Over 600 union leaders from 50 countries gathered in Belfast at UNI Europa’s three-day conference last week to strengthen collective bargaining, build a stronger labour movement and organise across borders to meet the common challenges facing workers and unions across Europe.  

The 6th UNI Europa Conference took place from 25th-27th March and concluded with a strong, clear and urgent message to defend democracy in the face of tech oligarchies’ growing power and the far right’s attacks on unions and democratic institutions. 

Fórsa national secretary and Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) Vice President Katie Morgan took part in the conference. Speaking about the experience Katie said: “It’s great to come together with trade union colleagues from across Europe to share strategies on the common challenges we face in an increasingly interconnected world. Defending democracy and the rise of AI are just two examples of issues unions across the world are facing. The trade union movement has always been an internationalist movement, built on the bedrock of solidarity.” 

UNI Europa President Peter Hellberg highlighted unions’ critical role in the fight for democracy at the conference. He said: “When workers organise to give collective voice to rightful demands for better working conditions and better workplaces, it is not only an expression of freedom of association and freedom of speech at the workplace. It is also an expression of the trade union movement being a great school of democracy.” 

The panels on worker well-being tackled the future of union strategy in the digital and post-pandemic workplace. Speakers addressed AI, remote work, and mental health and called for a renewed focus on “cutting-edge collective bargaining” to keep pace with change. 

A considerable portion of the conference was dedicated to debating AI’s growing role in today’s world and focused on the challenges as well as opportunities it presents for unions. Frédéric Favraud (FEC-FO, France) said: “AI should help workers progress – not increase pressure on them,” reflecting a common concern about technology being used as a tool of control rather than empowerment.  

In Denmark the opportunities AI provides are being harnessed through an innovative initiative to train one million Danes in AI skills in a national digital partnership. Annette Mikelsen (Finansforbundet, Denmark) said “Let’s make AI a source of better jobs and not a threat to livelihoods,” she said.  

Reduced working hours and their benefits were also platformed in the conference with Belgian trade union ACV-PULS linking the push for shorter working hours to the long legacy of workers’ struggle. “We continue the historical struggle of free time for working people,” they said, announcing an 8-minute work stoppage on 8th May across Belgium to press for better work-life balance. 

Another central theme of the conference – public procurement reform – saw trade unionists demand that EU institutions link public contracts to collective agreements. Esther Lynch, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), delivered a rousing address calling out widespread union-busting. She said: “No euro of public money should go to companies that bust unions” and cited Tesla as an example of the “green transition” being used to justify anti-union behaviour. 

But through all of this, one consistent concern remained: the growing threats to democracies across several nations. 

Peter Hellberg, President of Unionen and UNI Europa, recalled the central role of unions in the defence of democracy: “Our democratic way to manage our unions is carried out through meetings, discussion and respect to make joint decisions. As a movement we must protect the democratic process and include new groups of people. Democracy is endangered everywhere in the world,” said Mr. Hellberg. 

UNI Global Union’s General Secretary Christy Hoffman also backed the call to action for unions: “In these dark and difficult times, the path ahead is tough – but the answer is clear. Workers are counting on us. Only unions have the power to fight back against oligarchs, demand ethical use of AI, and defend democracy – both at the bargaining table and in the halls of parliament. We must act with courage, because together, we are unbreakable,” she said.  

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