Actions from our affiliates

(23 janvier 2007) La Fédération Syndicale Européenne des Services Publics (FSESP), représentant 8 millions de fonctionnaires et d’agents publics en Europe, réaffirme son soutien à ses affiliés français des services publics (FO, CGT, CFDT et UNSA) pour le mouvement de grève le 24 janvier prochain en France.
Nous soutenons les revendications de nos affiliés pour :
le rattrapage des pertes de pouvoir d’achat (actifs et retraités)
l’ouverture immédiate d’une négociation sur les salaires avec le gouvernement
un (...)

Brussels, 26 November 2007
The European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) is a free and democratic federation of independent trade union organizations for employees in public services in Europe. We speak on behalf of over 209 public sector unions representing approximately 8 million organized workers in more than 36 countries.
We are convinced that Europe must mean more to citizens than a market. Quality public services are key to meeting citizens’ fundamental rights. Universality, (...)

Bruxelles le 28 novembre 2007
A l’heure où la Commission européenne lance une nouvelle offensive contre les services publics en renforçant le rôle du tout-marché et des intérêts privés, la FSESP, représentant 8 millions de fonctionnaires et d’agents publics en Europe, souhaite marquer sa solidarité avec ses affiliés portugais pour la grève générale le 30 novembre prochain.
Cette grève générale s’étend à tous les agents publics et fonctionnaires du pays (Centrale, Régionale et Locale, Institutions privées de solidarité sociale, (...)

(21 November, 2007, Brussels) On 20 November a delegation lead by EPSU President and General Secretary, Anne-Marie Perret and Carola Fischbach-Pyttel respectively, delivered a strong message of support for the French Public Service Workers. The message was delivered to the French Ambassador to Belgium.
The action was strongly supported by Belgian Unions, with representatives from CGSP (www.multimania.com), SLFP (www.slfp.be) and CSC (www.ccsp.be) present.
The Belgian Unions also provided a (...)

Motion de solidarité
Présentée par la Fédération Syndicale Européenne des Services Publics (FSESP) et les Organisations syndicales belges des services publics et de la fonction publique à l’occasion de la journée d’action des fonctionnaires français du 20 novembre 2007 et remise à Monsieur l’Ambassadeur de France en Belgique
A l’heure où la Commission européenne s’apprête à lancer une nouvelle offensive contre les services publics (ou « services d’intérêt général ») en renforçant le rôle du marché intérieur dans la politique (...)

(Rome, 26 October 2007) Up to two million Italian public sector workers held an eight-hour strike on Friday in protest against cuts in public spending in the country’s latest budget. Thousands marched through the streets of Rome in steady drizzle, holding union flags and banners attacking Prime Minister Romano Prodi’s budget and poor job stability in Italy. Local news agencies estimated that as many as two million public employees stopped work and more than 100,000 took part in the street (...)

(18 October, 2007, Lisbon) EPSU Portuguese affiliate STAL held a major action calling on the Portuguese Government to stop its attacks on workers rights. The Union called on the Government to respect the concept of the European Social Model. STAL affiliates are particularly critical of the Government attempts to introduce grater flexibility without any commensurate social rights.
EPSU General Secretary, Carola Fischbach-Pyttel, congratulated the Portuguese on their action. She stated (...)

Carola Fischbach-Pyttel addressed an action day organised by Munich’s municipal service providers on 13 October. Congratulating the organisers for their initiative she stressed the influence of EU competition and internal market rules are having on the organisation of municipal services. Local activists from the Ver.di union and Attac used the occasion to collect some 2000 signatures for the ETUC petition.
This is the 3rd time this action day for local public services has been hold, this (...)

The Portuguese government has proposed changes to the current labour law for the public administration. The bill which is to introduce these changes has not been discussed with the unions. EPSU sent a letter of protest and demanding the Portuguese government starts negotiations to reach agreement.
For the protest letter: ...

(03 August 2007) EPSU and PSI have condemned the police break-in in the headquarters of the KSSH Confederation. The police broke in, destroyed property and kep union officials and staff out of the building. The police seeks to make the work of the trade union difficult. The trade union has protested against shortage of water and electricity and bad government management. EPSU has also reported the incident to various European institutions. To read the letter to the president of Albania... (...)

