The European Public Services Union (EPSU) held its 11th Congress at the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, gathering 500 trade unionists from 45 countries from 18th - 20th June. The event marked 45 years of the organisation’s existence and saw huge enthusiasm around the continuation of its mission to champion public services and the rights of public service workers across Europe.

The European Federation of Public Service Unions, established in 1978, represents eight million public service workers across 260+ trade union organisations. It is affiliated with the European Trade Union Confederation and recognized as the regional body of Public Services International.

Fórsa was entitled to two delegates: Richy Carrothers, representing Local and Regional Government, and Linda Kelly, representing Health and Social Services. Additionally, Michael Kerrigan attended as a member of the EPSU Youth Committee, and Eoin Ronayne participated in his capacity as a member of the outgoing EPSU Executive.

Among the notable actions taken at the Congress, Eoin Ronayne moved a successful resolution on solidarity with Palestine. Richy Carrothers presented an emergency motion on the rise of the far-right following the European elections, which was also adopted.

Francoise Geng, representing the French union CGT’s Health and Social Action Federation, emerged as the new President of EPSU. Meanwhile, Jan Willem Goudriaan secured his third consecutive term as EPSU's General Secretary, a position he has held since 2014. Additionally, Richy Carrothers was elected to represent Ireland on the EPSU Executive Committee for the 2024-2029 term, marking a pivotal moment in the organization's leadership landscape.

Fórsa, alongside the Dutch union FNV and the French union CFDT, hosted a fringe meeting on remunicipalisation. This event featured Professor Andrew Cumbers from the University of Glasgow/University of Bonn as the keynote speaker and focused on launching the EPSU PSI toolkit for campaigning for re-municipalisation. 

Re-municipalisation is the process of bringing privatised services back into public control.  Fórsa national secretary, Richy Carrothers was a member of the Steering Committee that developed the toolkit. 

Richy said: “This movement toward reclaiming public services—water, health, education, and more—from profit-driven models underscores a broader societal shift. Fuelled by crises like Covid-19 and climate change, it champions democratic, inclusive definitions of 'public,' promoting socially just and sustainable solutions.”

“We’ve been walled in by the dictates of neo-liberalism, it has not worked - so this is about forging a new common sense and prioritising community involvement over market interests.”

The conference also discussed themes such as securing peace, democracy, equality, rights, and freedoms, alongside reclaiming, and strengthening public services, and advocating for a green, digital, and socially just transition. Delegates consistently pushed the importance of quality jobs in delivering high-quality services and focused on strengthening public service trade unions.

Linda Kelly, national secretary and Fórsa delegate at the Congress said it was a pivotal event, reinforcing the union's commitment to public services and the rights of workers across Europe.

“The trade union movement has always been internationalist and Fórsa’s participation in the EPSU Congress is an expression of that. There is so much we can learn from our colleagues in unions across Europe. I would like to pay tribute to Eoin Ronayne’s long service on the EPSU Executive Committee, a role to which he dedicated his time and energy, and which has ensured the interest of Irish public sector workers are supported by our European colleagues.” 

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