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Organisation

The European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW) is the European Workers’ Industry Federation for the following sectors: building, woodworking, forestry and allied industries and trades. The EFBWW has 77 affiliated unions in 36 countries and represents a total of 1,5 million members. The EFBWW is a member organisation of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and has its headquarters in Brussels, the capital of Europe.

The Federation's main mission is to represent its affiliates in Europe and help them defend the rights and interests of the workers in the industries it covers. Since the virtual completion of the European Market, and especially since the conclusion of the Amsterdam Treaty, strong representation in Brussels has become all the more important. The European Union has now become a legislative entity in its own right, but in our view it still has some catching up to do in terms of developing its social dimension. The EFBWW also provides a framework for union cooperation and the coordination of action taken in the industries we represent. 

The EFBWW is in favour of European integration in the interest of Europe’s workers and citizens. We see European integration as a means to uphold fundamental rights for all workers and citizens and as a bulwark to protect Europe’s democratic institutions, such as the rule of law and freedom of speech. As a consequence, the EFBWW does not intend to work together with, or seek support from, right-wing populist parties.  

The EFBWW demands the inclusion of a Social Progress Protocol to the EU Treaty at the next Treaty change. In addition, the EFBWW proposes that the EU accedes to the European Social Charter of the Council of Europe, an international charter of fundamental rights, in which the right to strike and the right to bargain collectively is firmly laid down.

The EFBWW activities are based on decisions taken and an action programme adopted at the Congress, which is held every five years. The action programme outlines the Federation's main activities and tasks. In a nutshell, we deal with the labour market, migration, capacity building, industrial relations, health and safety issues, worker representation in multinational companies. Together with the ETUC and the other European Industry Federations we are striving to achieve a more social Europe. The EFBWW is closely cooperating with the Building and Woodworkers’ International (BWI).
 

 

Read here the EFBWW Constitution EN FR DE