Netherlands - Further action in municipal sector
The dispute over pay in local government in the Netherlands has continued over the summer. Cleaners and street sweepers took a week’s strike action in support of a higher pay claim while firefighters have also joined the dispute again, saying they will only respond to emergency calls.
Read the news report in English at > Bloomberg
Read more at > ABVAKABO
Europe - Information for EPSU - pay, outsourcing and violence at work
EPSU affiliates have been contacted over the past few months for information in three key areas. Firstly, there is the annual survey of changes to pay and conditions. Copies of this questionnaire are available in English, French, German, Spanish and Swedish. Secondly, members of the standing committees in local and regional government and national administration have been asked to respond to a questionnaire on outsourcing - also available in five languages. And finally, EPSU has been asked by the ETUC to provide examples of agreements on violence at work. If you haven’t received the pay or outsourcing questionnaires please contact rpond@epsu.org
France - EU laws applied in civil service
Legislation was passed in July applying a number of European directive to the French civil service. While the legislation attempts to regulate precarious employment and in particular the use of fixed-term contracts, unions are not convinced this will resolve the problem.
Read more at > EIRO
Finland - Border guards’ dispute resolved
The EIRO industrial relations observatory reports that the border guards’ dispute was resolved with a pay offer worth 6.1% over two years. However, as part of the deal guards will be covered by a new pay structure based more on individual workloads and performance.
Read more at > EIRO
Germany - Positive impact of work-life balance
Widespread family-friendly working could be a real boost to jobs, productivity and growth according to a study commissioned by the German Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. The survey covered eight major employers in the private and public sector including the Vattenfall utilities group and the Federal Insurance Institution for Salaried Employees. It found higher commitment from employees and lower staff turnover as a result of family-friendly policies.
Read more at > EIRO
Cyprus - Action on equal pay
Trade unions and employers in Cyprus have been called on by the Ministry of Labour to ensure that any collective agreements signed between them have been assessed to see if they contain any elements which might be contradictory to the law on equal pay for men and women. They have until 31 October 2005 to complete the assessment.
Read more at > EIRO
EU - Industrial relations 2004
The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has published its review of industrial relations for 2004. This is a 100-page report covering social dialogue developments at the European Union level plus key collective bargaining and industrial relations changes within each country. The third section looks at developments in rights to information and consultation.
This is the direct link to the pdf of the report at > EIRO
Norway - New private sector pensions system
The EIRO industrial relations observatory reports that unions and employers have agreed a new pension system for the private sector. At the moment the public sector retains its system that provides workers with a pension worth two-thirds of income at retirement. In contrast the private sector system will be adjusted according to life expectancy, prices and wages and pensions will not keep pace with average earnings.
Read more at > EIRO
Germany - Call for later retirement
Claims that the German state pensions system is under pressure have led to calls for an increase in retirement age 70 from an expert from the DIW economic think-tank. Other industry experts have rejected this but still call for an increase to 67 from the current 65. The idea of an increase to either 67 ro 70 has been rejected as nonsense by ver.di which is calling for action to deal with unemployment as a priority.
Read more at the IPE pensions news site > IPE
Read more at > verdi
Germany - Debate over level of minimum wage
A statutory minimum wage has become an issue for debate in the current German election campaign. However, ver.di notes some disagreement among leftwing candidates. Left Party campaigners have called for a minimum of around 1,200-1,250 euros a month while the PDS party has referred to 1,400 euros. Frank Bsirske, ver.di chair, argues that the figure should be 7.50 an hour (just under 1,270 a month for a 39-hour week) which would put German around the average for the EU15.
Read more at > verdi]
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