(24 May 2007) EPSU president, Anne-Marie Perret, addressed PCS delegates at a fringe meeting fighting for global peace and economic justice. The meeting was held against the backdrop of PCS 1000-strong delegate annual conference which voted, amongst others, to continue the campaign and industrial actions against the 100.000 job cuts in the civil service and for above inflation pay rises.
Anne-Marie Perret gave a round up of the main issues facing French public sector workers, which are (...)

65-95% of employees in the electric energy industry took part in the strike throughout Hungary and carried out the planned 200 Megawatt reduction in electricity production. Rezső Gál, the President EPSU affiliate VdSzSz writes: We have managed to come to an agreement with the government as a result of your solidarity expressed in many letters and with the strike. You can find brief information about the agreement in the attachment. I personally, as well as on behalf of our Trade Union (...)

Verdi organised the big energy demonstration to protest the proposals of the European Commission on ownership unbundling. More than 20000 workers marched the streets of the German capital Berlin. Several speakers pointed out the dangerous of forced ownership unbundling for employment, electricity prices and investment as well as local municipal control over energy.
Erhard Ott, member of the board of Verdi addressed the angry workers. He welcomed the delegations of several European countries (...)

CGT - CFDT - FO - FSU - UNSA - SOLIDAIRES
La Fédération Syndicale Européenne des Services Publics (FSESP), représentant 8 millions de fonctionnaires et d’agents publics en Europe, apporte son soutien à ses affiliés français des services publics (FO, CGT, CFDT et Unsa) pour la journée d’actions du 8 février en Ile de France.
Nous soutenons les revendications portées par nos affiliés pour :
une réelle augmentation des salaires sur la base minimum de l’inflation, soit 1.8%
de véritables négociations sur l’ensemble (...)

(Vilnius, 14 November 2006) Lithuanian trade unions rallied together on 10 November to protest against low wages and long working hours. The three EPSU affiliates received a very encouraging turn out, and also were endorsed by numerous messages of support from fellow national unions and international trade union federations. They called on the Lithuanian Government to recognise that as part of the package of being a successful member of the European Union, they needed to enact policy that would bring the country into line with the living standards in other parts of the EU.

EPSU sends its wholehearted support to the three Lithuanian trade union organisations organising the joint action on 10 November. A decent minimum wage and protection of existing working time restrictions are key elements of EPSU policy and vital to maintaining labour standards across the European Union.
EPSU affiliates around Europe have been lobbying hard to ensure that the Council of Ministers does not vote to undermine the provisions of the Working Time Directive and it is completely (...)

The Swedish union SEKO representing services and communication employees including in defence, public administration, correctional services and energy re-elected Jan Ruden as its President. The Congress addressed European issues, collective bargaining, working environment, integration and migration and equality issues amongst others.
The EPSU Deputy General addressed Congress speaking about the SGI campaign, the working time directive and European energy policy, 12 October 2006, Stockholm. (...)

(6 July) EPSU today sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Estonia to support the demands of its affiliated union ROTAL for the government:
to fulfil international and European obligations with regard to workers’ fundamental right to strike and develop a social dialogue including information, consultation and negotiation at all levels in civil service;
to ensure basic wage of civil service workforce amounts to at least 70% of total remuneration’
to increase minimum wages of workers in (...)

(5 July) EPSU has sent a message of support to unions in the FNSFP public service federation in Portugal, which has called a national strike for 6 July. In the face of government proposals for a major reorganisation of public administration, the unions have several key demands including; protecting pay and working conditions; defending quality public services; resisting privatisation; maintaining the right to collective bargaining and; preventing any increase in precarious employment. EPSU (...)

(5 July, Brussels) EPSU has sent solidarity greetings to its affiliates in Norway, EL&IT and Fagforbundet, whose members in the energy sector have been on strike since 21 June. The unions were trying to negotiate improvements to the new collective agreement for 2006-2008 but the employers rejected a number of key demands, prompting the call for strike action. The unions are calling for a role in local bargaining, better protection against social dumping and improvements to conditions when (...)

