Collective Bargaining, Gender pay gap, Türkiye, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Confederation organises strike protest over collective agreement
On 27 August the KESK public services confederation organised a national strike in protest at the collective agreement signed by the government and the Memur Sen trade union. KESK has a range of key demands which the agreement fails to address and is angry that it was shut out of the negotiations. The confederation argues that the pay rises foreseen in the agreement are inadequate to ensure protection against inflation and it doesn’t include any measures to deal with employment security, workplace democracy or the right to proper collective bargaining. EPSU sent a solidarity message.
Solidarity with Turkish Public service workers on strike for higher pay, better conditions and more workplace democracy
The Turkish Public Services Confederation KESK and its affiliates are on strike 27 August. EPSU supports the strike and the demands of the unions for decent wages and fair working conditions.
Confederation sets out main bargaining demands
The KESK public sector confederation has set out its main demands for the public sector negotiations that started at the beginning of August. The priority will be restoring the 8.5% loss in purchasing power for public sector workers over the last two years and along with a further increase to cover inflation that the confederation estimates to be higher than 50% in contrast to the official figure of just over 30%. The other key demands include ending privatisation, increasing public investment and public employment, reducing working time and strengthening job security. KESK also wants action
New study reveals challenge facing public service unions
The FES trade union-linked research institute has published a new study on the recent developments in Turkish trade unions. It looks at membership in the six confederations, the legal framework and the attack on the right to strike. Civil service unions face a ban on both collective bargaining and the right to strike. The report includes information on union density and the organising of sub-contracted workers where there have been membership gains.
EPSU position on the EU’s Western Balkans Strategy: strengthen collective bargaining, build independent high quality public administrations and institutions and invest in public services
The Western Balkan strategy of the European Commission is a significant step in providing positive prospects for the workers and people of these countries