epsucob@NEWS January 2005

Hundreds of thousands of public service workers joined demonstrations with many taking strike action on 20 January. This was in fact one of a number of days of protest involving a whole range of public sector unions in the civil service, health, education, postal service, energy and transport. Among civil servants and health workers the main point of the action was in protest at the government’s continuing refusal to open proper pay negotiations and to offer a reasonable pay rise for 2005. For other workers in the public sector, particularly in post, energy and the railways the main challenges are government plans for privatization.

Public service unions will be trying to maintain the momentum of their campaign and next month (5 February) will join private sector unions in a major demonstration against attacks on the 35-hour week.

Members of ver.di in several German regions have taken strike action as part of a campaign to try to get the regional governments to implement the public sector pay agreement which is due for renewal. The regional governments effectively pulled out of the national negotiations which also involve government at federal and communal level. The regions wanted to extend working time and cut back on Christmas and holiday pay. Ver.di and the federal and communal employers have been negotiating a simpler and discrimination-free pay system which is due to be implemented fully from 2007 but negotiations over general pay increases are due to take place at the beginning of February.

Public service unions have organized a nationwide day of campaigning on 18 February in protest at government plans to alter public sector pension schemes and in particular to increase the retirement age. Health unions in particular are concerned about the impact of a higher retirement age for employees in stressful and demanding jobs.

The EIRO industrial relations observatory reports that public service employees will get a pay increase of at least 6% in 2005 while the minimum rate in the public sector rises by 7.5% in January and then by a further 4.5% in September.

The CCOO and UGT union federations have welcomed a report from the Economic and Social Council, a government advisory body, which reveals the extent of temporary work in the public sector. The unions have been pushing for changes on this issue for some time and it forms one of the key issues for negotiation in this year’s social dialogue between unions and the government. The report highlights how temporary work has risen in the public sector at the same time as it has fallen in the private sector. The unions argue that use of temporary employment is just one of a number of ways in which the quality of employment in the public sector has decline.

Thousands of public and private sector trade unionists thronged the streets of Malta earlier this month in protest at government plans to cut public holidays. The government effectively wanted to cut public holidays by refusing to confirm that weekdays would be public holiday in compensation for public holidays falling on weekends. The conflict with the government has been a factor in an historic joint meeting between all Malta’s local unions.

A Swedish court has ruled that the Swedish construction union Byggnads could legitimately blockade building sites in protest at a Latvian company’s refusal to honour the relevant collective agreement. The Latvian company has called for support from the Latvian government in its claim that it should be allowed to pay different rates based on the agreement negotiated with its Latvian employees.

The Latvian building company case highlights the potential threat of the Services Directive to collective agreements in Sweden. Unions there are worried that in its current form with the “country of origin” principle, the Directive will undermine the collective agreements which are currently protected under Swedish law. The LO and TCO union federations have drafted amendments to the Directive to try to ensure it does not undermine collective agreements and labour standards.

The industrial relations observatory EIRO provides a round-up of the latest negotiations in Denmark where municipal and central government negotiations are underway. The current three-year agreements expire at the end of March and among the key issues in the negotiations are the different union attitudes to the “new wage” pay system.

The Employment and Social Affairs Directorate of the European Commission has published its review of industrial relations in 2004 which suggests a trends towards more company-level bargaining. It also claims that workers are more concerned about job security than pay.

The industrial relations observatory EIRO reports that the Estonian government has agreed a new minimum wage level for public sector workers with higher education qualifications. The monthly rate is due to increase by 11.4% from 5350 to 5960 EEK while the general minimum wage is increasing by 8% to 2690 EEK. The public sector minimum applies mainly to teachers.

The civil service union ROTAL is continuing to push for a change in the law to give civil servants in Estonia the right to strike. Although there appears to be some movement on the issue January 2007 could be the earliest that legislative change takes place and then only for some categories of workers.

Determined to win their claims for improved pay and hours and increased employment levels, unions in the non-profit sector, covering hospitals and care homes, continued their campaign with another demonstration on 27 January.

The long running dispute in the UK civil service’s largest department, Work and Pensions, could be over if members back a three-year pay deal recommended by their union, the PCS. Those on the lowest pay rates should get a 15% rise over the three years worth £1,950 (around 2,800 euros).

The EIRO industrial relations observatory reports that towards the end of 2004 the two main union federations in Bulgaria (CITUB and CL Podkrepa) were involved in demonstrations against a wide range of government policies. Their many demands included a call for the development and enhancement of collective bargaining at all levels, a general 11% increase for workers plus a further 10% for those employed in institutions funded by the state budget, and a guarantee of the right to strike for workers in healthcare, the civil service, power engineering and communications.

The ETUI’s round-up of collective bargaining for 2003-2004 warns of increasing attempts by employers to exploit the general atmosphere of job insecurity to push unions into concessional bargaining. The ETUI’s review of bargaining finds that in several EU countries wages are barely keeping up with inflation and this erosion of real pay is contributing to a weakness in domestic demand which is undermining the economic recovery.

The ETUI’s Trade union yearbook 2003-2004 includes a range of articles on key issues such as wage co-ordination, the Working Time Directive, workers’ involvement and labour market flexibilisation.