According to final results, 61.7% of voters opposed the reforms, while 38.3% approved them.
The reforms were promoted by the previous right-wing government led by Silvio Berlusconi.
Trade unions and current centre-left government of Romano Prodi campaigned against them.
Read the CGIL update note on the vote:

EPSU SOLIDARITY MESSAGE TO ITALIAN AFFILIATES
EPSU wishes to express its solidarity towards Italian affiliates in their no campaign on the changes to Italy’s Constitution put forward by former Berlusconi-led government.
On Sunday and Monday 25-26 June, a referendum will take place to confirm or not the following main changes to the Constitution:
Presidentialism, in the figure of a Prime Minister who will enjoy larger powers
Reinforced federalism based on unequal subsidiarity
Italian (...)

Message de solidarité
Le Gouvernement français a décidé, sans aucun débat public et contre les promesses faites, de fusionner la compagnie avec Suez. Plusieurs questions ont été relevées au sujet de l’impact sur l’emploi, les perspectives pour une politique future, la garantie des obligations des services publics. Aucune des questions n’ont fait l’objet d’une réponse satisfaisante auprès des travailleurs et utilisateurs, ce qui provoque plus d’insécurité pour le futur.
La Fédération Syndicale Européenne des Services (...)

EPSU affiliates CGT FNME and FO FNEM together with the CGC have decided to organise a strike action 20 June. The unions are not satisfied with the response of the government to the many questions posed over the planned merger between French/Belgian company Suez and French company Gas de France. The unions will oppose changes to the law that are needed to allow the privatisation of gas de France. Currently the French state owns more then 70%. This will be reduced to less then 35% and (...)

(Sofia, 30 May) EPSU Bulgarian affiliates of CITUB are today organising a National Demonstration in Sofia under the motto "To bring hope back - we will no longer bear poverty and humiliation!"
The reason for this demonstration is the lack of effective dialogue with employers and government on income policy. Specifically, demo organisers wish to highlight the violations by authorities of the constitutional right to strike, particularly in the fields of healthcare, telecommunications, (...)

(29 May 2006) A Belgian municipal company has announced to establish a private sector umbrella to be active on the power market. The unions, EPSU affiliates CGSP, CSC-Services Publics and SLPF have proposed a public sector alternative. This has been rejected. The implication of the private sector solution is that the public service will no longer be democratically controlled but left to share holders, that 70 years of public sector experience and assets are swindled and that the statute of (...)

The Superintendence for Public Services in Colombia plans to close down EMSIRVA (the public waste disposal company of Cali) and has now decided to contract out cleaning to private companies, despite the fact that President Alvaro Uribe Velez has publicly declared his intention of keeping the company as a public service.
PSI asks its affiliates to send a letter to President Alvaro Uribe Velez, President of Colombia, requesting that EMSIRVA remains a public company and take into account the (...)

Mahnwache vor der niedersächsischen Landesvertretung in Brüssel - Solidaritätsbekundung einen Tag vor Wiederaufnahme der Tarifverhandlungen mit den deutschen Ländern.

(17 May, Brussels) The European Federation of Public Service Unions, EPSU, in conjunction with Belgian public service trade unions of CGSP-FGTB and CSC services publics held a ‘solidarity vigil’ today in support of German trade union Ver.di, on the eve of the restarting of negotiations in Berlin, to end a 12 week strike on working time. The strike concerns, in particular, the regulation of working time at federal state level.

(Brussels, 11 May 2006) The European Federation of Public Service Unions, EPSU, in conjunction with Belgian public service trade unions of CGSP-FGTB and CSC services publics will hold a ‘solidarity vigil’ in support of German trade union Ver.di, on the eve of the restarting of negotiations in Berlin, to end a 12 week strike on working time. The strike concerns in particular the regulation of working time at federal state level.

On behalf of EPSU, representing more than 8 million public service workers in Europe, I would like to express our full support for your one-day strike action in the public sector on 10 May to protest against the low wages of public sector workers in Greece and the need for investing in essential public services.
Your demands to put in place a new wage system allowing for real negotiated pay increases, for a budget increase for education and health and for overall improvement of the civil (...)

