Europe's battery industry is central to the green transition and the future of European manufacturing. But the rapid development of new factories and global supply chains also raises major challenges for workers and trade unions.

The final BatteryTUPower conference brought together trade unionists and organisers to share experiences, assess the project's achievements and identify how unions can strengthen their influence over the industry's development.

Judith Kirton-Darling, industriAll Europe’s General Secretary, said:

"Europe needs a strong battery industry, but industrial competitiveness cannot be built at the expense of workers. Public investment must come with clear social conditions, including quality jobs, safe workplaces, respect for trade union rights and collective bargaining. The green transition will only succeed if workers have a genuine voice in shaping it. That means investing in trade union organising from the very beginning, not waiting until new factories are already operating without unions."

Organising early to build lasting union power

Organising workers was at the heart of the conference. Trade union representatives from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Serbia and Spain shared experiences of building union membership and workplace representation in battery manufacturing.

The discussions highlighted the challenges of organising in newly established factories, where workers may have little experience of trade unions and management may resist collective representation.

A central lesson from BatteryTUPower is that unions must act early. Mapping companies, understanding ownership structures and supply chains, identifying workplace activists and building relationships with workers are essential to successful organising.

The project has helped unions develop more strategic and innovative organising approaches, while strengthening the commitment to organising at national and European levels.

Experiences from Indonesia showed that organising must extend across the entire supply chain, including nickel mining and processing. Participants highlighted the importance of strengthening local unions and investing in leadership training, particularly for women and young workers.

Health and safety: a starting point for collective action

Experiences from Sweden and Hungary demonstrated how health and safety concerns can bring workers together and strengthen union representation.

At Northvolt in Sweden, unions developed innovative approaches to reach a multinational workforce, achieving 85% union density and establishing 70 workplace safety representatives.

In Hungary, concerns about exposure to hazardous substances helped mobilise workers and challenge unsafe practices in battery factories. These experiences showed that successful organising starts with listening to workers, addressing their concerns and building collective power at workplace level. They also underlined the need for strong health and safety regulations, effective enforcement and meaningful worker involvement in preventing occupational risks.

Using workers' rights to strengthen union leverage

The conference explored how trade unions can use human rights due diligence, international agreements, European Works Councils (EWCs) and dialogue with multinational companies to strengthen workers' rights across global supply chains.

These tools can help unions access company information, identify risks, anticipate restructuring and coordinate action across borders.

The revised EWC Directive offers further opportunities to strengthen information and consultation rights and improve workers' influence over company decisions, including those linked to restructuring and the green and digital transitions.

However, participants stressed that legal rights and consultation mechanisms must lead to concrete results. They must support workplace organising, collective action and stronger collective bargaining.

Industrial policy must deliver for workers

The future of Europe's battery industry depends on sustained investment, secure supply chains and a coherent European industrial strategy. But public support for industrial development must come with clear social conditions.

Trade unions are calling for industrial policies that link public funding to quality employment, strong labour standards, collective bargaining and respect for workers' rights.

This is particularly important in new industrial investments, where decisions taken at an early stage can shape employment and working conditions for years to come.

Workers and their unions must be involved in these decisions from the outset. A Just Transition cannot be achieved through industrial investment alone. It requires strong social dialogue, collective bargaining and trade unions with the capacity to organise and represent workers.

International solidarity across global supply chains

Battery supply chains connect workers across countries and continents, from raw material extraction and processing to battery manufacturing.
The conference highlighted the importance of international trade union cooperation in engaging multinational companies, defending fundamental rights and building collective bargaining power throughout the supply chain.

Global Framework Agreements, cross-border networks and coordinated organising strategies can help unions respond collectively to decisions made by multinational companies.

Turning project lessons into lasting union power

As BatteryTUPower comes to an end, the conference demonstrated the progress made in mapping the battery industry, strengthening organising capacity and developing cooperation between trade unions.

The next challenge is to build on these results by investing in workplace organising, strengthening international networks and ensuring that trade unions have a meaningful role in shaping industrial policy. Europe's battery industry must be built on more than investment and technology. Its long-term success depends on skilled workers, safe workplaces, strong collective bargaining and respect for trade union rights.

The message from Bratislava was clear: a successful Just Transition requires strong unions, organised workers and international solidarity across the entire battery supply chain.