Seminars

Our member organisations often come together to speak about important topics!

2025_02_24-25 - Study visit KSSH-photo collage-(1024px-72dpi).jpg

Study visit to KSSH
Tirana (Albania), 24-25.02.2025

On 24.02.2025 in the afternoon and on 25.02.2025 EUROFEDOP paid a study visit to KSSH (Federation of Transport and Telecommunications) in Tirana (Albania).
The reason for this study visit was the application of KSSH for membership of EUROFEDOP, during the Congress of the Transport and Telecommunication Federation that was held in 26th October 2024.

The Executive Committee discussed this application during its session of 17.12.2024 in Vienna (Austria) and asked Bert van Caelenberg, Secretary General EUROFEDOP, to submit a motivated file.
With this purpose, Bert Van Caelenberg and Boro Veligdenov (Board member of EUROFEDOP (SPTOM, North Macedonia)) paid a study visit to KSSH on 24-25.02.2025.
Monday, 24.02.2025
Introductory meetings took place in the offices of the KSSH. Secretary General Tonin Gjinaj introduced his organisation and the delegation of the 9 sectors of the Transport Federation.

For EUROFEDOP, the discussions focused on the Post and Telecom sectors and their evolution over the last 20 years.
Bert Van Caelenberg also outlined the future for the sector based on the decisions of PostEurop (employer), annual meeting 2024 in Belgrade (Serbia).
In 2025, Albania will be the host country for all European Post companies. He indicated that this is a unique moment, also for the Albanian Post and its employees, the trade unions.
On 24.02.205, the discussions were continued in the evening, during which the current and future situation of the transport sector was also discussed. The use of drones and robots for parcel deliveries will disrupt the currently flourishing market. If we want to continue working together, the colleagues in Albania will have to focus on three points when taking action:

1) The basis of the union is the members. A sufficient number of members is a must for participation.
2) The management must become a real discussion partner. The social dialogue must be structured.
3) The political parties must be informed with the right and convincing elements. For example: it is not advisable to put everything on new cars for deliveries if in a few years the parcels will be delivered by drones.
It was agreed to conclude this quick visit on 25.02.2025 with a meeting with the CEO and the Post management, and with the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, responsible for Post.
Tuesday, 25.02.2025
At 09:30 the delegation was received at the offices of the Albanian Post.

A warm welcome for the national and European guests by the CEO, Ardit Demiri, together with his director of cabinet, Dritan Caka.
Tonin Gjinaj, Secretary General KSSH, spoke for the national trade union. He outlined the low wages and the difficult working conditions in the Post sector.
Bert Van Caelenberg was grateful for the meeting and pointed out that rapprochement with Europe will also involve the discussion on "The acquis communautaire".
This also includes the chapter on social dialogue. The question is whether, in addition to the contracts, a structured social dialogue can also arise?

Ardit Demiri referred to the collective labour agreement that last year gave a wage adjustment of +- 15% (this was also an adjustment to the national legislation in connection with the minimum wage). The prospects are there to implement a wage adjustment of +- 5% this year, and this with retroactive effect to 01.01.2025.
Finally, Bert Van Caelenberg referred to the important meeting of PostEurop from 08-09.10.2025 in Tirana (Albania). The results of such meetings are important for the Post company, but also for the employees.
Bert Van Caelenberg thanked for the meeting and will represent the Post unions of EUROFEDOP on the occasion of the PostEurop business forum and inform them about this.

At 10:30 the delegation was received at the Office of Enkelejda Muçaj, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Energy. They are responsible for the Transport and Postal sector.

Antoneta Aliko and Tonin Gjinaj, respectivelyTresorer and Secretary General of KSSH, who recently had a conversation with the responsible minister, were warmly welcomed by Enkelejda Muçaj. She pointed out that the government took initiatives when they heard about the wages and working conditions. They also pointed out to the management of the Post their important task. The Post is a liberalized company.
When Bert Van Caelenberg asked whether they were committed to organizing the Post company themselves. Enkelejda Muçaj was very clear in her response: “The Post provides a service to the citizen, and they are very concerned about the 2.,500 employees”.
Bert Van Caelenberg asked for unceasing pressure to obtain a good, regular social dialogue.