Les fédérations CGT de la fonction publique et des services publics français
→ à la FSESP et aux syndicats européens membres de la FSESP
Les syndicats français de salariés, d’étudiants et de lycéens viennent d’obtenir une victoire très importante dans la lutte qu’ils ont menée pour le retrait du « contrat première embauche ».
La CGT estime que cette victoire donne confiance dans l’efficacité du syndicalisme, dès lors qu’il agit dans l’unité pour défendre les intérêts des salariés. Dans cette unité, nous associons le (...)

À l’issue de la réunion intersyndicale nationale du 29 mars, (UNEF, CÉ, UNL, FIDL, FO, CFDT, CFE CGC, CFTC, CGT, FSU, Solidaires, UNSA), a été confirmée la détermination de tous à exiger le retrait du CPE. Alors que le Premier Ministre a tenté une nouvelle fois de diviser l’unité d’action, les organisations syndicales ont convenu que l’attitude de blocage opéré par le gouvernement nécessite la poursuite et l’amplification du mouvement.
Toutes les organisations ont donc décidé d’appeler à une journée (...)

(30 March) Ver.di General Secretary Frank Bsirske yesterday addressed more than 12.000 demonstrators in Hannover, the capital of Lower Saxony. The strikers came mainly from university clinics. The Ver.di leader singled out the employers’ leader in his speech to the striking workers. The Finance Minister of Lower Saxony is the leader of the employers’ delegation of the ’Länder’, Mr. Möllring. Möllring has shown himself so far as champion of intransigence: negotiation - no! listen to arguments - no! Unilaterally dictate an increase in working time - yes! Instead of 38,5 hours / week public service workers are to work 40, 41 or even 42 hours / week. (...)

Ver.di and other German public service unions have called for a mass demonstration in Hannover tomorrow. This demonstration is to set a strong signal of trade union unity against the intransigent ideological positon of the employers’ negotiator of the German Länder employers’ association, Mr. Möllenbrink. The strike has entered its seventh week. The employers have so far not shown any willingness to enter negotiations but on the contrary want unilaterally impose longer worker hours for the same (...)

La Fédération Syndicale européenne des Services Publics (FSESP), représentant 8 millions de fonctionnaires et d’agents publics en Europe, apporte son soutien à ses affiliés français pour la journée d’action interprofessionnelle du 28 mars contre le contrat première embauche (CPE).
Suite à l’appel lancé par les organisations syndicales de salariés, d’étudiants et de lycéens, le gouvernement français doit avoir la sagesse de sortir de l’impasse dans laquelle il s’est mis, et retirer le CPE.
Ce retrait lèverait (...)

Over one million of the United Kingdom’s most essential public sector workers will go on strike on 28 March to protest at unfair and unjust cuts to local government pensions. EPSU affiliates UNISON, GMB, Amicus, NIPSA and T & G are involved in the action. The strike is planned because the UK Government refuses to give protection for existing members of their pension scheme.
Read the full article in our Local & Regional Government (...)

(Brussels, 7 Feb. 2006) EPSU German Affiliate Ver.di seized the political initiative with a call for fair recognition of the role of public service workers in keeping Germany competitive.
The series of strikes have begun in Baden-Württemberg. 10,000 public-sector employees are participating in the regional action.
Ver.di research has shown that public service workers have contributed to the German economy, with working hours continually extended without any pay increases. So successful has (...)

La Fédération Syndicale européenne des Services Publics (FSESP), représentant 8 millions de fonctionnaires et d’agents publics en Europe, apporte son soutien à l’appel unitaire des syndicats français de la fonction publique pour une journée de grèves et de manifestations le 2 février prochain.
Nous soutenons les revendications portées par les organisations syndicales affiliées à la FSESP pour des avancées véritables concernant les salaires de tous les fonctionnaires et agents publics pour l’année 2006 et une (...)

See update 19 December
Brian Strutton, GMB National Secretary for British Gas commenting on the strike by gas engineers on Monday 12 December 2005 said "Reports from all around the country are that the strike by GMB gas engineers is very solid - the only people working are those on agreed emergency duties. The industrial action is going to plan on what is a reasonably mild day.
British Gas have now seen the strength of feeling demonstrated by their employees. GMB urges British Gas to stop (...)

