Collective Bargaining, Transparency & Corruption, Ireland, Croatia

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

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

Public service trade unions, including Fórsa, SIPTU and INMO, have agreed to launch a campaign on pay that could involve industrial action. The unions, coordinated by the ICTU confederation, had already called on the government to review pay in the light of the surge in inflation. However, the response was only for an additional 2.5% increase in 2021-22 when inflation has already topped 9%. The unions argue that by failing to complete the pay review in light of higher inflation, the government is failing to meet the requirements of the public service collective agreement, Building momentum

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

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.

The Fórsa public services trade union has published a new report to support its call on the government to “harness the productive power of sectoral bargaining” which it argues will improve wage levels and pay equality. The report puts Ireland near the bottom of the scale on worker representation and participation in economic decision-making and argues that collective bargaining can deliver benefits to both workers and employers, while underpinning better outcomes for society and the economy as a whole. The report would contribute to the work of the high-level working group which is examining

The government has put forward a proposal to set up a joint labour committee (JLC) that would determine minimum pay and working conditions for the childcare sector. Currently there is no sector bargaining covering childcare workers and unions have been campaigning for years to tackle low pay and precarious employment. JLCs are independent bodies that exist in sectors like security and cleaning where there is no sector bargaining. They issue employment regulation orders (ERO) setting minimum pay rates and conditions. SIPTU says that a JLC would provide an opportunity for the union and the IBEC

Health unions have managed to ensure that the government will honour the current collective agreement that commited it to pay increases of 3% and 4% this year. The unions were forced to organise a high-profile national campaign - "5 to midnight" - when the government indicated it would not implement the increases. The campaign highlighted the state of the health service, understaffing and overwork and the need to recognise health workers' commitment. The unions are now looking forward to the start of the next pay negotiations and will continue their campaign on the need to invest in the health