Social Services, Transparency & Corruption, U.K., Slovenia, Croatia, Armenia

Employees of HC-One – the UK’s biggest private care provider – have accepted a pay deal negotiated by the GMB trade union that gives them the contractual right to at least statutory sick pay from day one of any absence. Previously, sick pay only kicked in after three days of sickness. The union points out that this created a perverse incentive for workers to spread germs among the elderly people they care for. The deal comes after a GMB survey of HC-One care workers revealed one in four were considering quitting over ‘poverty pay’. The GMB says that this is a landmark shift in culture for the

After lengthy negotiations a new public sector pay structure is in place that means significant increases to the coefficients used to calculate salaries for different occupations. Overall public sector workers are set to benefit on average by 13.5% in comparison to pay levels in 2023. Most unions are generally happy with the new system, including the HSSMS-MT nurses’ and health workers’ union which is one of 11 to sign the public sector collective agreement. However, other unions, including teaching unions, are unhappy with the outcome and argue that the new system fails to deliver appropriate

Public service unions have organised one of the biggest strikes and mobilisations in Northern Ireland for many years as they try to put pressure on the UK government to stop delaying a pay offer for public service workers. The government claims that its hands are tied by the political stalemate in the province and the lack of a functioning Assembly. The unions argue that this is an excuse and that the money is available to make a pay offer immediately. EPSU affiliates UNISON, Unite, GMB and RCN are involved in the action, along with NIPSA, RCM, CSP, SoR, BDA as well as the teaching unions

Public sector unions, including those in the PSSJS confederation, were set to organise a national rally in Ljubljana on 7 December to push for government action on a range of key pay and conditions issues. The unions want the government to commit to implementation of wage indexation in 2024 and completion of the reform of the public sector wage system by 30 June 2026. They are also calling for the elimination of wage discrepancies across different parts of the public sector which should ensure that large parts of the public sector get the level of wage increases already agreed for some groups

The HSSMS-MT healthcare union reports that following the third round of public sector pay negotiations, unions have accepted a pay increase of 5%, an improvement on the 3% offer made in the second round of bargaining. The unions have also secured the €300 Christmas bonus that they were looking for and an Easter bonus of €100, less than they wanted but a €30 improvement on the previous offer. There is also a commitment that, should the new pay system not be in place by 1 March 2024, then negotiations would open for a general pay increase.

The ZSVS health union reports that an agreement covering public sector pay and other benefits for 2022 and 2023 was signed by the majority of unions on 13 October. Pay rises range between 4.5% and 8.5% and there are increases to compensation for annual leave and food allowances. As part of the agreement, the government undertakes to adopt systemic changes to the wage system by 30 June 2023, addressing issues relating to the wage gap in the lower third of the pay scale and the minimum wage. The union is continuing to negotiate on pay for health and social care workers and to close the gap with

The UNISON trade union is planning strike action at the St.Monica Trust care company in Bristol in south west England over threats to sack staff unless they accept a pay cut. The union says that more than 100 staff were told in March that they must accept inferior new contracts – costing them thousands of pounds a year and watering down their sick pay – or be fired. The first strike will take place on 29 June, with further action planned for 2, 5, 10 and 11 July. The company is threatening to cut weekend pay rates for senior care workers by 21%, while other staff are being asked to take a 10%

Public service union UNISON has welcomed the announcement by the Welsh government that care workers in the country are to receive a bonus of £1000 after tax (€1200) in April, alongside the introduction of the real living wage. However, the union has warned that more needs to be done to encourage care workers stay or come into the sector. It has also expressed voiced disappointment that non-care staff are not covered. The union believes the Welsh government is responding to union and employer pressure because of the serious staffing crisis in care. UNISON has also been arguing for the early

Many social care workers in Wales are set to get pay increases of around 11% following the decision of the Welsh government to guarantee an hourly rate of £9.90 (€13.15) from next April. The rate is the real living wage as calculated by independent research and is above the current national minimum wage of £8.91 (€11.85) per hour which many social care workers are paid. Public service unions UNISON and GMB welcomed the announcement as a first step in delivering better pay and conditions for care workers but both are call for further increases with the GMB setting a target of £15 (€17.65 ) an

Following almost three months of intensive negotiations, 80% of employees in health and social care will receive pay increases of between 4% and 24% this month. However, such are the staffing and workload problems in these sectors, that further negotiations will take place in January to address workloads as well as the fact that some health and care staff are not covered by the initial agreement. Existing staffing shortages have been made worse as health and social staff have left the sector because of the stress and overwork resulting from the pandemic. Around 35000 healthcare, social care

An independent review of the system of adult social care in Scotland has endorsed action on fair pay and called for the establishment of sector collective bargaining. The review has been welcomed by public services union UNISON which points out that the review highlights the structural challenges in the social care sector that inhibit workers ability to collectively bargain for improved pay and conditions. The union underlines the importance of better training, standards, pay and fair working conditions for improving the quality of care and as a boost to the economy.

Public service trade unions have reacted angrily over the government decision to freeze pay for millions of public sector workers, including municipal employees, care workers, civil servants and teachers. Health workers are excluded from the “pay pause” as the chancellor (finance minister) calls it and there will be a GBP 250 (EUR 278) increase for workers paid less than GBP 24000 (EUR 26730) a year. The unions have attacked the decision as a “divide and rule” tactic and argue that many public service workers have yet to see their pay levels recover in real terms after the last bout of