(17 November) The Austrian GdG is outraged with the behaviour of public sector employers in the planned administrative reform. Rudolf Hundstorfer calls it an absolute scandal that the employers refuse to involve the elected personnel representatives and their trade unions. Hundstorfer: "We are not against change and adaptation as a matter of principle, but we are against privatisation, outsourcing and subsequent job cuts. Some 15.667 jobs are threatened. This will have a detrimental effect (...)

(16 November 2005) EPSU Estonian affiliates (ROTAL) staged a protest for Estonian average salary to be firefighters minimum wage by 2007.

“The European union is facing a political crisis at a time of many challenges. And this crisis is used to restrict or roll back our social rights” warned EPSU General Secretary. “Our message is clear, we want the European Union to be a political and social European Union. We reject the approach of the Bolkestein Directive. It is not acceptable that competitiveness is the yardstick against which everything is measured, and social Europe is left behind.” An example is (...)

Verdi’s group for workers (ArbeiterInnen) met with Polish, Austrian and French colleagues in Wroclaw, Poland, 16-17 October 2005. Workers discussed how to resist neo-liberal politics and achieve a more Social Europe. One of the main topics that preoccupied the trade union meeting was the Services Directive. Rejection was unanimous, and forceful. Erhard Ott, member of the Verdi Executive, warned “The proposed directive leads to social dumping and is an attack on public services. We (...)

Italian Affiliate of EPSU, CGIL, is at the forefront of a National Rally (CGIL) to highlight the necessity of fundamental rights being enshrined in public policy. The rally, on 15 October has as its key message; ’time to change’. It’s time to say it’s enough with this continuous subtraction of social and citizens’ rights. It’s time to say enough to labour and life insecurity. The rally will illustrate the constant attack on fundamental values at EU National and local level. The organising (...)

“General Strike before it is too late” is how the FGTB (the Belgian Socialist Trade Union Confederation) has addressed its membership this week. The Confederation has called for all 1.2 million workers to strike on 7 October 2005 to defend pension and pre-pension plans, for social security rights and for sustainable jobs for all. The call states that the Governmental pre-pension plans are a perfect example of unrealistic policy. The proposal aims to prolong working life without (...)

(29 septembre 2005) La Fédération Syndicale européenne des Services Publics (FSESP), représentant 8 millions de fonctionnaires et d’agents publics en Europe, apporte son soutien à l’appel unitaire des syndicats français pour une journée de grèves et de manifestations le 4 octobre prochain.
Nous soutenons particulièrement les revendications portées par les organisations syndicales du secteur public affiliées à la FSESP pour :
La promotion d’une politique de l’emploi statutaire garantissant un service public (...)

On 15 September the Estonian trade union for Workers in State and Self-government Institutions (ROTAL) is organising a picket before the Estonian Government Buildings at 9.30- 10.30, followed by a march to the Estonian Parliament. ROTAL is protesting that the Government has reneged on deals to compensate border guards during the period 1990-1994. Also ROTAL states that the Government is making unrealistic demands on border guards, particularly at the under staffed Russian border. The issue (...)

The Latvian trade unions are organising nation wide protests culminating in a national demonstration in Riga, Latvia, 1 October 2005. The unions are protesting that poverty levels remain high. It urges the government to increase salaries, pension entitlements and health care coverage to reflect cost of living increases. EPSU supports the action in which all affiliated unions participate and urges the government of Latvia to make sure that all in society benefit from increases in (...)

Message de solidarité adressé à la FGF-FO à l’occasion de la manifestation du 7 septembre 2005 à Paris contre la décentralisation
Bruxelles, 06 septembre 2005
Cher(e)s collègues,
La Fédération Syndicale européenne des Services Publics (FSESP), représentant plus de 8 millions d’agents publics en Europe, se joint à l’appel de soutien de son syndicat affilié FGF-FO au rassemblement national du 7 septembre à Paris concernant la loi sur la décentralisation.
Une décentralisation qui ne repose pas sur une réelle concertation (...)

