2010 April epsucob@NEWS 07
Unions examine government proposal on pay and jobs
After several weeks of industrial action, public service unions have been presented with a proposal by the government to settle the dispute over pay cuts. A key element of the agreement is that there will be no further public sector pay cuts and the cuts that have been implemented will start to be reversed if specific public sector efficiency savings are achieved. The priority will be to restore pay levels for workers on less than €35,000 a year. The deal would see the freeze on recruitment continue but redeployment of staff in response to specific shortages. Unions will consider the agreement
Public service confederation maintains protests
The ADEDY public sector confederation continues to protest against government pay cuts and more immediately over the cut of the normal bonus paid at Easter. The latest demonstrations, organised with private sector unions, took place on 23 March. Read more at > ADEDY (GR)
Commission publishes working time communication
EPSU and the ETUC have underlined the importance of keeping the main focus of working time legislation on health and safety and the impact of long working hours. The European Commission has issued a communication on working time with a series of questions for trade unions and employers about the impact and effectiveness of the Working Time Directive. EPSU supports the ETUC in its call for the Commission to officially publish its implementation report and its argument that the Commission has failed to take action following key European Court Judgements on working time. [Read more at > EPSU (EN)
Minimum wage for the care sector
Services union ver.di has agreed a minimum wage for the care sector that will be implemented by the federal government from 1 July 2010. There will be two rates - €8.50 per hour in the west and €7.50 in the east. The rates will then be increase to €8.75 and €7.75 in January 2012 and then to €9.00 and €8.00 in January 2013. Ver.di regrets the fact that there is a split between east and west and that the rate was not higher. It had some support from employers but not from the main private employers’ organisation or church organisations. [Read more at > ver.di (DE)->http://presse.verdi.de
Regional collective bargaining conference in Madrid on 16-17 June
Following the first collective bargaining regional conference in on 16-17 March in Copenhagen, EPSU is organising another regional event, this time in Madrid on 16-17 June (this is a day later than originally planned). These regional conferences provide an opportunity for between 40 and 50 participants to debate a range of issues, including outsourcing, equal pay, precarious employment and working time. Invitations to the conference will be sent out shortly and will be aimed primarily at affiliates in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Macedonia, Croatia and Slovenia. The last of
New collective agreement in electricity industry
The three federations in the electricity industry – FILCEM-CGIL, FLAEI-CISL and UILCEM-UIL – have signed a new agreement that sets out pay increases during 2010-2012. There will be a 2.8% increase this year from 1 March and a 3.1% increase from 1 January 2011. In 2012 there will be two increases – 3.0% from 1 January and 1.75% from 1 July. The agreement covers around 59,000 employees in 130 companies, including ENEL and EON. [Read more at > FILCEM-CGIL (IT)->http://www.filcemcgil.it/index.php?module=CMpro&func=viewpage&pageid=101] [And at > FLAEI-CISL (IT)->http://www.flaei.org/indexold.asp]
Unions have positive meeting with president but criticise IMF
President Viktor Yanukovych met with the FPU trade union confederation and other trade union representatives on 19 March to discuss a range of issues related to tackling the economic crisis. He underlined the importance of consultation with the unions, particularly over key social and economic issues and said he would personally promote adoption of the law on social dialogue by the Parliament. Yanukovych also affirmed the need for consultation with unions over setting state and local government budgets and to achieve a decent wage as an increase in purchasing power was vital for economic
Negotiations and further mobilisations
Pay, purchasing power, pensions and civil service status will all be on the agenda of forthcoming negotiations between public sector unions and the government. However, the CGT local and regional government federation thought that union criticism of key government policies on public services fell on deaf ears and that further mobilisations like that of 23 March would be needed to keep pressure on the government. The FO civil service federation also criticised the government for refusing to protect public sector pay against inflation and putting more emphasis on individual and performance
Union rejects employers' lump sum proposal
The pay dispute in local and regional government continues with the VNG local government employers’ organisation advising its members to make a lump sum payment to workers in April worth 1% of pay. This has been criticised by the FNV-Abvakabo trade union that points out that this doesn’t protect pay rates against inflation. Read more at > FNV Abvakabo (NL)
Union federations criticise low replacement rate
