News February 23, 2026 Urgent Call to EU Leaders: Safeguard Funding for Fisheries and Aquaculture in the Next MFF A CFP equipped with appropriate financial resources is not a cost, but a strategic investment in the resilience and competitiveness of Europe’s food system and fisheries sector.
News February 23, 2026 We are launching #SaveRailFreight. This is why it matters The European Transport Workers’ Federation is launching a new campaign to defend European rail freight and the tens of thousands of workers whose jobs depend on it. The campaign’s central argument is straightforward: rail freight is a public service, and it needs to be publicly owned and controlled.
News February 23, 2026 20 years of the maritime labour convention MLC 2006 Twenty years after the adoption of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, this landmark “fourth pillar” of international maritime regulations (along with SOLAS, MARPOL and STCW) has undeniably strengthened protection for some of the world’s most vulnerable and marginalised workers: seafarers.
News February 18, 2026 CALL FOR TENDER: Fisheries Project Pillars of the Sea 4 The European Transport Workers’ Federation together with Europêche has been awarded a grant by the European Commission for the project “Pillars of the Sea 4” (PILLARS4) – 101262519. This project is part of the European Social Dialogue for the Sea Fisheries sector. Its main objective is to improve social sustainability in the industry through three main pillars.
News February 17, 2026 Solidarity with Turkish ATM workers: BTS announces strike on 18 February 2026 The ETF stands in full solidarity with our colleagues from the United Transport Workers’ Union (BTS), representing workers across the transport sector in Türkiye, including civil aviation and air traffic management staff. Following months of unresolved concerns and a continued lack of meaningful dialogue, BTS has announced industrial action for Wednesday, 18 February 2026
News February 12, 2026 EFBWW EFFAT ETF’s Voices heard Press release: European Parliament calls for European Legislation to tackle Exploitative Subcontracting and Labour Intermediation – Today, the European Parliament adopted the EMPL Committee’s own-initiative report Addressing subcontracting chains and the role of intermediaries in order to protect workers’ rights, sending a clear political signal to the European Commission on the imperative need to propose an ambitious EU Directive on Subcontracting and Labour Intermediaries as part of the Quality Jobs Act.
News February 12, 2026 Spanish railway unions win major safety agreement on first day of strike Spain’s railway unions CCOO and UGT have secured a historic agreement with the government after just one day of strike action, preventing what would have been a three-day nationwide rail shutdown. The strike started on February 9, but by the end of that same day, the unions had reached an agreement with the Ministry of Transport. This rapid success shows what can be achieved when unions stand together with clear demands and strong worker support.
News February 11, 2026 ETF addresses Romanian authorities over Wizz Air’s use of psychological tests ETF has recently engaged with the Romanian Government and the Romanian Parliament following concerns raised by its national aviation affiliate, Flight Personnel Union Romania (FPU Romania), regarding the use of employer-controlled psychological assessments on cabin crew members.
News Interview: Gerhard Tauchner elected new Chair of ETF Railways section The ETF Railways Section just elected its new Chair, Gerhard Tauchner, to replace Giorgio Tuti, who has been elected as ETF President. In a powerful moment, trade union members thanked the previous Chair for his important work and elected new leadership to defend the future of railway workers at the European level. We decided to interview the new Chair to understand his priorities for the following years.
Statement ETF calls for strong worker protections as Commission launches new Military Mobility initiative A first read of the Commission’s Communication shows that it fails to mention workers even once. It also ignores the persistent problem of labour shortages and how to address them, as well as the well-known deterioration in working conditions in the sector. Disregarding such fundamental issues is a serious threat to the success of this proposal for military mobility. If we can’t attract workers in times of peace, how can we expect to do so in times of war?
News ETF Survey on Violence and Harassment Against Women Transport Workers To better understand the violent realities women transport workers face and to push for real change, the ETF Women’s Committee has launched a new survey: “Violence and harassment against women transport workers.” The aim is to collect testimonies directly from women working in all areas of the transport sector. Fill it in! It’s quick and available in 9 languages!
News Giorgio Tuti Elected New ETF President Belgian trade union leader Frank Moreels stepped down from his function of ETF President, in view of his upcoming role as President of the ITF. A Swiss national, Giorgio Tuti has been a high-profile unionist in the trade union movement since 1988. He served as President of the Swiss Transport Workers’ Union (SEV) for 14 years, from 2009 to 2023 and has been Vice-Chair of the Swiss Trade Union Confederation since 2009. Tuti has been chairing the ETF Railways Section since 2017.