EPSU affiliated unions AbvaKabo and CNV Publieke Zaak are engaged in a conflict with the Dutch municipal employers. The employer refused to award a decent pay increase comparable to other sectors and is waging an attack on working conditions such as the possibility for fire-fighters, ambulance drivers and some other groups to retire at 55, and paid parental leave. Strikes are ongoing in Amsterdam were refuse collectors are not collecting waste and harbour authorities will not collect (...)

The three union federations in the public sector, CGIL, CISL and UIL, have finally won a new pay agreement from the Italian government. After a 17-month campaign involving three general strikes across the public sector the unions signed a deal with the government on 28th May. The unions had been planning a series of regional strikes in the public sector during June in order to keep the pressure on the government.
Carlo Podda, General Secretary of the FP CGIL said: “The settlement (...)

EPSU send its solidarity and support to its Italian affiliates for the general strike in the public sector on 18 March. This will be a powerful demonstration emphasizing their justified demands:

Message de solidarité aux syndicats français de la Fonction Publique CGT, CFDT, FO, UNSA, CFTC
La Fédération Syndicale européenne des Services Publics (FSESP), représentant 8 millions d’agents publics en Europe, réitère son soutien à ses affiliés français pour la journée de mobilisation des services publics et du secteur privé, actifs et retraités, le 10 mars prochain.
Suite aux récents mouvements de grève et mobilisations, le mutisme du gouvernement sur les salaires et les pensions est profondément inacceptable ! (...)

Belgian unions accept proposals - actions at level of Flanders continue
The results of the negotiations have been accepted by large majorities of the trade unions. They will apply to public and private federal health and social services. Actions will continue at the level of Flanders (08/03/05).
This weekend an agreement was reached between the delegations of the government and the trade unions. After 11 days of strike action the government pledged 100 million Euros of additional funding. (...)

The Belgian unions organising workers in care homes, hospitals, and other social services organise a national demonstration for better pay, working time, pensions and more jobs to do the work, 27 January in Brussels. A large turn-out is expected. EPSU has sent a message of solidarity.

Message de solidarité aux syndicats français de la Fonction Publique CGT, CFDT, FO, UNSA, CFTC
Bruxelles, 17 janvier 2005
Cher(e)s collègues,
La Fédération Syndicale européenne des Services Publics (FSESP), représentant 8 million d’agents publics en Europe, apporte son soutien à ses affiliés français pour la grève prévue le 20 janvier prochain.
La FSESP condamne le refus de négocier du gouvernement français et les décisions unilatérales de ce dernier sur les salaires affectant plus de 4.5 millions d’agents publics.
Il (...)

PRESS STATEMENT
Public sector general strike in Italy, 30 November 2004
Public Services International (PSI) and the European Federation of Public Service Trade Unions (EPSU) support their public sector affiliates in the strike action they are taking on 30th of November against the new fiscal and financial plan for 2005.
The Italian government’s plans for tax cuts are unjust, wrong and unsuited to tackling the economic and social situation in the country. The tax cuts will only benefit the (...)

Hungarian EPSU affiliate EDDSZ (Hungarian health workers) has called for ALL EPSU health Unions to sign a petition calling for the protection of the Hungarian health care system. The Union is currently fighting for the Hungarian health care system to remain accessible to all. This struggle is taking place in the face of some of the most aggressively liberal government policies seen in the EU. The Hungarian Minister of Health, Jeno Racz, while arguing for involvement of private capital has (...)

The European Federation of Public Service Trade Unions (EPSU) supports their italian affiliates in the general strike planned for 30 November.
EPSU agree that the Italian government’s plans for tax cuts will not provide the much-needed boost to the Italian economy and will only benefit the rich at the expense of those on average and lower incomes.
The government should resolve the outstanding negotiations with public sector workers and ensure that workers and pensioners alike enjoy a real (...)

EPSU fully supports extension of the right to strike to Estonia’s state and municipal workers (see letter of support attached).

EPSU fully supports the one-day strike on 5 November against the announced 100, 000 job cuts in the public sector. At a time when the UK needs more and better public services not less, the massive job cuts in civil service are nonsensical both in social and economic terms.