The Post sector is and remains important to the Ministry, and it insists on maintaining the best relationship with the union.

A special thanks to the KSSH team who were able to realize this successful program in a short time. Also a word of thanks for the success of the study visit to Boro Veligdenov and his vice-chairman, as well as to the interpreter for the solid Albanian-English translations.
Discussion of this study visit will take place at the next Daily Management Board of 20.03.2025.

26.02.2025 - Report by Bert Van Caelenberg, Secretary General EUROFEDOP

Bildschirmfoto 2025-06-07 um 23.10.20.png

Fair and collaborative usage of AI for trade unions and social dialogue

08-10.05.2025 Bucharest (Romania)

EUROFEDOP members from across Europe gathered in Bucharest (Romania) from 8 to 10 May to discuss the fair and collaborative use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in trade union work and social dialogue. The seminar explored how AI is already transforming the world of work, and what this means for unions in terms of rights, risks and opportunities.

The opening speeches were held by EUROFEDOP President Dr. Norbert Schnedl and Vice- President Prof. Viorel Rotila. Both underlined the importance of not allowing AI to replace the core of union work – real human interaction and collective voice – but instead to understand and shape AI for the benefit of workers. Following the opening, Prof. Rotila gave the first presentation, emphasising that AI should not be feared but critically understood and strategically used by unions to increase influence, improve communication and support workers’ rights. He encouraged unions to build their own expertise and digital infrastructure to ensure autonomy and resilience.

Dr. Christina Colclough (Founder: The Why Not Lab, Denmark) then warned against the premature use of AI without strong internal capacity. Her call: Unions must first establish governance, legal safeguards, and clear values before adopting AI tools. In her view, without these foundations, AI can pose serious risks to workers’ rights and union credibility. Prof. George Azzopardi, Associate Professor in Computer Science (University of Groningen NL), introduced concrete AI tools that can support union work – from predictive modelling to sentiment analysis. He presented real-world examples and focused on both the benefits and the dangers, urging unions to remain critical and ethical when adopting AI. On the second day, Laurentiu Lungu, Head of the IT Department at FSSR Romania, shared practical use cases from the Romanian public sector. He demonstrated how AI-enhanced tools can improve services for union members, provided the tools are well-designed and developed with transparency.

He stressed the importance of shared databases and European collaboration. Professor Dr. Phoebe Moore (University of Essex) gave a thought-provoking keynote on the risks of AI-powered monitoring and profiling in workplaces. She criticised the vague term “responsible AI” and urged unions to be involved at every step – from procurement to policy – to protect workers’ privacy and agency.

In the afternoon, participants started the workshop phase in language-based groups (BCMS, Romanian, German, English). The aim was to reflect on the presentations and identify key questions and areas for further exploration.

On the third and final day, each group presented their reflections and proposals. These included calls for AI transparency, stronger regulation, better education within unions, and human decisionmaking as a non-negotiable principle. A joint conclusion was formed and suggestions for next steps were agreed.

Special project for workers’ organisations in the EU candidate countries – dispute resolution

21-22.10.2024 Podgorica (Montenegro)

EUROFEDOP members from the Western Balkans region and beyond gathered at the meeting centre of USSCG, the Union of Free Trade Unions of Montenegro.

Discussions during this special project focused on EU accession and dispute resolution. The programme was very relevant to representatives in the room; lively discussions took place and practical actionable points were taken back to representatives’ home countries. Srdja Keković, Secretary General of USSCG warmly welcomed all participants to Montenegro.

He showcased and explained how he founded a Union in Montenegro from scratch, and what that entailed. EUROFEDOP Vice-President Viorel Rotila from Romania subsequently underlined the importance of strong trade unions as this means a strong Social Dialogue which in turn means a strong democracy. Representing the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Ada Huibregtse outlined the activities of the ILO Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP 3). Ms Huibregtse also discussed different attitudes of trade unions across the region when it comes to capacity building, skills, and funding. Frederic De Wispelaere, research expert at the Research institute for work and society, University of Leuven (HIVA-KU Leuven, Belgium) spoke about labour mobility upon EU accession. He activated participants with questions on 1) how to reduce outflow of skilled workers after EU accession and 2) what type of labour mobility the union representatives think their workers will use?

