European Battery Alliance, 800,000 re/upskilled workers are needed to reach the EU’s battery ambitions, while BCG research for the European Electromobility Platform estimates that 2.4 million automotive workers will need to be retrained by 2030. If we consider all the manufacturing, mining and energy sectors in Europe, then we are speaking of about 25 million workers that will need access to training, reskilling and upskilling.
With this guide, industriAll Europe continues the work in supporting its trade union members to push for training rights for workers across industrial sectors in Europe. Despite the urgency and the European Commission’s efforts on skills, not the least with last year’s ‘European Year of Skills’ and the ambitious training targets of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan (60% of all adults to participate in training every year), the reality on the ground in European companies is very different. We continue to observe massive inequalities in participation and access to training for workers between different European countries, regions, but also within the same country between multinational companies and SMEs. Collective bargaining is a key instrument to bride these inequalities and our new guide provides concrete tools and recommendations on how to negotiate training rights at the sectoral and company levels.
What is in it?
This Resource Guide presents a practical trade union approach to the development of workers’ training at the sectoral level (Part 1) and at the workplace level (Part 2).
How do you use it?
This Resource Guide presents 10 different ways in which trade unions can participate in and/or advocate for the development of training.
Each section provides a brief introduction to the subject and a check- list of issues designed to support trade union reflection and action.
It can be used as a stand-alone resource or as an aid for awareness-raising and capacity-building within trade unions in Europe.
Isabelle Barthes, industriAll Europe Deputy General Secretary said: “Despite the overall recognition of the urgency for training, reskilling and upskilling, we continue to see insufficient access and participation in training for workers across Europe. In the EU, 47% of adults are reported to participate in education and training, which is well below the Commission’s 60% target, and which often doesn’t necessarily represent training for competence development. We continue to hear from our members that the training offered in companies is predominantly the compulsory health and safety training foreseen by the law. The twin transition requires urgent and massive training efforts that can only be reached with a right to training for workers as we have been calling for over the past years. With this new guide we continue to support our members in pushing for a right to training during working time and cost-free for workers in their collective bargaining rounds and in their advocacy efforts towards their governments.”
Download the guide part 1 here
Download the guide part 2 here