The EPOC programme aims to defend, extend and (re)build collective bargaining by providing support to affiliated unions in building sustainable structures. The two-day invitation-only meeting, held on 6-7 May, focused on advancing union renewal, sharing campaign successes and planning future strategies to empower workers across Europe.
The session opened with in-depth discussions on trade unions running political campaigns. One example was the Respect at Work campaign run by four Irish unions that are members of UNI Europa: CWU, FSU, SIPTU and Mandate. The campaign, which received UNI Europa’s first-ever Forward Through Collective Bargaining Award, has mobilised workers and union activists in their communities for collective bargaining rights. Ireland is the only Western European country that does not have any legislation on collective bargaining or protecting worker representatives.
Fionnuala Ní Bhrógáin, CWU’s Head of Organising & Campaigning, presented the campaign’s activities since its launch, with a particular focus on a candidate pledge campaign ahead of the Irish general elections in November 2024. Gareth Murphy, FSU’s Head of Industrial Relations and Campaigns, and Darragh O’Connor, SIPTU’s Head of Strategic Organising and Campaigns, complemented with reflections on where the campaign is heading post-election. Participants subsequently broadened the discussion on the challenges and opportunities of engaging workers in political campaigns beyond the typical bread-and-butter workplace issues.
In the next session, participants exchanged updates on recent victories in the field, showcasing how organising efforts have strengthened membership density and bargaining power. Mika Häkkinen, Head of Organising at the Finnish Industrial Workers’ Union, spoke about the union’s strategic planning, tactics and escalation in the latest sectoral bargaining round in April 2025, which resulted in a 7.8 per cent pay rise for industrial workers. Niina Ruutinen, Organising Coordinator at PAM Services Union, added how her union mobilised retail workers to win a similar pay rise as the front-riding industrial workers. Maria Stoian, Organiser at UNI-SEEOC, shared her efforts at growing union presence in Romania’s large ICTS sector.
The network meeting’s second day had participants split into breakout groups to discuss involving workers in high-level sectoral or big company campaigns and embedding organising within their unions. Jim Fuery, Mandate’s Divisional Organiser and Interim Assistant General Secretary, spoke about how they surveyed members effectively at big grocery chains to identify the right issues and engage them in campaigns. FSU President John Burns highlighted the issue of diverging pay structures as a barrier to sectoral salary demands in Ireland’s banking sector.
Ben Egan, UNI Europa Organising Director, presented an initial draft outline for UNI Europa’s Organising Strategy 2026-2030, which outlined a roadmap of priorities for EPOC over the next five-year mandate. The strategy will be amended and then adopted at UNI Europa’s next Executive Committee meeting in autumn.
The EPOC Network meeting concluded with collaborative campaign planning, where organisers shared upcoming initiatives and sought feedback from other organisers. Jesse Wilderman, UNI Global Union’s Organising Director, wrapped up the session with a simple definition of organising: “Recruiting, identifying and developing leaders.”
While this was an invitation only closed session for experienced organising leaders, EPOC will host an open Summer School next month. This will run over two days with the goal to develop an understanding for how to retain members, and how to grow your union through digital lead generation. This workshop is primarily targeted at unions who are currently exploring renewing their approaches to organising and trade union. These two days will provide a quick tour of the methodology without going into detail in any area that creates issues around union confidentiality in a multi-union environment. You can find our more and register for the Summer School here.
For more information on EPOC and UNI Europa’s organising activities and workshops, please contact Ben Egan, UNI Europa Organising Director, and Andoni Iriondo, UNI Europa Organising Coordinator.
These meetings are supported by the EU-funded BC4CB project.