EFFAT - European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions
EFFAT - European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions
06/18/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/18/2026 06:38
While Brussels Chooses Deregulation, Madrid Chooses Workers: EFFAT rallies along 10,000 for Quality Jobs
While Brussels Chooses Deregulation, Madrid Chooses Workers: EFFAT rallies along 10,000 for Quality Jobs
Jun 18, 2026 | Featured, In the spotlight, News & Media, Press release
While EU leaders meet in Brussels on 18-19 June to discuss competitiveness and deregulation, more than 10,000 workers from across Europe gathered in Madrid tomorrow for a different vision: investment, social justice, and quality jobs for all.
The "Rally for Quality Jobs, Social Justice and Peace, and Against Deregulation and Austerity" was organised by the ETUC and Spanish union confederations CCOO and UGT at the Vistalegre Arena. Food, farm, hospitality and domestic workers represented by EFFAT were at the frontline in Madrid, sending a clear message:
NO to a Europe built on austerity and deregulation. YES to quality jobs, social justice, and peace.
The trade union movement is urging European leaders to abandon failed austerity policies in favour of the pro-investment approach that has put Spain on course to grow three times faster than the rest of the Eurozone.
Key Demands:
EFFAT joined the ETUC in demanding:
- an end to exploitation of seasonal, migrant, and precarious workers;
- a halt to the endemic deregulation agenda;
- the enforcement of social conditionality in the Common Agricultural Policy;
- increased investment in public services and rural communities; and a foreign policy rooted in peace and international law.
EFFAT General Secretary Enrico Somaglia addressed the arena saying:
"Today we are sending an extraordinary message: hope, real proposals, and the will for change. We want a Europe that finally puts an end to intolerable forms of exploitation, like violations and abuses in subcontracting and labour intermediation, that remain one of the biggest threats to fair competition across our economy. We want a Europe that doesn't jeopardise hard-won victories. We want a Europe based on equal treatment"
"Today we are sending an extraordinary message: hope, real proposals, and the will for change. We want a Europe that finally puts an end to intolerable forms of exploitation, like violations and abuses in subcontracting and labour intermediation, that remain one of the biggest threats to fair competition across our economy. We want a Europe that doesn't jeopardise hard-won victories. We want a Europe based on equal treatment"
Ends
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EFFAT - European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions published this content on June 18, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on June 18, 2026 at 12:38 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]