Pay settlements, Economic Policy, Europe

Using figures from the Eurostat statistics agency, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) shows that the price of the most basic food stuffs is still rising up to seven times faster than wages. The price of olive oil is 75% higher than it was in January 2021, while there have been substantial increases in the price of potatoes (53%), eggs (37%) and butter (27%). By contrast, the ETUC shows that nominal wages have increased by 11% in the EU and 10% in the Euro area over the last three years. The confederation has also challenged the International Monetary Fund over its analysis of wages

IPSO, the main union representing staff at the European Central Bank (ECB) has published the results of a survey of employees revealing around two-thirds of workers had concerns about the ECB policy on pay, inflation and interest rates. Widely reported in the media, the union says that it was not just unhappiness about the 4% pay increase awarded to ECB employees (less than half the current inflation rate in Germany) but also the bank’s reliance on interest rises as a tool to control inflation. IPSO’s message to staff said that the ECB policy of wage moderation was in its view biased against

The USF trade union reports that staff in European institutions, bodies and agencies (with the exception of the European Central Bank) will get a net 4.5% increase in salaries, pensions, and social allowances backdated to 1 July 2022. This is on top of the 2.4% increase applied earlier this year, giving a total net increase of 7%. This is the result of a formula that has been applied since the early 1980s, following industrial action by USF both then and later to defend the formula. The salaries (and later also pensions) of staff have kept pace with the development in the purchasing power of

Staff in European institutions, bodies and agencies will get a net 2.4 % increase in salaries, pensions, and social allowances backdated to 1 January 2022. This is the result of a formula that has been applied since the early 1980s, when EPSU affiliate, Union Syndicale Fédérale carried out successful industrial action, also defending the gains later through further industrial action. The salaries (and later also pensions) of staff have kept pace with the development in the purchasing power of civil servants working in the national governments of the Member States. This increase reflects the

Staff in European institutions, bodies and agencies will get a net 1.9% increase in salaries, pensions, and social allowances backdated to 1 July 2021. This is the result of a formula that has been applied since the early 1980s, when the EPSU member organisation, Union Syndicale Fédérale carried out successful industrial action, also defending the gains later through further industrial action. The salaries (and later also pensions) of staff have kept pace with the development in the purchasing power of civil servants working in the national governments of the Member States. In 2020, this

This newsletter aims to report on the latest news about public service collective bargaining. Articles are stored on the EPSU website and can be searched by country and theme here. However, it is going to be particularly important to follow the latest developments as EPSU affiliates negotiate on pay in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. EPSU has therefore put together a country-by-country overview that gives the state of play of bargaining in each country. It will be updated at least once a month and information on more countries and sectors will be added. The link to the article is below but

Around 50000 European public service officials and other workers employed by the European institutions and agencies are getting a 2% pay increase backdated to 1 July 2019. This is the result of the application of a pay formula obtained following lengthy strike action organised by EPSU affiliate Union Syndicale Fédérale in the 1980s and 90s and incorporated in the Staff Regulations since 2004. The formula guarantees that the purchasing power of these workers develops in line with inflation and the pay of officials in the central governments of the 28 member states with 1.5% due to inflation in

A survey of European wage developments by the Hans Böckler research organisation finds an upward trend since 2017, with the highest increases recorded in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Overall real wage increases across Europe averaged 0.9% in 2018, twice the level of 2017 and the figure so far for the current year is at 1.0%. The median increase in the 11 countries of North and West Europe was 0.6% in 2018, rising to 1.1% so far this year, contrasting with the higher figures for CEE countries of 5.2% in 2018 and 3.7% in 2019. The six countries in Southern Europe registered lower increases

The latest labour cost figures published by the Eurostat agency show that the highest increases were recorded in Eastern Europe but where average costs remain the lowest across the European Union. There were double-digit increases in Romania, Latvia and Lithuania with Hungary not far behind at just under 10%. Average hourly labour costs in Europe range from 5.40 in Bulgaria to 43.5 in Denmark with the average at 27.4 in the European Union and 30.6 in the Eurozone. The data excludes agriculture and public administration.

The European Trade Union Institute has published an updated analysis of the treatment of social issues in the European Semester - the process of economic policy coordination. This reveals, for example, the extent to which the country-specific recommendations address the question of collective bargaining, with the European institutions calling for reforms in many countries, with the accent on decentralisation of bargaining despite the lack of evidence that this produces any economic benefits.

Despite improved economic growth, real wage increases across Europe are averaging only 0.4% this year compared to 1.5% last year, according to the latest report from the trade union linked WSI research organisation. In several countries - Austria, Greece, Portugal and France - there is virtually no change in real wages while six countries - Cyprus, Spain, Italy, Finland, Belgium and the UK - are looking at a fall in real wages. The WSI points out that calls for an increase in pay to boost economic demand are even coming from the European Commission and European Central Bank. These are

The latest annual collective bargaining survey from the Eurofound industrial relations agency found that Slovakia and the Czech Republic recorded the highest collectively negotiated real and nominal pay rises in 2016. The article also examines public sector developments in several countries, including Croatia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Luxembourg.

The ETUC has published a newsletter providing an overview of its Pay Rise campaign so far - covering specific initiatives on women and young workers as well as the focus on public sector workers on Public Services Day - 23rd June. The next main event in the campaign will be a conference in Bratislava on 22 September which will focus on corporate greed and the pay gap between workers in Eastern and Western Europe.

(March 2017) The annual benchmarking report from the European Trade Union Institute provides an overview of latest developments in wages and collective bargaining. It notes a trend towards higher real wages, particularly in central and Eastern Europe, mainly as a result of low inflation. There has also been growth in minimum wages but most are still at a very low level. It also found that the decline in collective bargaining coverage continued and was very pronounced in southern and eastern European countries.

(March 2017) The latest edition of the ETUI's collective bargaining newsletter includes several articles covering developments in the public services with news of a public sector pay deal in Cyprus, a strike of emergency service workers in the Czech Republic, disputes in Greece and Malta and further purges of public sector staff in Turkey.