EPSUcob@NEWS May 2004
This is the third issue of epsucob@NEWS. You can see the March and April issues in the collective bargaining section of the EPSU website.
We are trying to keep-up-to-date with the key developments in collective bargaining in the public services across Europe. However, if we miss a key story, please let us know - send your information to rpond@epsu.org
- Italy - Health unions take more strike action
- France - Firefighters wait for concrete gains
- Czech Republic - Civil servants strike over 13th month payment
- EPSU Collective Bargaining Conference
- UK - Strikes across the civil service
- ETUC - Collective bargaining resolution
- European public sector - industrial relations report
- UK - Pay deal for gas workers
- Italy - Public sector strike 21 May
- Cyprus - Regulating disputes in essential services
- Germany - 1% increase in public sector
- France - 2.4% increase at EDF/GDF
- Public spending - Book highlights positive impact of social spending
- Europe - Pay and hours developments
Italy - Health unions take more strike action
Unions in the Italian health sector are continuing their campaign against budget cuts and pay freezes. Following two days of strike action, one in February and one in March, doctors and other health staff took action on 16 April and 24 April. There was also a major demonstration in Rome on 24 April.
France - Firefighters wait for concrete gains
Three of the unions representing French firefighters are talking about taking further action in May and June. This is in response to the government’s failure to confirm its proposal to declare officially that the job is a dangerous profession and consequently to agree to special retirement arrangements. A national day of action in six French cities Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Strasbourg, Toulouse et Rennes) will take place on 27 May with the possibility of another national demonstration in June.Read more at > CGT [Fr]
Czech Republic - Civil servants strike over 13th month payment
Civil servants in the Czech Republic took an hour’s strike action on 23 April. They were protesting at the government’s plans to cut the 13th month salary payment from 50% to only 10% of normal salary.Read more at > Radio Prague report [En]
EPSU Collective Bargaining Conference
EPSU’s third annual collective bargaining conference will take place this year on 20-21 October. ETUC deputy general secretary Maria Helena Andre will kick off the conference with a review of recent developments in intersectoral social dialogue, looking in particular at working time. The conference will also feature a debate on low pay and collective bargaining and there will be presentations of survey results on equal pay and lifelong learning. The second day will include a working group session looking at performance-related pay.UK - Strikes accross the civil service
The UK civil service continues to be hit by strike action as different government departments continue their protests over low pay offers. The biggest dispute is in the Department for Work and Pensions (85,000 workers) where union members took another two days of strike action in April. Workers in the Office for National Statistics and Health and Safety Executive also took a day’s action.Read more at > PCS And at > Prospect
ETUC - Collective bargaining resolution
The ETUC Executive Committee agreed a new resolution on the co-ordination of collective bargaining at its March meeting. The resolution highlights some recent trends noting in particular that "public sector pay increases are under pressure from the public deficit objectives set by national stability and convergence plans in the context of the Stability and Growth Pact." The resolution emphasises the need to maintain pay increases to "avoid the possible vicious circle of competitive disinflation in the 2004 collective negotiations." The resolution also focuses on equal pay, working time and ensuring that collective bargaining leads to progress for all workers.Read more at > ETUC Resolutions [En/Fr]
European public sector - industrial relations report
The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has published a report on the quality of industrial relations in the European public sector. The report includes a survey of local government experiences in France, Finland, Germany, Ireland and Italy along with a review of literature and analysis of recent collective agreements.Read more at > Eurooean Foundation
UK - Pay deal for gas workers
The GMB general workers’ union reports that 11,000 gas workers are set to receive pay rises worth between 5% and 10%. Around 6,000 emergency and repair engineers in Transco (which runs the national gas distribution system) have accepted 5.25%, while 5,000 technicians in British Gas have accepted basic rises up to 10%. Both deals are retrospectively effective from 1 April 2004.Italy - Public sector strike 21 May
Public sector unions in Italy are planning a 24-hour strike on 21 May in response to the Berlusconi government’s statement that there is no money available to fund pay increases in the coming round of public sector negotiations for 2004-2006. Public sector workplace union delegates will come together at a national conference earlier in the month.Read more at > CGIL [It]
Cyprus - Regulating disputes in essential services
After nearly 10 years of negotiations government and unions in Cyprus have agreed a new procedure for regulating disputes in essential services. The agreement means that disputes in areas electricity and water supply and hospitals and other areas of the public services could be referred to an Arbitration Committee to be resolved. The procedure does not ban strikes in these services.Read more at > EIRO [En]
Germany - 1% increase in public sector
This May sees German public sector workers receive a 1% increase in pay as part of the two-year pay deal agreed covering 2003 and 2004. The agreement also provides for a lump sum payment of 50 euros (west) and 46.25 euros (east) in November.France - 2.4% increase at EDF/GDF
Basic salaries at French electricity and gas companies EDF and GDF were increased by 2.4% from 1 May. Unions had called for a rise of 6% and will continue to press for higher increases in the course of forthcoming negotiations. Although involved in a series of detailed negotiations with the companies the unions continue to maintain their campaign of opposition to the change in legal status of the two enterprises. The unions see this as a first step to privatisation. Following widespread strike action on 22 April the unions are now planning a national demonstration for 27 May.Read more at > FO And at > CGT
Public spending - Book highlights positive impact of social spending
A new book by economic historian Professor Peter H. Lindert, "Growing Public" (Cambridge University Press), challenges the view that high public spending or high taxes inhibit growth. Lindert examines levels of taxes, public investment in education, transportation and health care, and social transfers like social security. "It is well known that higher taxes and transfers reduce productivity," he writes. "Well known - but unsupported by statistics and history." He compares the level of social spending over nine decades up to 2000 in 19 developed nations. He finds that high spending on such programs creates no statistically measurable deterrent to the growth of productivity or per capita gross domestic product.Europe - Pay and hours developments
The European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) has just published two reports on its website which provide a round-up of developments on pay and working time in 2003 and include toral information with data on local government. The pay report indicates that pay increases in local government averaged 2.6% in 2003, down from 3.0% in 2002. They ranged from 4.8% in Denmark to 0% in France. The report on working time says that average agreed weekly hours in local government have fallen slightly from 37.9 to 37.6 since 1999, mainly due to reductions in France and Italy.
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