Europe features in annual report on violation of trade union rights
Georgia continues to be one of a number of countries highlighted by the ITUC in its annual report on violations of trade union rights. Turkey also features not least for the detention of and false charges against members of the KESK confederation. In releasing the report, the ITUC focuses as well on the situation in several European countries - Portugal, Greece, Romania, Spain and Italy - where collective bargaining has been under attack. Read more at > ITUC And at > IGB (DE) And at > CSI (FR) And at > CSI (ES)
ETUC CB committee rejects wage recommendations
The ETUC organised a summer school for its collective bargaining committee in Florence on 10-11 June where participants agreed a statement urging the European Council not to adopt any of the European Commission’s country-specific recommendations on wages. The meeting agreed that the Commission’s approach continues to be to repress wage developments despite the risk of deflation and continuing recession and with no regard for the impact on living standards and equality. The meeting also discussed proposals for how the ETUC could coordinate around the European Semester. Read more at > EPSU
Sector bargaining under threat
In this article, Thorsten Schulten from the German WSI trade union research institute, underlines the serious implications of the attacks on sector-level bargaining in Europe. He points out that this is a key characteristic of collective bargaining in Europe where coverage by collective agreement is much higher than in other regions. This system is now under threat from the policy of bargaining decentralisation being advocated by the European Commission and being imposed in several countries by the troika - the Commission along with the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund. Read more at > Global Labour University
More collective bargaining news and new database
The ETUI has just published the latest edition of its collective bargaining newsletter with over 70 articles covering more than 30 countries. The newsletter also announces the setting up of a database of articles so that readers can now easily search back through past issues for articles on different countries and sectors. This month’s edition includes several articles on public service developments in Bulgaria, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Slovenia. Read more at > ETUI (EN)
Collective bargaining meeting report
Over 40 representatives of EPSU affiliates from more than 20 countries met in Brussels earlier this month to discuss a range of issues including plans for EPSU’s main collective bargaining conference this year (16-17 December) and proposals for new research. The group also discussed improving the exchange of information and the concept of having a "common demand". Torsten Müller of the ETUI research organisation gave a presentation on economic governance and the impact on the public services. Read more at > EPSU (EN)
MEPs’ report underlines role of public pensions
A report agreed in the European Parliament earlier this month emphasises that "the key priority of public policy should not be to subsidise third-pillar schemes, but to make certain that everyone is adequately protected within a well-functioning and sustainable first pillar". The report also stresses the need to increase the employment rate and to gradually introduce measures to ensure sustainable systems. Rather than a call to increase retirement ages, the report focuses more on bringing actual retirement in line with existing retirement ages. Read more at > European Parliament And the text at > EP
EU staff strike over budget cuts
Around 3500 staff of the European institutions took strike action on 8 May in protest at budget cuts that will see significant changes to their pay and conditions. One estimate is that some workers will see an effective 60% cut in pay in real terms over the next 5 years. They will also face longer working hours without an increase in pay and their retirement age rise to 67. Read more at > Euractiv news website
Commissioner pushes for higher wages in Germany
Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner László Andor has called for higher pay in Germany in order to boost both demand both within the country and across Europe. He also encouraged the application of minimum wages across more sectors and said that Germany had to respond to the challenges from Belgium and France about wage dumping because of the growth of low paying sectors in the economy. Read more at > DW news website (EN) And at > Süddeutsche Zeitung (DE)
Report reveals fundamental changes to collective bargaining in public services
Earlier this month the European Commission published its biennial report, Industrial Relations in Europe. The impact of the crisis and austerity measures on the public services is a major focus of the report which details the changes in collective bargaining processes and structures that have been imposed in several countries across Europe. The report includes a serious warning of the long-term impact of the "reforms" that are taking place. With the role of the public sector as a good employer being undermined, the report is concerned that worsening pay and conditions combined with recruitment freezes will make it more difficult to recruit the quantity and quality of staff to maintain, let alone improve public services. Read more at > EPSU
The impact of austerity on collective bargaining
The 2013 edition of the ETUI’s Benchmarking Working Europe provides an comprehensive overview of the effects of austerity measures across Europe. Its third chapter focuses on collective bargaining and is a short and clear explanation and analysis of process and impact of the intervention of the European institutions and the IMF in collective bargaining. The report looks at wage developments before and after the crisis highlighting the trend towards declining real wages, restrictive minimum wage policy, falling wage shares and increasing income inequality. The chapter on collective bargaining and the whole report can be downloaded at > ETUI
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