(Photo: FILLEA-CGIL)

The Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI) on 12-13 June joined FILLEA CGIL in Pozzallo, Sicily, for the Euro-Mediterranean Trade Union Forum United, which carried the theme “Under the Same Hard Hat.” The event brought together trade unionists, migrant worker leaders, community representatives and institutions from across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The forum examined the realities facing migrant workers in construction, from recruitment abuses and wage theft to health and safety, social protection, skills recognition and access to representation. BWI shared experiences from organising migrant workers across migration corridors and supporting worker representation in some of the most challenging environments for migrant workers.

Opening the forum, FILLEA CGIL General Secretary Antonio Di Franco argued that migration must be recognised as a structural feature of contemporary societies and labour markets rather than treated as a permanent emergency. Discussions throughout the forum reflected this approach, focusing on practical measures to combat exploitation and exclusion: access to training and occupational safety and health, information on labour rights in workers' own languages, social protection, housing, regularisation pathways, and stronger cooperation between trade unions in countries of origin and destination. Participants also highlighted the need to move beyond labour migration models driven solely by labour market demand and towards approaches centred on rights, inclusion and workers' agency.

BWI General Secretary Ambet Yuson stressed that migrant workers are essential contributors to economies and societies and must never be treated as a burden or used as political scapegoats. He called for stronger cross-border trade union cooperation to ensure that workers do not lose rights, protection, or representation when they cross a border. Yuson emphasised that equal treatment, skills development, safe working conditions, social protection and freedom of association are essential components of decent work for migrant workers. Under the forum's banner, “United Under the Same Hard Hat,” he reaffirmed that safety, dignity, fair wages and respect must apply equally to all workers, regardless of nationality or migration status.