Collective Bargaining, Transparency & Corruption, Quality employment, Sweden, Croatia, Armenia
Union challenges government over representation rules
The SDLSN is calling on the government to change the rules on representativeness for civil service pay negotiations. The union is involved in various working groups that are discussing the new pay structure for the public sector but it is concerned that the current rules on representativeness exclude it, and other trade unions, from the formal negotiations. It argues that only the police trade union meets the representativeness criterion for the main negotiations leaving many areas of the civil service without proper trade union representation as the SDLSN and other unions fall below the
Unions express concern over push for new pay system
Public service trade unions, including SDLSN and HSMSS-MT, have expressed major concerns at the attempt by the government to rush to set up a new pay system covering the 240,000 workers in the public sector. The unions argue that there are many factors at play covering different groups of workers that make it impossible to complete negotiations by the end of June. The government says that the changes are needed as part of the reforms required by the European Union for Croatia to access funds from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. The unions are worried that legislation will be put
Unions to consult members over pay coordination plan
The LO, mainly blue-collar workers’ trade union confederation, has put specific figures to its proposed pay coordination formula that it has drafted for the pay bargaining round in early 2023 with a key aim of supporting lower paid workers. The general pay claim would be for a 4.4% increase but with a minimum increase of SEK 1192 (€110) for those earning less than SEK 27100 (€2500) a month and with an increase of SEK 1371 (€126) on minimum wages in collective agreements. The majority of LO member organisations backed the plan although there are some concerns that the overall target is too low
Confederation agrees to coordinate on pay
The LO confederation, with 14 affiliates representing mainly blue-collar workers, has agreed a formula to coordinate collective bargaining on pay in the upcoming wage round. This includes a commitment to focus on lower paid workers with an aim to secure increases in minimum wages in collective agreements by specific amounts in Krone to underpin general percentage pay rises. This first step in coordination was welcomed by EPSU’s affiliates in LO, Kommunal, SEKO and the transport workers’ union. However, there was also a recognition that discussions would continue on the specific figures to be
Unions welcome settlement in Church of Sweden dispute
Several unions, including Kommunal, Vision, ASSR and Vårdförbundet, have welcomed the resolution of a dispute with Church of Sweden over a transition agreement. The dispute, which involved some targeted industrial action, meant that the pay rise and general collective agreement for 2022-23 were postponed but are now being implemented as the unions finalise the details of the agreement covering job transitions with important provisions on careers and training.
Public service unions reject pay offer
The HSSMS-MT nurses’ union reports that public sector unions are considering industrial action in response to the government’s proposal to increase pay by only 2% from 1 April. The latest negotiations, involving 11 public sector unions, took place on 8 April and the union negotiating committee unanimously rejected the government’s offer and continued to insist on a 4% base increase from 1 April and the resumption of negotiations at the end of May on a base increase in the second part of the year, depending on the evolution of inflation, the movement of other wages in the country and the
Unions disappointed by government response on pay demand
The HSSMS-MT health union reports that the latest round of collective bargaining left public sector trade unions disappointed as the government failed to consider their call for a 4% increase in basic pay in the light of increasing inflation and particularly rising energy prices. The government said that a 2% pay increase from 1 April was all that was possible and that any further increases would have to be discussed later in the year. However, no further negotiations were timetabled. The unions said that they would report back to their members and consider the next steps.
Respect for trade union rights, collective bargaining and social dialogue part of our democratic values – say North East European constituency unions
The EPSU affiliates of North East Europe expressed their concerns about developments in the region in the online meeting of the North East European constituency on 3 March. They received information about the situation in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine.
Unions make joint call for change in eldercare
Vision and Kommunal, the trade unions representing workers and managers in eldercare, have issued a joint call for action on working conditions and work organisation to address the long-standing problems in the sector that have been highlighted by the COVID-19 crisis. The unions underline the importance of continuity of care that they say is best delivered through a stable base of long-term and full-time employment. They have set a target of increasing the proportion of permanent employees to 90 percent. They also want to see a benchmark of 25 employees per manager in the elderly care to help