Newsletter 2 March 2010
Financial and Economic Crisis – Who is to pay?
(1 March 2010) ADEDY and the GSEE called for a General Strike on 24 February. ETUC General Secretary, John Monks, addressed the main rally in Athens where some 50.000 demonstrators expressed their anger with the draconian measures intended to be applied by the Greek government, under the pressure of Euro-Zone governments and the European Commission. ETUC and EPSU came out in a joint press release against these rigid austerity measures, ‘a shock therapy which can only kill recovery but not provide any cure’, said John Monks.
It has become more and more expensive for Greece to lay on state bonds. Excessive speculation against the country, by Goldman & Sachs and other private investment banks are in part responsible for bringing the country close to the abyss - read more.
(1st March 2011)
Message from Impact, Ireland
Message from PCS, UK
Message from Prospect, UK
Message from Impact, Ireland
Governor Scott Walker, 115 East Capitol Street Madison, Wisconsin 53702 - United States of America 28th February 2011 Governor Walker, I am writing on behalf of IMPACT trade union in Ireland to express our dismay over the developments regarding the collective bargaining rights for the public employees in Wisconsin. We have been informed that you will (...)
(2 March 2010) The utilities sector is continuing to experience change and restructuring. The unions met to consider a number of these developments.
Some are related to new technologies such as smart meters and smart grids. The contributions of EPSU to the regulators were discussed. The experience of unions with smart meters is diverse. The position on the consultation of the regulators on smart grids will be further considered at the EPSU workshop on this issue 11 March.
Others are (...)
(1st March 2010) The trade unions representing workers in GdfSuez signed two transnational agreements with management, 23 February 2010. The agreements deal with health and safety and with forward looking management of employment and competencies (GPEC).
The agreements are a revision of earlier existing agreements in Suez and become necessary after the merger of Gdf and Suez in 2008. Both agreements are a step forward in the ongoing discussions in GdfSuez to achieve a high level of (...)
(1 March 2010) EPSU’s LRG committee organised a special session on public procurement on 1 March to give impetus to initiatives to promote social procurement. More than half of public procurement is carried out by local and regional authorities but most contracts are awarded on the basis of ‘lowest cost’ rather than taking into account also social and environmental considerations. EPSU argues in favour of strengthening the EU framework for social procurement in order to encourage public (...)
Standing in solidarity International Women’s Day, March 8, 2010
(1 March 2010) Union activist Seher Tümer will spend this International Women’s Day in a Turkish prison. But international solidarity action could open the door to freedom for her.
“I make an urgent plea to union sisters and brothers around the world to raise their voices on Seher Tümer’s behalf,” says Ylva Thorn, president of the global union federation Public Services International (PSI).
“Demand that the government of Turkey (...)
(25 February 2010) With the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty there are now clear obligations on the European Union to develop a positive agenda for public services and fundamental rights.
EPSU wants to make full use of the new possibilities so that a strong public sector and quality public services can play their role in combating the economic crisis and securing the long-term development of our societies, both within and outside the EU. This means, for example, that public services must (...)
Europe’s unions fully support the general strike in Greece and ask Eurozone Ministers to go for realistic and socially acceptable plans.
ETUC/EPSU Joint Press Release, 23 February
Europe’s trade unions follow with great concern the situation in Greece and in particular the pressure by the Commission, the Eurozone Ministers and the European Central Bank (ECB) on the Greek government for harsher austerity. The Labour movement in Europe stands in full solidarity with Greek workers in their (...)
Report of EPSU Study on pay in the care sector in relation to overall pay levels and the gender pay gap in different countries in the European Union, by J. Pillinger, February 2010
EPSU checklist for the co-ordination of information on
pay bargaining and pay systems
in the state sector and in local and regional government, February 2010
Gender pay gap questionnaire, February 2010
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