ETUC Briefing Note on Human Rights and Covid-19

Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, a range of measures are being taken at EU and national level in different domains to protect public health, the economy but more importantly workers and their jobs and their income. Exceptional circumstances ask indeed for exceptional measures, however, restrictions on Human Rights introduced by governments seem to spread almost as fast as the virus itself and there are indications that certain governments use the Covid-19 crisis to “temporarily” undermine and curtail human rights in general and workers and trade union rights in particular.

For the ETUC, Human Rights, including trade unions and workers’ rights, should be the redline to respect and promote for the EU and Member States in particular in time of this Covid-19 crisis.

Furthermore, ETUC recalls that any derogation from or restriction of Human Rights are strictly regulated. They should respect the very essence of democratic principles and rule of law and can only be established under very clear and strict conditions and in limited circumstances.
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Please access the full briefing note here for more information on Covid-19 and Human Rights.