Working Time, Information & consultation, France, Czech Republic

Earlier this month the OSZSP health union and other trade unions met with Ministry of Labour officials to discuss proposed amendments to the labour code which have serious implications for workers in the healthcare sector. The governments wants changes in relation to shift lengths, overtime work and, of most concern, the introduction of 24-hour shifts. The OSZSP and the doctors’ union underlined the need to safeguard employee rights and criticized proposals that could undermine worker protections. They pointed out that the Czech Republic should be moving in the direction of countries like

The OSZSP health and social care union has cited official statistics showing a shortage of 3000 nurses across the country to underline its longstanding message that urgent action is needed to recruit and retain health workers. The union further warns that on current trends and without action the shortage could rise to 13000 in five years’ time. The union makes clear that excessive workloads and long hours are key factors in deterring young people from joining health professions and that the government’s proposal to increase overtime limits will only add to the problem, while threatening the

The OSZSP health and care workers’ union has joined with the LOK-SČL doctors’ union in condemning government proposals to extend the limits on overtime for health workers. The government claims this is needed to ensure staffing levels in small facilities. The unions, however, criticise the government for failing to take any measures to tackle the staffing crisis and for increasing the risk of burnout and ill-health in a workforce that is already suffering from long working hours. The unions also fear that many health workers would be vulnerable to pressure to work the extra hours and they

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread use of short-time working in response has rekindled the debate about permanent shifts to shorter working hours. Germany's biggest engineering union, IG Metall, has put forward ideas about a move to a 32-hour week and this had been taken up by the CGT trade union confederation in France which has had a 32-hour-week policy for some time. In the UK, the Autonomy research organisation has proposed and costed a plan for the public sector to take the lead and move to a 32-hour week without loss of pay.

The OSZSP health union took part in a tripartite meeting with the health minister and health employers last month with pay and staffing high on the agenda. The union is still seeking confirmation from the government that the 10% pay increase offered to health workers will be implemented from 1 January and that it will apply to all health workers. It warns that problems with the health service will arise if workers in some areas don't benefit from the same pay increase. The union has called for data on hospitals, patient numbers, staffing and average pay along with information on overtime hours

Workers from three psychiatric hospitals in Paris took strike action and joined a demonstration on 6 September to show their anger over plans to introduce new working time arrangements. The joint action was called by the CGT, CFDT, FO, CFE-CGC and SUD trade unions who argue that the management plans for working time for the 5000 employees will mean that workers will lose between five and 10 rest days a year. The trade unions argue that this would be unacceptable in normal circumstances but is even worse in a situation where many workers are already exhausted as a result of excessive workloads.

Later this month the CMKOS trade union confederation will be debating the prospect of a major initiative on working time, with a proposal to go for a half-hour cut in the standard working day without loss of pay. Unions believe that they are in a good position to make this a key bargaining issue in 2019 with a positive economic outlook and very low unemployment. The cut would mean moving from a standard 42.5-hour working week to 37.5 hours with a 30-minute break.

Unions at the Veolia water company have announced strike action in protest at the company's latest plans for restructuring, the fourth in three years. The unions are angry that a further 572 jobs are due to go by 2019 after 2000 have already been cut since 2014. They are particularly concerned that this time the company has not ruled out compulsory redundancies which the unions say would be the first for the sector. The unions say the cuts aren't justified in terms of the company's economic performance and they want the company to withdraw the threat of compulsory redundancies and begin a

Proposals to reform the labour code were published owin 31 August with some initial negative reactions from the trade unions. A common response was that the raft of reforms was being put forward before there had been a proper evaluation of the changes that have been implemented in the last four years. Unions expressed concern about rebalancing of the relationship between sector and company-level bargaining and changes to compensation in cases of redundancy. In small companies (less than 50 employees) it will be possible for employers to negotiate with non-trade union representatives and in

(November 2016) Four of the trade union organisations in public services (CGT, FAFP, FSU and Solidaires) are mobilising for a day of action on 29 November. They are raising a number of long-standing demands including pay increases to compensate for loss of purchasing power since 2010, action to improve pay for jobs and sectors dominated by women to close the gender pay gap and measures to reduce precarious working conditions and defend working time arrangements.

(August 2016) A report by the IGAS social affairs inspectorate provides evidence that the reduction in working time implemented with the introduction of the 35-hour seek in 1998 lead to the creation of 350000 jobs over the next four years. The report has not been officially published but was leaked to the Mediapart organisation. The CGT trade union confederation has criticised the decision by the IGAS not to publish the report officially and argues that the analysis supports its call for a further reduction of weekly working time to 32 hours. The CFDT confederatoin has also called for a cut in