This discussion was followed by a presentation from Jovana Spaic Erdeljan, National Project Coordinator for the ILO based in Belgrade, Serbia. She presented the state of social dialogue in Serbia and activities and projects currently running to further strengthen this. The insights from an ILO perspective also sparked interesting discussions on practicalities on the ground, for instance around proving representativeness and practising the law on the right to strike. All the presentations provided a lot of food for thought and discussion. The “Ask the expert” poster session that followed took participants in a slightly different direction.

Literally, participants had to get on their feet and move around. Three speakers each with their poster were placed in different corners of the meeting room and participants huddled around them for an interactive dialogue. Dajana Cvjetkovic, program manager of SMART Balkans kicked off and inspired discussions on trade unions and civil society. She advocated seeking constructive partnerships to change and improve conditions regarding important societal themes. You can be the change. Lazar Jovevski, Professor, Faculty of Law, Labour Law and Social law department University "Ss.

Cyril and Methodius" in Skopje (North Macedonia), focused on dispute resolution, stating that labour disputes are a normal part of the work. In a lively presentation he encouraged participants to act, and to change the game by law if you can’t change the people. Later on in the programme he zoomed in even further on the options of amicable settlement of labour disputes.

Finally, guest speaker Jovana Spaic Erdeljan addressed representatives during the Poster session, focusing on the reform of Social and Economic Councils throughout the EU enlargement process. She encouraged participants to monitor, track and implement where applicable solutions from the EU countries. Towards the end of the seminar participants had an opportunity to listen to concrete experiences and stories from colleagues in preparing EU accession.

This took place in a special panel chaired by Tamara Goliš, President, Trade Union of Public Servants and State Employees (SDSNCG, Montenegro). Participants heard insightful examples from Srdja Keković (Montenegro), Andreja Janković (Serbia), Boro Veligdenov (North Macedonia) and Alžbeta Broszová (Slovakia). Closing with a short creative assignment leading to inspiring and colourful ‘statues’ on the theme of EU accession, moderator Femke Beumer thanked the organisation, the interpreters and all representatives for an active and fruitful seminar in Podgorica. EUROFEDOP Secretary General Bert Van Caelenberg addressed members and closed the seminar.

5th ERGP Stakeholder Forum,

26.09.2024, Brussels (Belgium)

Representatives from key stakeholders of the European postal
sector came together in Brussels to discuss the future development of the sector and the need for a new postal regulatory framework.

Dan Sjoblom, ERGP Chair 2024-2025, presented the ideas for next year's work programme and stated: “The ERGP will provide the Commission and stakeholders with a wellelaborated report on the outline of the future regulatory framework in 2025. It is important that we take a forward-looking perspective in view of the developments in technology and fundamental changes in user demand.”

In her key note speech, Merete Clausen, Director at DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, put the current discussion in the longer and broader perspective of postal reform, and stated: “We have to look for objectives and policy reforms that contribute to competitiveness, sustainability, and cohesion.”

The draft results of the prospective study on the future of the postal sector was presented by Daniel Vencovsky (RPA) followed by a panel debate on the future perspectives. The key issues for future regulation was then lively discussed by a broad panel of stakeholders (BIPT - IBPT, TRADE UNION, Amazon, PostNord i Danmark, Deutsche Post und DHL, Geopost, UPS).

The final session highlighted the very current topic of security, safety and resilience of postal services. Igor Smelyansky, CEO of Ukrposhta, shared the Ukrainian experience on continuously keeping the postal service in full operation under the toughest of circumstances in video presentation. The important issues was then further developed in a panel discussion (European Commission DG Taxud, PostEurop, eBay).

Petros Galides, ERGP Vice-Chair (OCECPR) and Guillaume Roty, Deputy Head of Unit of the Investment and Public Services unit in the Directorate General for the Internal Market, concluded the Forum.

Petros Galides said: "The role played by postal services will continue to change. There may be different opinions on how the future regulation should look like; we all agree that this sector is vital and needs a future proof regulatory framework".

Guillaume Roty stated: “The Stakeholder Forum allows to exchange views in a transparent and direct manner across all the postal community. This is essential to build a shared diagnosis about the challenges of the sector and the priorities for the
work of the ERGP."

For EUROFEDOP, Secretary General Bert Van Caelenberg attended the meeting.