Carola Fischbach-Pyttel co-chaired a session at the European Social Forum on public services and the welfare state. This session allowed for many trade union activists to argue in favour of quality public services. It was also a prime occasion to inform the audience about ongoing disputes throughout Europe’s public services. The meeting called for solidarity amongst others with the Liverpool Social Workers, members of the Liverpool City Branch of UNISON, who have been on strike since 24 (...)

The National Strike Committee of EDDSZ (hereinafter referred to as Strike Committee) calls all the county level presidents an officers of EDDSZ to make the National Call for Strike, the National Declaration of Solidarity and the Resolutions of the Strike Committee on 12 August available at all the workplaces belonging to our sector. We would like to have reports on such institutions where employers prevent us from doing this in order to block us to turn to the public and be able to exercise (...)

The Belgian health sector is the location for coordinated action between the four EPSU affiliates in the health sector. The CGSP, Setca, CCSP and LBC-NVK have called for working conditions in the non-profit health sector to be significantly improved.
Greek affiliate ADEDY is organising a 24-hour strike to demand higher pay for low paid workers, to protest against the sale of public property, and measures, which hit workers and pensioners.
Further actions are foreseen this week in Italy in (...)

EPSU is supporting Greek affiliate ADEDY in the following action: Civil servants are to stage a 24-hour nationwide strike on October 21 to protest against the government’s draft budget for 2005. "The budget outlines tough austerity for working people and pensioners, new burdens from a rise in indirect taxes, and incentives for the financial establishment from the sale of public property," the ADEDY union said in a statement on Thursday. "Working people and pensioners are going to have to (...)

The unions organise the strike as part of their campaign to get the government to honour its agreements, to improve pay, for 25.000 new jobs, for supplementary pensions, for additional compensation of overtime, nightwork and weekend service. All EPSU affiliated unions organising workers in both public and private non-profit organisations will participate. The non-profit are hospitals, resthomes etc. There will be demonstrations in several cities. EPSU has sent a letter of solidarity, (...)

The refrain of the ABVAKABO action song, fitted onto the melody of an old Queen hit: more than 250.000 trade union members joined in on Saturday, 2 October at the Museum Plein in Amsterdam. The mass rally had been called by the three Dutch trade union confederations FNV, CNV and MHP, certainly a culmination of the joint campaign against the current government policy. And literally masses of people streamed into Amsterdam on Saturday morning from all over the Netherlands but also delegations (...)

During a meeting between the three confederations and their respective trade union categories, Cgil, Cisl and Uil have called for an eight-hour strike in the public services and school sectors. The Industrial action will be articulated according to category and territory and spread out over a number of days throughout the month of October.
The protest concerns 690.000 Healthcare workers, 990.000 Education workers, 600.000 Local Government workers, 210.000 National Administration workers, (...)

Thursday 23 September saw a wide range of protests, strikes and demonstrations by public service workers around Switzerland.
EPSU affiliate VPOD was one of 17 organisations supporting the day of action protesting at public spending cuts at federal, cantonal and local level.
VPOD said it was delighted with the turnout with several tens of thousands of workers, including nurses, police, teachers and administrative staff, joining local demonstrations.
The unions are calling on public (...)

The Swiss government has proposed cuts in public spending that would deteriorate the quality of services and cut 20.000 jobs. The Swiss unions including EPSU member VPOD are organising a national day of action against these brutal attacks on public service quality. The Swiss unions are also using this to start a campaign to promote high quality public servics.
It is essential to note that the proposals were actually voted down but the government continues to promote them. The well-off will (...)

The government has opened a large scale attack on the welfare state. The social security system is dismantled and early retirement schemes are threatened. The Dutch government has further said that it will not declare collective agreements binding that do not comply with the government’s zero wage increase dictat. The unions have stopped all participation in labour market institutions. Actions and strikes will take place between 13 September ending with a large demonstration 2 October. (...)

DISK, one of the Turkish trade union confederations, informed EPSU that the right of freedom of association and collective bargaining continues to be seriously curtailed since the military coup in 1980. A list of restrictions and obstacles remain, such as the obligation for an individual worker to register with a notary when becoming a union member. The right to strike is seriously curtailed. At the same time SES, the KESK affiliated trade union of public employees in health and social (...)

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