EU Competitiveness Compass: With workers, not to workers

In response to the European Commission’s publication of the Competitiveness Compass this week, CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger shares the following statement:

“While we as the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI) acknowledge the importance of enhancing competitiveness, we must be unequivocal: this must not come at the cost of workers’ rights, fair wages and social protection.

The EU’s strategy rightly acknowledges that Europe’s greatest asset is its people. The document highlights the need for a ‚Union of Skills‘ and recognises that ‚effective social policies built around the European Pillar of Social Rights are central to shaping a competitive Europe.‘ However, these words must be backed by action.

Too often, calls for deregulation and ‚flexibility‘ have been euphemisms for weakening workers’ protections, suppressing wages, and making jobs more precarious. CESI warns that an approach to competitiveness that prioritises corporate profit margins over workers’ well-being will not create sustainable economic growth but rather fuel inequality and social unrest.

The Compass must be compatible with the foreseen Quality Jobs Roadmap, which is supposed to deliver decent labour standards, fair contracts and improved working conditions across all sectors. It must not lead to a race to the bottom in labour standards.

The twin transitions—digital and green—offer an opportunity to redefine work in a way that benefits both businesses and workers. But we must ensure that these transitions are managed fairly. They must be done with the workers and not to them. Workers in traditional industries cannot be left behind in the rush to modernise. The EU must invest in reskilling and create pathways for workers to transition into emerging sectors without facing economic hardship – and encourage adequate social protection for those that, for various reasons beyond their control, cannot adjust sufficiently and be retrained adequately.

While the Communication correctly acknowledges a role of social partners in transition processes, it is unclear how trade unions will be meaningfully included in shaping the competitiveness agenda. As CESI, we demand a structured, inclusive and binding role for all trade unions in policy formulation at both national and EU levels. The social market economy that Europe prides itself on must be more than a rhetorical flourish. It must be the guiding principle of economic reforms.

CESI stands firm in demanding that competitiveness policies promote quality jobs, fair wages, and robust social protections. Workers are not the problem; they are a part of the solution. CESI urges policymakers to ensure that the pursuit of competitiveness does not come at the expense of the European social model. A truly competitive Europe is one that values its workers as much as its businesses.“