The FSC-CCOO and FSP-UGT federations have attacked the government for recruitment plans and its decision to replace only one in 10 public sector workers when they leave their jobs. The FSC-CCOO federation was already critical of the 15% replacement rate included in the 2010 budget and warns that a 10% replacement rate will threaten to undermine the quality of public services. The cuts are particularly of concern in the current period when defending employment is a key part of the response to the crisis. It is also pointed out that the 25% replacement rate imposed in the 1990s had a negative
Private sector deal agreed for most workers
The main private sector collective agreement has been finalised and will provide minimum pay increases of 1.2% in 2010 and 1.8% in 2011. Local bargaining will mean further increases on top of these minima. The agreement runs until 31 March 2012 and is important in relation to the two public sector agreements for state and municipal workers where bargaining will begin towards the end of the year to renew the agreements by 1 April 2011. The private sector deal also includes improved parental leave, better health surveillance for night workers and pension contributions starting after two months
Unions organise series of protests over pay and cuts
Government policies to deal with the economic crisis and the requirements of loan packages involving the International Monetary Fund and European Commission are continuing to meet with widespread resistance from Romanian trade unions. A series of protests have been organised in March and further action is planned in April and May. Read more at > seeurope news website (EN)
Commission launches gender pay gap calculator
The European Commission’s employment directorate now provides an online gender pay gap calculator. This is available in all 22 EU languages and, with some restrictions, allows you to put in some basic details about yourself and your work and find out what the pay gap is in your sector and country. There is also additional information about the impact of the gender pay gap and how it affects women across their working lives. Read more at > DG Employment (22 languages)
Union organises demonstration to support bargaining
The Kommunal municipal union organised a demonstration in Stockholm on 20 March to highlight the main demands of the current collective bargaining round. In response to pressure from employers for a pay freeze, Kommunal is demanding a real wage increase, equal pay, the right to full-time, secure employment, improved working environment and a strengthening of the position of collective agreements. Read more at > Kommunal (SE)
Government calls for cuts in jobs or pay
Pressure to reduce public spending has led the government to call for 10% cuts across ministries and publicly funded organisations. This could mean pay freezes or job cuts, although some ministries appear to be excluded from the imposition of a pay freeze. There are also demands to reduce high salaries in some departments and agencies. Read more at > Sofia Echo (EN)
Union sets out key demands for 2010 bargaining round
The Fagforbundet municipal union has set out the main elements of its demands for the 2010 bargaining round. Apart from an overall real wage increase there is a clear focus on delivering equal pay and tackling low pay, including a focus on sectors dominated by women workers. The union also wants to see pay properly reflect skills and competence and to compensate for difficult working conditions. Read more at > Fagforbundet (NO)
Health sector deal extended
The 1.5% pay increase agreed for the private health and social care sector has been confirmed and extended to cover employers who are not members of the BAGS employers’ organisation. This means that a further 40,000 employees will be covered by the agreement which provides for a minimum salary of €1300 a month. Read more at > GPA-DJP (DE) And at > VIDA (DE)
Gas engineers' strike threat wins concessions
The GMB general union has come to an agreement with British Gas which means that possible industrial action by engineers will be avoided. The union had been balloting members for strike action in response to a range of issues and in particular management threats to cuts jobs. The GMB and British Gas management have now issued joint statements that confirm that any restructuring in the company will only follow a proper process of consultation and negotiation. Read more at > GMB (EN)
Nearly one in 10 workers on fixed-term contracts
The latest economic policy briefing from services union ver.di reveals that 2.7 million workers, nearly 10% of all employees in Germany are on fixed-term contracts. This is a significant increase from the early 1990s. The briefing notes in particular that two thirds of new jobs in the public and social services are fixed-term. Ver.di wants employers to justify the use of such contracts and to stop using them as part of normal employment practice. Read more at > ver.di (DE)
Increased violence and harassment in public services
A major survey of working conditions by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health provides a detailed picture covering both public and private sectors. Looking back over 10 years the survey finds that there have not been significant improvements in working conditions overall and that in some cases – violence and harassment, for example – workers have seen a deterioration. This is particularly so in the health and social services sector but also, in terms of violence at work, in public administration. [Read more at > Finnish TU news website (EN)->http://www.artto.kaapeli.fi/unions/T2010