The start of the new labour season in European countries has been marked by tensions in industry and the public sector
The new European social season is shaping up to be one of collective struggle. Strikes and mobilisations are multiplying in French and German industry, with the defence of jobs and social rights a priority. At Saint-Gobain, Novasco and in the hospital sector, employees are denouncing the growing job insecurity and demanding guarantees for the future of companies receiving public subsidies. The cuts in social benefits and wage restraint for 2026 are seen as direct attacks on the social model. The demand for democratic control over the use of public funds is essential in the face of threats to more than 760 jobs in the metallurgy industry (source: CGT). Solidarity movements, fuelled by trade union vigilance, are forcing governments and management to reassess their roadmap and put social justice at the heart of negotiations.
Social justice and ecological transition in the trade union debate
At European level, the trade union left is emphasising the need to make all aid conditional on social and environmental criteria in order to oppose the logic of austerity and job cuts. These mobilisations reflect a desire for a protective Europe that leaves no one behind and invests in the real economy, the ecological transition and public services. The trade union and citizens’ initiatives, welcomed by the political left, show that a social alternative is not only possible but urgently needed to redirect all European policies towards the general interest, equality and dignity of workers and the precarious.
