PES President Sergei Stanishev said: “The Party of European Socialists strongly supports the ITUC’s day of action. The right to strike is a fundamental workers’ right that must be effective globally as it gives clout to collective bargaining. In Europe, the right to strike is enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The PES has always stood up for the protection of workers’ and trade unions’ rights. In order to defend the right to strike in Europe and world-wide, the PES insists that social and workers’ rights must not be subordinate to economic freedoms in European law, and that all international trade agreements concluded by the EU must be bound to the protection of workers’ rights”.
