With big business increasingly using vexatious legal threats known as ‘SLAPPs’ to silence trade unionists, the EU must include workers’ rights in a new directive designed to stop the tactic.

The number of ‘Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation’ launched in Europe has increased from 4 in 2010 to at least 111 last year, with journalists, activists and academics being targeted primarily by corporations, politicians and governments.

The majority of cases are dismissed, withdrawn or settled, but not before lengthy procedures causing substantial financial and psychological consequences on those targeted...

The European Commission promised in February 2021 to present an initiative to protect journalists and civil society against SLAPPs and is expected to publish its draft directive on Wednesday.

The ETUC, which is a member of the CASE Coalition Against SLAPPS in Europe, is calling on the Commission to ensure the proposal explicitly protects the rights of workers and trade unions. It should also:

• Not limit action to cross-border cases, which account for just one in ten SLAPPs. This is particularly important given that no member states have adopted national legislation to prevent SLAPPs.
• Prevent ‘forum shopping’ whereby applicants can file complaints based on where they perceive they would have the best chance to achieve the desired outcome or successfully manage to exhaust the resources, time and energy of their targets.
• Deter powerful actors from launching SLAPPs by ensuring vexatious lawsuits are dismissed at an early stage, initiators of such judicial abuse are sanctioned and their victims receive support.