TRANSUNION Young Workers seminar II, 27-28 June 2011, Berlin
Young Workers are the future of the labour movement!
”Young workers can really move things”
(29.6.2011)
(The picture gallery on the bottom of this page)
The European Union young transport workers got together in Berlin on 27 and 28 June to give views and recommendations for the European Sectoral Social Dialogue (European Commission) about the current situation of the young workers in transport sector. There is an acute need to create more training and working places for young people. Also the working conditions, working hours (especially overtime) and health and safety at work have to get better. Young people also need more information about the trade unions and of their own rights and collective agreements.
From 27 countries and over 70 participants took part to the second Transunion Young Transport Workers seminar in Berlin on the end of June. In the meeting were present young transport workers from railways to aviation, seafaring and road transport.
The key aim of the meeting was to discuss and analyze the labour rights - and especially the labour rights that have a reference to young workers - in the transport sector and European countries. Also the demands of the transport work were discussed.
The second task was to focus on, what are the reasons, why the transport sector is not so attractive among young people and what should be done that the situation gets better. Also the challenges (e.g. risks at work) and the health and safety at work on the transport work got a lot of comments from the representatives at the meeting.
More training and working places!
It is clear that young transport workers need more training and workplaces. In many transport professions is impossible to get the working place, before you have a certain amount of working experience from the field. The education of young transport workers need to be also further developed.
The transport work is also a very demanding both physically and psychologically: in many professions the work is routinely, manually done. Vice versa in some transport jobs, you spend a lot of time in the same position, (e.g. a truck driver). Therefore the transport workers suffer from many illnesses related to e.g. back, hands, legs and so on. The health and safety at work are especially important for transport workers.
The working hours got a lot attention and comments from the participants at the seminar. People do much overtime in the transport sector. People are exhausted and stressed. The collegtive agreements and trade unions are not so well known among the young workers.
As a result of the seminar the participant’s views and recommendations for the transport sector will be collected together and when the project is in the end, given forward for further discussion
the European Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee.
Text & pictures: Saana Lamminsivu
Next meeting:
The ETF's Young Transport Workers' Conference will take place on 26-27 September 2011 in Riga
Take care that there are representatives from your own trade union in Riga Conference! It is important that all countries and transport sectors participate to the work! Young Workers are the future of the labour movement!
>> Read more: ITF Young Workers' blog
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