2014 August epsucob@NEWS 14
Firefighters' union meets minister after 8-day strike
After its latest period of strike action, involving eight stoppages, the FBU firefighters' union has agreed to meet the fire service minister to discuss the continuing dispute over changes to the pension scheme. The union has insisted that it has been willing to negotiate throughout the dispute and has sent the minister a letter setting out the key issues which include extra protection for firefighters who have signed up, and paid into, an agreed pension scheme only to see the terms of that scheme change; the increasing costs of the pension scheme that is becoming more unaffordable for members
Unions fight care worker layoffs
The FNV Abvakabo and CNV Publieke Zaak public service unions are running a campaign to prevent 363 care workers losing their jobs. The job cuts have been threatened by the ZONL care company which claims the dismissals are necessary because of cuts in funding. The unions are setting up a protest centre outside the town hall in Steenwijkerland in eastern Netherlands where they will coordinate their protests and lobby local councillors. [Read more at > CNV Publieke Zaak (NL)->https://www.mijnvakbond.nl/CNV-Publieke-Zaak-in-actie-bij-ZONL?referrer=266] [And at > FNV Abvakabo (NL)->http://www
Care workers determined to maintain pay protest
Care workers employed in Doncaster, South Yorkshire took their pay dispute to London on 8 August to protest outside the offices of Bridgepoint Capital, the owners of Care UK, the company that employs the care workers. This is the second time the workers have travelled to London. They are in the middle of a two-week strike, the latest action to prevent cuts of up to 35% in their pay. Meanwhile UNISON has written to the government to urge it to name and shame councils who commission social care from employers who pay less than the minimum wage. [Read more at > UNISON->http://www.unison.org.uk
Urgent call for action after death in waste sector
The Fp-Cgil public service federation has sent its condolences to the family of Carlo Silva, the most recent victim of a fatal accident in the waste sector. The union has called on the industry and government to take urgent action to tackle the safety crisis which it believes as a result of a combination of inadequate investment, cutbacks in spending, reductions in the workforce, increased workloads and an inadequate health and safety culture. Read more at > Fp-Cgil (IT)
Federations warn government on reforms and pay freeze
The four main public service federations - Fp-Cgil, Cisl-Fp, Uil-Fpl e Uil-Pa - have sent a clear warning to the government that it cannot hope to proceed with its unprecedented reforms of the public administration at the same time as maintaining a block on bargaining in the public sector for another two years. It is already more than four years since pay negotiations took place and in the meantime there have been substantial cuts in public sector employment. Read more at > Fp-Cgil (IT)
Unions sign new agreement at energy company
Around 6,700 workers employed by the EDP are now covered by a new collective agreement which covers a range of issues such as ensuring the financial sustainability of social provisions to employees and retired workers, career development, work organisation and health and safety. For the main union, SINDEL, some of the key provisions include: extending the 38-hour work week to all workers; keeping compensatory rest for overtime; payment for night work continues with the addition of 25%; and retaining 24 days' annual leave plus municipal and other holidays. [Read more at > SINDEL (PT)->www
Energy workers' strike victory and ballot for action
While union members at EDF Energy celebrate securing an improved pay deal after taking strike action, Scottish Power workers are being balloted over action to defend their employment conditions. Workers at EDF will get a larger lump sum, an additional amount for workers in the South East to compensate for pay differentials and further improvements for revenue protection staff. Around 1000 Scottish Power Energy Network employees are being balloted for industrial action short of a strike in protest at the company's imposed change to the entitlement to rostered days off and refusal to negotiate.
Minister foresees pay negotations in 2015
The public expenditure minister has indicated that 2015 could see negotiations between the government and public sector unions that would look at clawing back some of the pay cuts that have been imposed since 2009. The cuts began with the introduction of a "pensions levy" in 2009 and cuts in basic and other pay elements followed in 2010 and 2011. Read more at > IMPACT
Waste workers locked out by employer
Workers employed by the Greyhound waste and recycling company have been locked out by management for over two months. The company is attempting to force workers to accept wage cuts of up to 35% and has employed strikebreakers to carry out waste collections during the dispute. SIPTU has 80 members in the company which has a contract to collect household waste for Dublin City Council. Solidarity is being provided by trade unions and messages of support have been sent by EPSU and EPSU affiliates. [Read more at > SIPTU->http://www.siptu.ie/media/pressreleases2014/featurednews/fullstory_18452_en
Pay freezes continue particularly at local level
The latest official figures on collective agreements indicate that local-level agreements are more likely to involve pay freezes in 2014 than deals negotiated at a sector level. Some 40% of workers covered by company deals face a pay freeze this year compared to 18% of those covered by higher agreements. The CCOO confederation sees this is one of the results of the labour reforms imposed by the conservative government in 2012 which, in line with the European institutions, has wanted to see a shift to more local level bargaining at the expense of sectoral negotiations. [Read more at > FSC-CCOO
Sick leave falls in municipal sector
The number of sick leave days in the municipal sector fell again last year - part of a downward trend since 2009. In 2013 the number of average sick leave days per employee was 16.7 days. A year before it was 17.2. Municipal union JHL thinks that local authorities might be contributing to the decline by focusing on working ability together with occupational health. Read more at > JHL (EN)
Disabled care agreement declared generally binding
The agreement covering workers in the disabled care sector was agreed earlier this year but has now been declared generally binding by the ministry of social affairs. This means that the agreement applies across the sector even at employers who are not signatory to the agreement. The collective agreement runs from 1 March 2014 to 1 March 2015 and includes a 1% pay increase from 1 October, a one-off payment worth 0.7% of salary in June and an increase in the year-end bonus from 6.75% of salary to 7.05%. [Read more at > NU'91 (NL)->http://www.nu91-leden.nl/cao/gehandicapten-zorg/news/CAO
Working time back on the agenda
Working time and possible revisions to the Working Time Directive are likely to be a priority for trade unions at the beginning of 2015. The European Commission is not only undertaking a standard review of the implementation of the Directive but has also called in consultants to work on studies that will assess possible changes to the legislation. One of the studies is focusing on the health sector in particular and includes interviews with a range of actors, including EPSU affiliates, in the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy and the UK. In anticipation of a
Social care survey responses top 7000
Over 7000 workers in social services have now responded to a survey on pay and working conditions. The survey is supported by EPSU with the view that it will provide important and up-to-date information that affiliates can use at national level in their lobbying, campaigning and collective bargaining. The survey will run until October when results will be analysed in time for a conference in Amsterdam on 18 November. So there is still plenty of time to encourage members to complete the questionnaire either online or on paper. [Online surveys for 34 countries in national languages->http://www
Unions continue 35-hour fight
Public sector unions are continuing their campaigns to retain the 35-hour week in the fact of the government's attempt to impose a 40-hour week and what would effectively be a 14% cut in hourly pay. Hundreds of agreements have been negotiated and signed in local and regional government to retain the 35-hour week but the government has refused to officially publish the agreements. Read more at > STAL (PT) And at > SINTAP (PT)
Call for more jobs and better conditions in childcare
Services union ver.di has reacted to the latest figures on childcare provision to call for more investment in the sector and the creation of 120000 additional jobs. The union says that a recent report on early years education underlines the wide variation in staffing levels across the country and the fact that in many cases staff are responsible for too many children. Ver.di stresses the importance of linking quality of provision with quality of working conditions and that meeting the recommended staffing ratios will enable workers to devote more time to quality care and education. [Read more