70000 join initial round of warning strikes

The STAL municipal workers’ union joined others in the Common Front group of public service unions in a national demonstration on 20 May in Lisbon. The main call was for government action to protect the purchasing power of workers in public administration. The unions argue that 12 years of wage stagnation has seen purchasing power fall by 15.4% and that the proposed pay increase of 0.9% for this year will again mean a significant cut in real pay as prices of food, energy and fuel surge. The unions also want to see a €90 a month rise for all workers, a minimum monthly wage of €850 along with

The ETUC welcomed the vote in the European Parliament on 14 September in favour of the Directive on adequate minimum wages with 505 MEPs in favour, 92 against and 44 abstentions. The directive includes important new provisions on the setting of statutory minimum wages, the role of trade unions, new requirements on governments to promote collective bargaining and the obligation to draw up action plans to support collective bargaining where coverage is below 80% of employees. The vote in the European Parliament came shortly after the ETUC published new research showing that Europe’s lowest paid

Members of the ver.di services union have secured pay increases following action in both the health and energy sectors. After more than a year in dispute, the union has managed to negotiate a new pay deal for workers at the CFM facilities management company. Around 1600 low paid workers will benefit from a basic pay rate of EUR 11 an hour which will mean increases worth 10%-16%. The union will be building on the solidarity maintained over the course of the dispute in preparation for next year's bargaining round which will begin no later than 1 July. In the energy sector 4500 employees at EON